Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
After it was mentioned in one of my classes, I started wondering… what exactly happened to the much-heralded tax on goods high in saturated fats that Denmark installed at the beginning of 2012? This law was the first time that this relatively drastic step to curb obesity and try to steer healthier eating habits was … Continue reading The Life and Death of the Danish Fat Tax
Mark Bittman wrote a really interesting column in the New York Times yesterday about labor protests in the fast food industry. Apparently, recently workers have started organizing themselves in earnest to protest the pitiful wages and social benefits paid to them.
I just discovered a new website called, short and simple, Resilience.org, which has really great and well-researched stories as well as resources and groups that help build community resilience. Over the weekend, I read a story called “The Impact of Transnational ‘Big Food’ Companies on The South: A View From Brazil“. Following up on the … Continue reading Can "Big Food" Replace Tradition? A Brazilian Testimonial
I found this great infographic at the Massive Health blog and thought I’d share it. When I did diabetes-prevention research last summer, I read a ton of articles on how portion size increases have affected the obesity crisis, and I remember noting a noticeable change in portion sizes when crossing the Canadian-American border. At the … Continue reading Finish Your Plate – Or Should You?
Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article called “The Health Toll of Immigration” which looked into scientific research regarding the link between immigration to the USA and health changes. Their conclusion – in an ironic twist, moving to the United States might raise your general standard of living, but shorten your life expectancy.
Sometimes, maybe we are just expecting too much of people. Over the past years, food nutrition labeling has become all the rage and research has put great emphasis on the question whether food labeling (especially related to caloric and fat content) makes a difference in purchasing decisions. The results are mixed, with some studies finding (small) … Continue reading Do You Understand What You Eat?
This TED-talk is a great follow-up to the debate on childhood obesity I wrote about a couple of days ago. It gives a compelling argument why children should be, as the presenter puts it, “none of the food marketers’ business.” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0bop3D7-dDM#!] I was particularly struck by how ubiquitous food advertisement to children in the US is, … Continue reading "Pester Power" and Oreo Cookie Counting Books
If you find 37 minutes time in the next couple of days, I can only recommend that you listen to one of the latest episodes of the Freakonomics podcast, called “100 Ways to Fight Obesity“. It is an episode built out of the recording of a brainstorming session that features some of the most well-known … Continue reading Unorthodox Solutions to Combat Childhood Obesity – the Freakonomics Brainstorm
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rgaqwFPU7cc] This entertaining video (originally highlighted by Buzzfeed) shows what 2,000 calories looks like in a variety of foods. Why 2,000 calories? Because that is the average recommended daily caloric need of a person to maintain their weight, and what the calculations on food labels (referring to the percentage of daily value) are based on. … Continue reading How Much Are 2,000 Calories?
Yesterday, a New York State Supreme Court Judge struck down the first attempt in the U.S. to fight against obesity by legally regulating portion sizes. A day before a law was due to take effect that would limit the allowed size of sugary drinks sold in restaurants, food courts and movie theatres to 16 ounces, … Continue reading New York's Soda Ban Overruled – Defeat of the "Nanny State" or Public Health Setback?