North American war on obesity could help farmers
Cattle and hog producers have been enjoying a good year, thanks in part to strong consumer demand for meat.
A booming economy is helping North Americans buy more steaks and chops.
They are also buying more junk food.
As waistlines expand, some are turning to fad high protein diets that have a lot of meat in them.
A summit meeting of food health experts in Washington, D.C., last week said many Americans are eating themselves to an early grave.
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Obesity rates in the United States are soaring and governments must respond as they did to the dangers of smoking and driving without seatbelts, the researchers said.
Some called for a small tax on snack foods to raise money for an advertising campaign about the dangers of poor diet and the need for moderation.
They also want schools to get rid of junk food vending machines.
There will be a fall meeting to develop a “national action plan” to fight obesity.
And the United States Department of Agriculture is spending $30 million (Cdn) to test the effectiveness of popular diets and to discover why so few people exercise.
While obesity rates here are not as bad, it is clear by the amount of Canadian flesh squeezed into stretch pants that the trend is similar.
Farmers and ranchers would do well to keep track of how this healthy eating campaign develops.
While it might tarnish high protein fad diets, promoting healthy foods will probably be good for farmers in the long term.
Healthy diets focus more on whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables rather than highly processed dishes. The closer a person is to eating whole foods, the closer he or she is to the farmer.
And if people aren’t stuffing themselves with fat and sugar, they will have more room to eat healthy food.
Anne to the rescue
Prince Charles raised eyebrows recently when he told of his fears about genetically modified food, but not all the royals think that way.
Princess Anne recently told The Grocer trade magazine that genetic transfer is similar to traditional breeding.
While the speed of change in food research may be dizzying, it does not invalidate the science, she said.
“It is a huge over-simplification to say all farming ought to be organic or there should be no GM foods. I’m sorry, but life isn’t that simple,” she said.
