Still a Fast-Food Nation

Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and incredible inspiration to folks in and interested in the movement towards a functional food system, published the afterward to his book on the Daily Beast yesterday.

In the afterward/article, Schlosser shares some saddening news about prevailing fast-food advertising and sales and still-rising obesity rates. While pleased that his book remains in print ten years later, he points out that the atrocities within its pages are unfortunately not yet out-of-date as he'd hoped they would be. Thankfully, Schlosser is inspired and optimistic about the powerful food revolutionaries working hard to change the food industry into something that wouldn't sadden Upton Sinclair. Read the full article here.

"Dinner in a Bottle"

A reader recently sent in this link to an article about MeatWater in which the reporter seems to think that MeatWater is in fact an actual, available product. It's not real, folks.

It is an incredibly creative campaign that forces people to think twice about the culture of "food" around us. Their message is so carefully laced into our modern expectations for new food products that a lot of people seem to believe that Hungarian Gulash water will soon be available at the grocer.

I urge you to read more about the campaign here and then spend some time on the MeatWater website. And I hope that this clever hoax doesn't create an actual... gulp... demand for such a product. Yikes.

"You'd never eat 16 packs of sugar"

Once again, the New York City Health Department does a nice job of reminding us how unhealthy certain "food like substances" are. Blehhh.

"One kid at a time"

Received this video from my source extraordinaire, Tim Singleton, within the same hour that my Sustainable Agriculture teacher played it for us during a lecture. When forces this powerful collide, I have no choice but to post. Enjoy the refreshing clarity with which this eleven year old discusses the American food system.

Latest HFCS... Err... "Corn Sugar"

Earlier this week, we heard from a reader in St. Thomas regarding the recent HFCS makeover aka name-change and mistakenly thought it was just another one of those cheesy commercials. It turns out this "corn sugar" re-branding effort is as big as the 1988 "canola oil is the new low eurcic acid rapeseed oil" act in advertising. ABC News just launched an eye-opening feature about renaming which even includes some thoughts from JustSaying fave: Michael Pollan. 

For a quicker read, check out Jacob Goldstein's NPR post.

(Thnx, Jonathan)

The Majestic Plastic Bag

"...co-existing with billions of other petroleum species before breaking into ever-tinier plastic pieces."

Ugh.

Bottled Buyers Be Informed

In case you are still purchasing bottled water, here is a little background on what those labels and titles really mean from Peter H Gleick's research for Bottled & Sold.

Marketing Water

Ahhh.... BANa and their "serious re ydration." Another pseudo-scientific bottled water scam. As the saying goes, a good advertiser can convince us to buy something we don't want or need. And as Peter Gleick (and probably a bunch of marketing folks) say, "A great advertiser can convince us to pay a thousand times more than we're already paying for something we already have - like water."

A few short weeks ago a federal judge ruled that Glaceau Brands has been falsely advertising Vitaminwater as healthy, but it turns out this particular type of fraud has been alive and well for centuries. As early as 1630 a Massachusetts merchant was fined for profiting off of extravagant and questionable claims that his special water could cure scurvy. Everyone has heard of the term "snake oil," right? Well, turns out we still fall for this sh*t. See if you can match up the following claims/slogans with their brands:

(A) Penta (B) Evian (C) Fiji Artesian Water (D) Poland Spring (E) Dasani (F) Infinity Water (G) Contrex (H) Aquafina (I) smartwater (J) Adirondack

1.) Can't live without it.
2.) Far from pollution. Far from acid rain. Far from industrial waste.
3.) Sip smarter. Live longer.
4.) Your natural source of youth.
5.) Ultra-purified, antioxidant water. Pure energized water with no additives.
6.) The oldest way to stay young.
7.) Pure water. Perfect taste.
8.) My slimness partner.
9.) Pure as the first drop of rain.
10.) As refreshing as the mountains.

Answers: It really doesn't matter cause it's all bullsh*t but here you go [1.E; 2.C; 3.D; 4.B; 5.A; 6.F; 7.H; 8.G; 9.I; 10. J]

Vitamin Water is Officially Unhealthy

Last week a federal judge ruled that Glaceau Brands (aka Coca Cola) has been falsely advertising Vitaminwater as healthy. The Consumerist reports:

"...Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you "healthy as a horse." Nor will it bring about a "healthy state of physical or mental being". Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it's composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater's absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers."

