WHEN POISON TASTES GOOD--The Shortcomings Of Food Businesses

WHEN POISON TASTES GOOD—The Shortcomings Of Food Businesses

The reasons that food businesses have kept themselves aloof from the verbal challenges that call for a change from a high carb-and-salt dietary nightmare to more healthy and wholesome natural juices, snacks and meals is that they are more concerned with flavor, packaging and marketing than about consumer health. As most of us have probably noticed, the food industry uses a lot of advertising and taste-testing to be sure to produce the most delicious and in-demand food. Food companies are more concerned about surviving the current recession than they are about offering us the most healthy snacks and foods that are available. Fish in its basic form has no carbs, but when breaded in a tasty batter can increase to over 20 carbs per fish fillet. Similarly, chicken in its basic form is carbless, but when glazed, breaded and cooked with high carb ingredients, can soar to as many as 60 carbs per portion. All of these unnecessary and harmful ingredients are contributing mightily to our national obesity epidemic. Food makers respond that they are only satisfying consumer demands for more delicious and satisfying meals, but the truth is that manufacturers have created demand through clever ads that appeal to taste buds instead of to our nutritional needs. This is not surprising when you consider that food companies’ primary motivation is their bottom-line profit margin. I am convinced that without firm limits set on carbs and salt, that companies will continue to create demand for even more unhealthy food than they currently create, hiding behind the excuse that they are only supplying the public’s demand for tasty food. If poison could be made delicious, would food manufacturers sell it to the public? I am afraid that all-too-often the answer is yes, so long as it increases corporate profits for the stockholders. Where this all leads ultimately is that manufacturers cannot be trusted to supply us with the basic foods that our bodies need to properly function. They have become so out-of-control regarding their manipulation of the facts regarding basic food, that their marketing techniques have created demand for food which is unfit for human consumption, despite its flavor, and is creating a huge national healthcare crisis due to their unwillingness to police their own nutritional policies. Rather than competing with other companies to produce the healthiest food possible, nearly 100% of their efforts are devoted to advertising, packaging, deceptive ads, flavorings, etc. Without government directives and supervision to reign-in these tactics, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other health emergencies will only continue to worsen. When companies fail to police themselves and when government fails to respond to the obvious need for supervision, the responsibility falls on healthcare providers and the public to sound the alarm. Some organized boycotting might be the best way to move forward, but unless we agree on our tactics, nothing will happen and we will continue our downward trend towards an even greater healthcare crisis. This is all-out war and the stakes have never been greater. To do nothing is not an option if we are to rescue ourselves from future misery. The effects of this national decline in nutrition will have far-reaching implications for future generations who are depending on us to restore sanity to the market place. We cannot allow Wall Street to dictate healthcare policies, nor can we depend on a lobbyist-controlled congress to look out for the health of the average citizen. What is needed is for major healthcare organizations, agencies and providers to educate the public about the dangers of high-carb, high-sodium diets. The next step is to boycott those food manufacturers who refuse to police themselves until they produce and market healthful products to the public.

Mark Overt Skilbred