Rallies and Nestle
Woohoo! Major anti-war rallies in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. today. About 42,000 in SF and over 100,000 in D.C. There was a small supporting rally of hundreds here in Portland.
We went to hear Dr. Marion Nestle speak tonight downtown. She is the author of Food Politics and spoke about the control that corporate food giants have over our choice and the lengths to which they go to have the public crave more and consume more food (most of which is total junk for you). The government, she explained, is under so much lobbying pressure from the food industry, that its feeble public health messages regarding nutrition and moderation barely register out of the onslaught of food advertising. Particularly troubling is the way children are targeted and the unscrupulous corporate tactics that contribute to kids’ growing rate of obesity. Coke machines in elementary school hallways? McDonald’s sponsoring UNICEF World Children’s Day? Why have these appalling things become social norms that most don’t think twice about? I believe some of the 100% blame we lay on fat individuals in our culture needs to be redirected to the manufacturers and marketers of Big Gulp and its ilk.
Don’t even get me started on genetically engineered foods…
P.S. If you eat at McDonald’s and are unaware where your dollars go, check out the info at McSpotlight and at least be informed. I haven’t purchased a thing there in over a year and it feels SO GOOD!