Seriously??

Bloom, a grocery store in the Food Lion family, unveiled one of the nation's first scented billboards last week in Mooresville, North Carolina. The sign emits the "scent of freshly grilled steak" most strongly in the morning between 7am and 10am and in the evenings from 4pm to 7pm. Watch the local news report here.

While we're on the topic...

How poorly thought out was this ad campaign?

Wowzers.

Santa Clara bans toys in Happy Meals

When I was little, the Happy Meal toy was a magnificant, sought-after prize received on a special occasion in a folding box with some food my mom told me I had to eat before I could play with it. I can still remember my favorites: Fraggle Rock Friends, Transformer Chicken McNuggets Box, and those Garden Tools. Of course at that time a trip to McDonalds was treated as, well, a special treat. The McDonald's in our 'hood actually bordered a farm so we also got some farm animal visiting time. Today, it's hard to find a town in America without a bumper-to-bumper drive-thru line and dedicated traffic lights for fast food restaurants. In fact, you can't go more than 107 miles without finding one. But come on, Santa Clara. Beanie Baby craze aside, is it really because of the toys?

Could it possibly be because of... say... the super-low prices? artificial flavor induced cravings? convenience? Is eliminating the toy the solution or simply treatment for one symptom? The LA Times reports:

"...Happy Meal toys and other promotions that come with high-calorie children's meals will soon be banned in parts of Santa Clara County unless the restaurants meet nutritional guidelines approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors. "This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children's' love of toys" to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. "This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes. "Voting against the measure was Supervisor Donald Gage, who said parents should be responsible for their children. "If you can't control a 3-year-old child for a toy, God save you when they get to be teenagers," he said. Gage, who is overweight, said he was a living example of how obese children can become obese adults. But he questioned the role of fast-food toys. "When I was growing up in Gilroy 65 years ago, there were no fast-food restaurants," Gage said.The board, whose jurisdiction extends only to the unincorporated parts of the county, including much of Silicon Valley, voted 3 to 2 in favor of the ban after a contentious meeting that included more than an hour of testimony on both sides. In favor of the item were public health administrators, parents and doctors; opposed were fast-food franchisees, other parents, and fans of fast-food toys who said the promotions are often used to provide Christmas presents for poor children..."

I'm all in favor of food reform but would rather see an emphasis on the real roots of the problem and on a solution as opposed to South Park-style bans. Thoughts?

(Thnx x3, Neeks)

Are you kidding me, Kleenex?

"People in the U.S. dry their hands on cloth bathroom towels approximately 200 billion times a year. The CDC guidelines for hand washing recommends hand drying with a single-use towel. Families have not had a practical alternative to traditional cloth hand towels in their home bathrooms… until now. Kleenex® Hand Towels are an innovative solution that delivers one clean, fresh, dry towel every time you wash your hands."

"Your hands are only as clean as the towel you dry them with."

Way to prey on the germaphobes. And people who have never heard of paper towels.

Really??

Do a lot of people eat moose? For some reason when I think of "wild game" I always imagine deer or duck or something... not that I love the thought of any of "God's creatures right next to mashed potatoes" but what can I say - hunting is natural, local and sustainable.

Billboard still gets a thumbs down from me though.

Clever Pete

JustSaying just discovered the fantastic blog from which this photo - displaying the greatest name for a pizza joint ever - was posted. Find it here. Thanks to Scott Lamb at Buzzfeed. A.Mazing.

Slow Motion Doggie Goodness

My bro-in-law sent me this awesomeness this morning. Love it.



(thnx Troy)

Chicken for breakfast every day but Sunday

Apparently this isn't a "new" thing - fried chicken for breakfast that is. Does anyone else find it odd? I know other meats make regular appearances at breakfast and of course eggs but... something about this made my stomach turn.

Frighteningly on point

Unfortunately, frog friend, you're not alone...

7UP Nutrtition???

Really?? Marketing like this should be illegal.