Cally's working title

Rumour has it that state schools are to ban vending machines containing unhealthy snacks such as crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks.

Hurrah! About time. Vending machines should never have been allowed in schools in the first place. How many children do you know who choose a piece of fruit and a glass of milk over crisps and chocolate when their parents aren’t looking!

The vending machines will stay in school, but offering healthier snacks such as fruit, yoghurts and crackers.

But how can we expect our children to make healthy choices, when many adults have no idea what is healthy or not? A conversation was overheard recently, it went like this: “My daughter hates potatoes, I don’t know why, she just does, she’s funny like that. The strange thing though, is that she loves crisps. We daren’t tell her they’re made of potatoes, because that’s the only way we can get them down her.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1796565,00.html

To many, the supermarket is a shrine of cheap food and convenience - 90% of us use them as our main place to shop. They offer variety - strawberries all year round and chicken for a few pounds. How can this be?

Why is food so cheap? When we buy our potatoes at the supermarket, do we think about the financial burden put on those who grow them? The power of the supermarket is second to none. They dictate how much the grower receives, and in many cases, this is under the price taken to produce the food.

We as consumers however, seem to have removed ourselves from all forms of responsibility. All we want is cheap food and apparently we don’t care where or how it’s obtained. Naturally, a chicken takes months from hatching to maturity. Time and money is spent caring for and nurturing the birds. Why should we expect to pay just a few pounds for the end product?

Cheap food has hidden costs. Here is an example: A chicken farmer is financially stretched to the limits. He’s held hostage by a giant supermarket; working long hours and making little money, since the supermarket doesn’t cover his costs. Sickness sweeps through the flock and urgent veterinarian attention is needed. This they get, but unfortunately the farmer can’t pay the vet’s bill. The veterinarian on the other hand has studied for seven long years to be qualified and has tens of thousands of pounds in student loans to pay back. The vet of course cannot see a flock of birds waste away and die, so treats the animals and does not get paid.

Recent figures on suicide and occupation show that veterinary surgeons are 3 times more likely to die from suicide than the general population. Suicide rates are twice as common in farmers.

So, the next time you do your weekly shop, stop and think for a moment the consequences of living in a society where fresh food is dirt cheap.

To many, the supermarket is a shrine of cheap food and convenience - 90% of us use them as our main place to shop. They offer variety - strawberries all year round and chicken for a few pounds. How can this be?

Why is food so cheap? When we buy our potatoes at the supermarket, do we think about the financial burden put on those who grow them? The power of the supermarket is second to none. They dictate how much the grower receives, and in many cases, this is under the price taken to produce the food.

We as consumers however, seem to have removed ourselves from all forms of responsibility. All we want is cheap food and apparently we don’t care where or how it’s obtained. Naturally, a chicken takes months from hatching to maturity. Time and money is spent caring for and nurturing the birds. Why should we expect to pay just a few pounds for the end product?

Cheap food has hidden costs. Here is an example: A chicken farmer is financially stretched to the limits. He’s held hostage by a giant supermarket; working long hours and making little money, since the supermarket doesn’t cover his costs. Sickness sweeps through the flock and urgent veterinarian attention is needed. This they get, but unfortunately the farmer can’t pay the vet’s bill. The veterinarian on the other hand has studied for seven long years to be qualified and has tens of thousands of pounds in student loans to pay back. The vet of course cannot see a flock of birds waste away and die, so treats the animals and does not get paid.

Recent figures on suicide and occupation show that veterinary surgeons are 3 times more likely to die from suicide than the general population. Suicide rates are twice as common in farmers.

So, the next time you do your weekly shop, stop and think for a moment the consequences of living in a society where fresh food is dirt cheap.

Finally, dairy farmers launch a three day strike against the unfairness of bargain basement prices, paid by supermarkets.

Farmers receive just 18p per litre of milk, which is less than production costs. And less than that paid 10 years ago. What other sector in the workforce would work for such a pittance?

Maybe we should think of ways these farmers could circumvent the problems of the supermarket stronghold. If they could add value to this basic food and provide the public with an ethical product, the farmers may earn a decent income.

The ‘fair trade’ movement needs to look at events a little closer to home.
Tesco blow halves profits at milk firm Dairy Crest

The causes for obesity are fairly self explanatory—too much food in vs too little going out in the form of physical exertion.

So what’s changed over the previous 20-30 years? Well, for starters we have an abundance of labour saving devices—toasters pop up, refrigerators defrost themselves, we get a ride to school, we don’t even need to drag ourselves up from the sofa to change the television station for pete’s sake! Combine that with current trends in Europe and North America to eat a diet of over half the calorie content coming from fat and sugar, and bang—very shortly we’ll all explode!

The term ‘obesogenic environment’ popped up in the 1990s to describe an environment that encourages the overconsumption of energy-dense foods, that is, foods high in fat and sugar. Eating fat has very little effect on suppressing appetite, nor has sweet foods for that matter. And guess what? Fast foods and processed foods are full of fat and sweeteners. How else do you think you could down a hamburger or two, fries, soft drink and still have room for a desert? For some, an average fast food meal uses up, 100% of their daily calorie requirement. It is little wonder we are getting fat.

In the World Health Organization’s report on Globalization, Diets and Non-communicable diseases, it explains how evidence from research shows the obesogenic environment can be challenged through public health education, labelling and price manipulation. Norway and Finland have each been successful in reversing the trend to eat energy dense diets, which in turn has seen fewer deaths from heart disease. This was done in part by regulating food processing/labelling; ensuring low prices for grains, low fat milk, vegetables and potatoes; avoiding low cost sugar, butter and margarine, and public and professional education.

A lesson to be learnt from the Norwegians and Finns, surely?
www.weightconcern.org.uk