Should the FDA stand for Fraudulant Devilish Acts?

Sometimes when I hear myself talking to clients or am prepping for a workshop, I feel like a hybrid of Debbie Downer and a conspiracy theorist. You see, we are all actresses in a really bad science fiction thriller called SAD (the Standard American Diet). More and more, people are realizing how scary processed food is but when you first start to uncover the truth, it can be terrifying and paralyzing.

See Exhibit A here

The news about mercury in high-fructose corn syrup is familiar to me. But for how long the FDA knew about this and did nothing shocks my humanitarian soul. With a solid background in food politics, I should know by now what you can get away with when you are well-connected.

Food companies and the industrial agriculture system get away with more than murder. They also get paid quite nicely for inhumane animal treatment, polluting our environment, weakening international economies and being the main driver in the average American’s decreasing quantity and quality of life.

But I hate focusing on the negative. It gets you no where. So I’m going to focus on what I can control: buying local and organic, writing to my legislators and calling food companies about my displeasure with them (yes, I’ve done it before and will do it again.) And of course, continue educating my clients and workshop participants on how to be smart and savvy foodies.

Now this is where I start to sound like a Public Service Announcement (and not one sponsored by the USDA or the FDA): You can change the ending to this movie. We have control over our health. When we make healthy food, exercise and stress management choices, we don’t have to go down with the ship (and even if it’s sinking, you’ll have the stamina and strength to swim to shore).

What break-out role can you have to give your part, and those you care about in this movie a happy ending? If your not sure where to start, I strongly suggest reading anything by Micheal Pollan. Omnivore’s Dilemma or In Defense of Food are awesome books. He’s also a contributor to the New York Times. Or pick one food in your pantry. Take the ingredient list and find out what your eating. I’d love to hear about your discoveries.

So for all of those who love happy endings, it’s show time!