Do Not Punish America's Poor: Sodas and SNAP

I don't drink sodas or other sugared drinks, since I limit my liquid (and thus not satiating) calories as much as I can.  Still, I cannot get behind movements that locate such habits in the poor and seek to punish them.  I wonder how many sugared-drink imbibers there are out there who see no irony in hitting the poor with this kind of ruling--one thinks of glass houses and stones.

I simply cannot be a fan of a policy that singles out the poor, as if they are the only Americans who drink these things, the only Americans plagued by obesity, or the only Americans who deserve no treats in their already impoverished lives.  Pass a soda tax or remove the subsidies that make these noxious concoctions so cheap--that would be more even-handed and effective.

#AmericaNutritionFail

This article from the Washington Post captures what's wrong with the way we approach nutrition: we create a single image that cannot help but be mired in conflicting messages thanks to all the interests it must appease.  I agree that most Americans don't want to be told what not to eat, but an alarming number have no idea what they should be eating.

The simple truth is that the Food Pyramid will not solve anything, though a healthier articulation of it would help poorer Americans, whom it help feeds.  What we need to do is teach our children how to eat, whether it's a return of Home Ec or a nutrition class, and stop subsidizing processed foods so that they are no longer appealing for their price, or worse, placed on SNAP when they do anything but assist nutrition.

Oh SNAP!, or Failures in Feeding America's Poor

Good commentary and horrific visuals of Before and After purchasing power of Food Stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with the deceptively cute acronym SNAP.  Not only are their too few calories, too many of what's there are white rice and white potatoes, which manage to be filling, and maybe even fattening, but not nutritious.

As John Cole says, these rations would drive a person to sell them for liquor and cigarettes instead.

Why Won't Americans Eat Their Veggies?

The NYT just published this interesting article about how Americans, despite all efforts to convince them otherwise, refuse to eat their vegetables (I combine the exception categories in one curved swoop: an older, well-educated, better-paid woman).

This fascinates me on a purely rhetorical level: here we have serious efforts of persuasion that fail, and fail again, and then fail some more.  I am also delighted by the Rockin' Baby Carrot Campaign, though I think reimagining baby carrots as junk food is probably NOT the wisest decision.  But who knows what works with kids these days? 

The two points that stand out for me beyond all the whining excuses are these: vegetables are expensive, and they require work to integrate them into a meal.  If we want more Americans to eat veggies, we first need to make them cheaper--rather than subsidizing processed foods that at once fatten us while starving us of vital nutrients, we should apply those subsidies to make vegetables cheaper (and the logical first place to start this is Food Stamps).  I really think that's the quickest and best fix.  But it'd also be good to teach America's children more about good eating habits--there is a clarity of mind in young people, who see things in Black and White, that makes them amenable to clear arguments about healthy choices, and they would take this propaganda home with them (childless that I am, I might be romanticizing America's youth--still, I have seen 9-year-olds that are remarkably receptive to anti-smoking arguments, for instance).  In the longterm, these children would also have the education about food to make better choices and avoid fad diets--this could be a comprehensive win.

All of this is fantasy territory, however.  The corporate food producers fattened and fed by subsidies will never let Congress make such a change, and even I can see that America's education system needs other fixes first, as we slide ever lower in reading and math.

There are Many Ways to Starve a Child

Jim Weill's post on the Hill Blog captures perfectly the impractical and immoral decision Congress may make to rob food stamp funding to pay for school lunches.  A mean decision considered by itself, comparing it to the TARP bailout makes me nauseated.  How stupid are our Congress critters even to consider willfully depriving our children and their families of adequate daily calories and nutrition, especially given where unemployment stands right now?  Healthy countries want healthy citizens and invest in that health.  I pray that this bill doesn't pass.

English Is Dead! Long Live English!

Every now and then, some cranky old white man has to vent his spleen about how kids these days use English.  What I especially like about this tirade is that blame is shifted to new media--as if newspapers were somehow the gatekeepers of the language, or something.  Absurd.

And it's of course extra-special funny that English's obituary is written in, yes, English.

Rescuing Good Food From Bad Processes

Eggs, spinach, tomatoes, peanut butter--each of these foods is a vital component of a healthy diet, yet each has been compromised in the public's mind as tainted and thus unhealthy.  The problem is a lack of safety checks on how we mass-produce foods.  In other words, in buying these foods that are produced as cheaply as possible, consumers unwittingly place their health on the chopping block.

There is hope that consumers may receive better protection: the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which has languished in Congress since introduced in 2009, has a new lease on life thanks to NY Sen Kirsten Gillibrand's bill to add better consumer notification when products are recalled.

The Senate is poised to vote on this legislation later this month.  (h/t Serious Eats)

A Rhetorical Rat in the High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Everyone hates HFCS, so what is an industry to do?  Why, change the name of the product!  File this under "hate."

Gin and Tacos: Two Great Tastes That Make a Great Blog!

Just linked to this thanks to my favorite blogger, John Cole--and found this wonderful takedown of photoshopping horrors.  "WHERE IS HER ASS?" Awesome!

Check it out!

Worst. Candidate Speech. EVAR!

Must see video--sometimes it's better to be a nobody than famous.  Thanks, John Cole, for keeping it fun!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/video/video_3012.html?1284057345

#AfghanistanFail

As John Cole points out, this isn't news to Afghanis, who have more than enough reasons to hate Americans as it is.  Meanwhile, our media take the actions of a Florida congregation of 50 and turn them into an international incident that gives them just the attention they want.

Why are we still there?  I guess I should be thankful that at least troops are finally leaving Iraq, but I'd like all our soldiers home and safe from bad apples.

March to Death of the Penguins

Sad.