The first thing that often comes to mind when we talk about
cultural solutions to problems is the punitive approach. Tax the bad stuff.
Outlaw the really bad stuff. But, as I’ve noted before, we Americans are a
notoriously obstinate bunch. The minute someone suggests that a bacon double
cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme donut may not be the perfect meal, legions of
indignant freedom-lovers will suddenly feel an urgent need (and God-given right!)
to consume as many of these culinary abominations as is humanly possible. I
don’t understand it, but in the good old US of A, it is what it is.
Yet what could we
do if we ruled out penalizing folks for less than stellar food choices?
How about introducing nutrition education into kindergarten
and primary school curricula? Anyone who’s ever known a five-year-old knows how
tenacious and dogmatic they can be. Convince them that veggies are the way to
go and they’d be off on a single-minded mission, to nag their families into merciless,
healthy-eating submission. Also, as adult life is greatly influenced by things we
believed at the age of five, it’s logical to think that good nutrition habits developed
then just might stick – after all I believed in monsters under the mattress at
that age and fifty years later I still think twice before standing next to my
bed! Instead of vegetables being yucky, we could teach kids to have fun with
them. Have them make Eggplant Monsters or Zucchini Dinosaurs. Tell stories
about comic book heroes named Incredible Carrot Man or Super Bok Choy Boy. The possibilities
are endless.
While we’re talking young people, let’s not leave the
incredible power wielded by teenagers out of the equation. What if we engaged pop
stars to help make healthy eating cool? Imagine if Beyonce, instead of telling
fans she wanted to get chocolate
wasted after losing the baby weight, had instead proclaimed her desire to
get broccoli busted? If Kanye hip-hopped about Kauliflower instead of Kim? Or Ludacris
rapped on Asparagus? And if parents brought out the big gun, otherwise known as
reverse psychology, forbidding their adolescent offspring from listening to Sugar-Free
Rock, who knows how many high schoolers would sneak out at midnight to attend
underground veggie orgies? Before you know it, the appropriately named Apple
would get on it and develop an app for that.
Here’s another thought: let’s use the power of government to
address the scourge of food deserts in low income, urban neighborhoods. These
are places without access to supermarkets, where the only food options are corner
convenience stores and fast food joints, where fresh produce is hard to come by
and cheap, high fat/high sodium ramen noodles and boxed macaroni and cheese
abound. Since we can’t seem to abolish the practice of pork-barrel spending by
our elected officials, let’s at least encourage them to do something healthy
with it. Perhaps grants to subsidize urban grocery stores or tax credits to
supermarket chains willing to locate in the inner city. And while we’re on a
roll, could we change farm subsidy policies to cover food for people (like
green beans) instead of food for cows and cars (like corn)?
Hey, I know, let’s create a new reality television show
about healthy living! But instead of a program like The Biggest Loser, where
fat folks get tortured and abused – um, I mean coached – by celebrity trainers,
this show would feature makeovers of food manufacturers.
A Health Hit Squad would invade randomly
chosen food production facilities and whip them into shape, nipping the excess salt
here, tucking the added sugar there, to create a final product that people could
actually eat without risking an instant heart attack. We’d have to give it a
catchy name, maybe Food Fear Factor or Pimp My Candy Bar. It would be the
ultimate in Must Eat TV!
I know, I know. This is all nothing but a crazy dream. But
then, a girl can dream, can’t she?
My favorite line --ludacros wrapped on asparagus! Lol.
ReplyDeleteI had simpler thoughts --like billboards promoting my favorite healthy treats -like a bowl of fruit and cottage cheese. Of course there are some healthy eaters who think dairy and fruit are NOT healthy ...
There are so many conflicting opinions about what's healthy that you will drive yourself crazy trying to reconcile them all. My advice: do what works for you.
Delete