Don't Blame the Government for America's Obesity

Peter Jennings presented a report on Monday, December 8th regarding obesity in America. The show looked at the roles our government and agriculture play in our eating habits, as well as advertising (especially directed at children). The report blames the government for subsidizing corn to be fed to farm animals, as opposed to helping farmers produce more vegetables and fruit for human consumption. They also pointed out that advertising for "junk food" specifically designed to reach children is unethical.It's good that Mr. Jennings pointed out the link between corn-fed animals and the misuse of antibiotics because many people don't understand this.

Basically, he stated that farm animals must be fed antibiotics because a corn-based diet is not what their bodies are designed for. And if you think about what cows eat when left out to graze, he's right. They eat greens, not corn. Other agricultural "cost-saving" practices also contribute to illness in animals. Although not mentioned on the show, overcrowding and confinement are major problems on large farms.

When humans consume meat from animals whose food was laced with antibiotics, the humans often develop immunity to those drugs. This means that when people get sick, the drugs prescribed by the doctor might not work. So the duration and severity of your illness could be much worse as your doctor searches for a medication that will kill the disease. Obviously, depending on the severity of your condition, this could even result in death.Peter Jennings went on to point out that feeding animals what they were meant to eat raises the cost of meat. He sees this as a positive thing, because maybe then people will eat less meat and more produce (and presumably lose weight).

However, we must be careful about how the produce is raised as well. A recent article in a national magazine discussed a study comparing the nutrient content of vegetables and fruits raised with pesticides using traditional "mass production" farming techniques to organically produced counterparts. The mass produced foods were found to contain significantly less vitamins and minerals than organically raised produce. But organic produce is more expensive. So if we raise our fruits and veggies organically, and the cost goes up, will people really eat more produce and less meat?Paying farmers to produce more fruits and vegetables is not going to change American eating habits, because our eating habits are not constrained by the food supply.

Our markets are not short on produce at all-it is quite abundant. The grocery stores are not going to allocate more space to the produce department just because the government subsidizes fruits and vegetables and makes them cheaper. Cheaper produce won't necessarily cause an increase in demand. Supply and demand rules: consumers must start buying more fruits and vegetables before the markets will expand the department. So what really needs to happen to stop the obesity epidemic in America? People need to change their eating habits!The best reason to stop obesity is to improve health.

And this has a bottom line as well. If people complain about the higher cost of eating healthy, they should really be looking at the long-term cost of being in ill health as they age. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all very costly and all (though only some forms of cancer) are related to obesity. Blaming the government and farmers for raising the wrong foods, or raising animals the wrong way, doesn't solve the problem. People must start eating differently, and buying organic meats and produce, to save their health.

The market will figure out how to respond!Advertising junk food to kids is immoral. However, adults who eat properly set the right example and tend to have kids who eat healthy. As the TV segment pointed out, much of this advertising is aimed at children around 6 years of age. They don't do their own food shopping! They might ask their parents for sugary cereals and fast food, but the parents still have the ultimate control over what comes into the house. They can also exert at least some control over what kids eat at school and at friend's homes.

Set a good example and teach children why healthy eating is important. They'll get the message. Overweight children are not getting that way on too much fruit! The wrong types of food are available to them, and that food is mostly provided by parents. It is NOT a coincidence! The "do as I say, not as I do" approach to parenting simply doesn't work. You must be a positive role model.If farmers refused to raise fruits and vegetables at all, or if grocery stores refused to stock them, maybe we could shift the blame for obesity to the government and the agricultural system.

But there is no shortage of healthy food in America! It is all a matter of PERSONAL CHOICE.When Americans wake up and get concerned about their health, and stop trying to fix everything with yet another pill to pop every day, the obesity epidemic will be but a memory. Until then, if you want to know why America is fat, look at how we spend our food dollars. We vote with our money. Look at the choices we make every day!.



Network Marketing Training -- Arm Your New Distributors for Success

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them."

