Food for thought.

Food for thought.

The junk food industry is one of the most prominent industries in the world and with McDonalds and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) leading the way with their worldwide advertising campaigns, it is hard not to get pulled in by the convenience and affordability of these such meals. For time pressed families these options can be more suitable as they can “eat on the run”. These fast food companies claim to have a healthier menu option for those weight conscious customers and have brain washed these people into thinking these menus are healthy and convenient. Convenient yes, healthy no. In families struggling to put food on the table, a healthy eating option in not always affordable. Cooking up a pot of spaghetti for a family of five is much cheaper in comparison to serving up meat and five types of vegetables, which is recommended by nutritionists. Poor diet and accessibility does contribute to the world’s overweight population. It also has an increasing effect on diabetes and heart disease. In reference to “Stuffed and Starved”, one research team recently suggested that if consumption patterns stay the way they are, today’s children in the United States, will live five fewer years, because of diet disease to which they will be exposed to in their lifetimes (Patel 2007). The world is being dominated by the fast food industry. Television commercials are shown at night when families are watching together, showing us how great their “greasy” burgers are and how healthy they are making them, but even the most health conscious person can also be fooled into thinking they are buying fresh fruit and vegetables.

   Buying from our local market stalls thinking we are buying local produce, is not always the correct assumption. The tableland region in North Queensland is a farming district, yet we find at some local market stalls they are selling produce from interstate. They do this because of product availability, and as frustrating as it is, buying produce locally grown is not always an option. The supermarket chains will quite happily freeze apples for storage and then sell them on their shelves as “fresh” apples. The following is a link that Woolworths supermarkets have on their web site in regards to which fruit and vegetables are imported and at which time of the year. http://www.wowlink.com.au/wps/portal/!ut/p/c0/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xB29CPOos3izQB8jJydDRwMDA2djA6Mg-2DHsNBgYwN3U_2CbEdFAI9eKqI!/?WCM_GLOBAL

References

Patal, R. (2007). Introduction, in Stuffed and starved: the hidden battle for the world’s food

   System. (pp. 1-19). Toronto, Canada: Harper Perennial.

Image retrieved from: www.qualitystockphotos.com/stock-photo-25194025-fully-loaded-shelves-with-meat-in-a-large-supermarket.html?tag=&tags=

Image retrieved from: www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/queensland/cairns/images/rusty-s-bazaar-cairns$15258-5#content