I suspect that many of you are as interested as I am in the "politics of food."

I thought it might be good to have a forum where we can discuss that.
I realize that this forum will, of necessity, be more political than the others. But I would expect us to stay on the "food" topic and not wander off into other "danger zones" where big blow-ups can happen.

If it gets too funky, I'll close the forum. But I think we're up for it.

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To begin,
you might want to comment on this post from Jonny Bowden's Blog.

Good Choice Andrea!

Gary Taubes wrote the "What if it's All been a Big Fat Lie" article for the NY Times almost 3 years ago. You may remember it as a big catalyst for the increase in low carb diets/dieters. You also may recall the politics involved in creating the USDA Food pyramid that Mr. Taubes described. He also wrote an article titled " The Soft Science of Dietary Fat" which further debunks much of what science had believed was fact for decades. You gotta be a skeptic in this day and age (and perhaps every age). Everyone has their own agenda.

Taubes 1

Taubes 2

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O boy! I LIKE this thread - this is RIGHT where I work! Yes, the 'agendas' and vested interests are right in there Rob! I made a similar comment in one of the other threads regarding weight loss and weight maintenance. It has been my experience that while we - the 'community' - cannot hope to prevent the vested interests - we can (and should!) surely strive to analyse and be aware of them and when and where necessary - develop the collective voice to counteract those that are not in OUR best interests! I strongly believe weight management is one of those areas in which we need to have the 'conversation' and raise the discourse!

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

Sounds like this could be an interesting, and a little spicier, section.

(I'll try to restrain myself, so's you don't have to close it. )

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This forum, although I will have to "edit" my comments to stay within the realm of "food politics", sounds like a fabulous idea. As a poli sci/econ major, I'm always up for a good political discussion!!! I PROMISE to try and keep my personal politics regarding anyhting other than food OUT of this thread!!!

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Megan Rose
"The question is not how far. The question is, do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far is as needed?"
259(HW)/233.6(Restart)/224.0(CW)/205(GW1)/175(GW2)/150(FGW)

NEXT GOAL WEIGHT

Well, found this "interesting" this morning........ hope it isn't too "controversal"

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/home...worstbreakfast

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196/135-135

Rhonda, it's VERY interesting that the protein did not cause the inflammation in the arteries. Thanks for the link!

Having R.A., there are absolutely some foods & certain beverages that will cause the RA to flare.

Andrea, I think this forum is a great idea!

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I think you misunderstand me. I just don't want to go too far into a "republican" vs "democrat" thing. Obviously, if a party or rep of a party is part of a food politics disucssion, well, they're fair game for that.

I mean, let's not go past that into other issues espoused by various parties...

does that make sense?

I realize this is a departure from my previous policy, but we HAVE to talk about the important things, don't we? So I'm hoping things can stay on topic and we don't have any blow ups.

I've gotta say, I love the idea of a place to vent about this. The more I read about nutrition and health, the more I realize that any information I get has been filtered through groups of people with an interest in spinning that information. As Rob said, everyone has an agenda, and you've got to be a skeptic.
Jonny Bowden is right again, as usual. I cringe every time I read something on health that starts "Studies show..." 'cause I am convinced you can make studies show anything you want. I used to think that the U.S. government was a pretty reliable source for nutritional info, until I started learning more about it. Now, the USDA has more pyramids than Egypt and is involved in what, in my opinion, is a valiant attempt to cover their behinds.
The answer? For me, it's reading everything I can get my hands on, and making up my own mind.

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Trina

Vice-President of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

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Fascinating article...

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Scary link Texanflow'r! What bothers me is the marketing behind these products. Its so powerful and so comprehensive - perhaps we need more of us to investigate how we can vigorously market our WOL? Maybe we should have an international awareness day? Release the same media throughout the countries represented on this forum?

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

Great forum idea and great breakfast article!

<<The primary culprits of the McDonald's breakfast are the hash browns, cooking oil, and muffins--not the egg or sausage.>> as we knew...I just read "The Perricone Prescription" and he talks a lot about inflammation. Very intersting.

This is such a timely thread...with the popularity of books like "Fast Food Nation", and a movie like "Supersize Me," there is evidence that the country, at least some people, anyway, are ready to talk.

I get discouraged, because it is one of those things where the people with the money and power are in control. Like the military-industrial complex firmly in place, there seems to be a political-food complex as equally entrenched. Powerful lobbyists from different food growers hold so much power. I remember reading studies about how the Dairy industry "bought" kudos for dairy products via lobbying, donations, etc.

It is a challenge to learn about all this but I am up for it and definitely interested in what all of you have to say.

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Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

Interesting article, although in my opinion, they downplayed the fact that the egg and sausage (which contain saturated fats that are supposed to be so bad for you) were not inflammation triggers.

Thanks for adding this section, Andrea. It certainly is interesting how politicized food becomes when we live in the land of plenty.

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Esther

I was very interested to read in the weekend papers here that the fast food provider mentioned below has changed the image and behaviour of their main marketing image - which here, is a roly poly clown. The clown will now apparently discard the 'fat suit' and be dressed in slimmer sports gear and participate in active games - like soccer and gymnastics. There was also questions on issues such as 'yes, but does the food inside the store support the image?' and there were various promises of fresh salads, less salt, sugar, low carbs etc. I thought it was a indication of some awareness (if not necessarily commitment!) at least.

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

That is interesting! Here we have a few who have truly embraced the low carb image and some who give it ip service...but all of them will serve something the way you ask for it...no matter how weird it seems to them.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130