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene i (58-90)


Hamlet may not have been talking about network marketing, but his words do apply. Almost every network marketer has experienced the "slings and arrows" of the naysayers, those often well-meaning friends and relatives that stand in the way of our making an "outrageous fortune!" Experienced network marketers, clothed in the armor of past success, are less vulnerable to outside influences. The new distributor, however, is vulnerable, and that "sea of troubles" can act as a barrier to reaching their true potential.

What did the knights of old do to prevent an injury? That's right ? they armed themselves. Their armor was heavy and cumbersome, and they needed a squire to help them prepare for battle. Well,...

Network Marketing Training -- Arm Your New Distributors for Success
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Understanding Wine Grapes

You will find that one of the easiest ways to get to know your way around wine flavors is through grape varieties. Each grape variety has specific characteristics. In some regions, one grape variety is used to make a wine; in others, winemakers blend several varieties in a single wine. To help you identify grape varieties, below is an overview of each of the major red grapes and their characteristics.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is the big daddy of the red wine world. It is like the Chardonnay, as it is widely planted and distributed.

The result of this is that there are so many versions of this grape. Many people think of Cabernet Sauvignon as being a wine that needs to age, but that is only because the best red Bordeaux need age. Most non-premium varieties are ready to go right away.Under ideal conditions, it produces an aromatic, tannic...

Understanding Wine Grapes
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How You Can Support Your Immune System

Media coverage of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has incited fear among the American public, emptied Chinatowns all over North America and stopped much of the travel between the U.S., Toronto, Canada, China, Taiwan and southeast Asia. While SARS is an urgent concern for the World Health Organization, a larger worry on the horizon for the world health agency is the flu?the long awaited influenza pandemic.The flu pandemic has historically occurred at 25-30 year intervals and its destruction has been cataclysmic. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, for example, killed more than 40 million people worldwide (670,000 Americans alone). The most recent flu pandemic struck 35 years ago and killed more than 4 million people. SARS, by comparison, has caused less than one thousand deaths and is much less infectious.

Dr. Klaus Stohr, the head of the influenza program at the World Health Organization who is also leading the agency's fight against SARS said in a Wall Street Journal interview,...

How You Can Support Your Immune System
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Network Marketing Training -- Arm Your New Distributors for Success

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them."

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene i (58-90)


Hamlet may not have been talking about network marketing, but his words do apply. Almost every network marketer has experienced the "slings and arrows" of the naysayers, those often well-meaning friends and relatives that stand in the way of our making an "outrageous fortune!" Experienced network marketers, clothed in the armor of past success, are less vulnerable to outside influences. The new distributor, however, is vulnerable, and that "sea of troubles" can act as a barrier to reaching their true potential.

What did the knights of old do to prevent an injury? That's right ? they armed themselves. Their armor was heavy and cumbersome, and they needed a squire to help them prepare for battle. Well,...

Network Marketing Training -- Arm Your New Distributors for Success
Fruit baskets > Network Marketing Training -- Arm Your New Distributors for Success

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Kristin Volk Funk, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, To Speak on Quitting Smoking and Weight Loss at Healthy Life Expo

(ContentDesk) January 18, 2006 -- Kristin Volk Funk, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, with New Health Visions (www.newhealthvisions.com) will speak on How to Quit Smoking and Weight Loss using Hypnosis at the Healthy Life Expo 2006.The 3rd Annual Healthy Life Expo will be held Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, 2006 at the Minneapolis Convention Center Ballroom, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Expo features the latest products, services...

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FiFi Award Winner Michael Edwards Debuts New Book: Fragrances of the World 2005

Crescent House Publishing announces a new 2005 edition of "Fragrances of the World" from author Michael Edwards, who won a FiFi Award earlier this year from The Fragrance Foundation in New York for the online version, Fragrances of the World.Info. Crescent House Publishing is the North American distributor for the book, which is found on its site, http://www.fabulousfragrances.com, as well as on Don't Blame the Government for America's Obesity FiFi Award Winner Michael Edwards Debuts New Book: Fragrances of the World 2005 perfume Fruit baskets Don't Blame the Government for America's Obesity FiFi Award Winner Michael Edwards Debuts New Book: Fragrances of the World 2005 perfume Fruit baskets
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