THE SADDEST HOLIDAY MEAL EVER:
This would also be the best white elephant gift ever. So, there’s that.
ZZZZZZZ’s: You should know by now how important a good night’s sleep is but in case you aren’t convinced, this. And if there’s one thing I’ve come to learn, some of you are going to disagree. Take it up with my trainer.
THIS IS GOING TO KILL THE FROZEN PEA BUSINESS: Good news fellas! Now if it only prevented STD’s we’d be set.
YOUR’E WELCOME! Unless this means nothing to you. Then, bah humbug to you. Which reminds me…
BECAUSE FOR SOME PEOPLE THERE IS NO HOLLY JOLLY:
UNITED STATES OF AGGRESSION: We are mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. And in case that doesn’t ring your bells, this.
THE JOKES JUST WRITE THEMSELVES: I laughed out loud. I realize some might have an issue with this.
GOING NUCLEAR…in the war on AIDS.
UH, WISCONSIN? What. The. Hamburgers? Gracious.
THE HAPPIEST HOLIDAY MEAL EVER:
LANDS’ END’S END? At least with Sears, it would appear.
SURPRISED? Not even.
TO BE HONEST…after the great Coca Cola Dossier controversy of last week, I hesitate to drop this on y’all but apparently I am a sucker for punishment. So, uh, yeah.
FOOD CHAIN IN ACTION
Thanks to Dappered’s official bartender Michael Bowers for this crazy scene from Yellowstone National Park. Michael also reminded me of this. Try not to be blown away by all of the awesomeness going on there.
SPEAKING OF THE FOOD CHAIN: We might not be as high up as you thought.
TRANSLATION OF THE WEEK: The iniquitous darkness pervades my black soul.
SURVIVAL INSTINCT: This guy right here. Wow. Just wow.
SHUDDERS:
THE PEE PEE CONTINUUM: How dark is too dark or how light is too light? A handy guide to your pee and your health.
SNOW WAY: This entire industry is in danger of becoming irrelevant to a majority of the population in the not so distant future.
IT’S ALL FUN & GAMES…until someone loses their $#%@. Football makes us a little bit crazy.
INCOMING:
Need something else to read?
- The weather outside is frightful. So if you missed this…
- HO HO HO! Make like the fat guy in the red suit this Christmas Eve!
- Because I can never remember and because so many guys get this wrong, this.
Tim Johnstone is Dappered’s music correspondent as well as our resident gatherer of all things interwebs related.
I’m not sure why anyone would be surprised by the fact that subway food isn’t fresh….
Totally agree, but the problem of dietary misinformation and food deserts and just a general lack of Big Food responsibility is so pervasive that people, especially low-income but well-meaning people, are vulnerable because their options are so limited. If you only have $5 for lunch and want to “eat fresh” because you know that traditional fast food is bad for you, you would totally believe do to their hugely successful marketing that Subway is a better option than McDonald’s. The truth is they’re both crap that kills you slowly. It’s one of the biggest urban problems out there today. Makes me crazy.
Every time I see Subway I’m reminded of the fake slogans that went around a while back – “Subway – eat a tube of food”
http://also.kottke.org/misc/images/hanawalt-subway.jpg
After reading the food chain article, my only conclusion is we need to eat more orcas.
“Read the entire study at PNAS” Really?
either that, or people are another source of delicious bacon.
I don’t think anyone that truly cares about the quality of their dietary intake is eating at Subway often, if ever. That article would be the same as saying “I went to McDonald’s and was appalled that they fry things in oil, and I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t processed.”
Sure, in the grand scheme of things it may be a bit healthier than McDonalds, but that is like saying a rattlesnake is not as deadly as a cobra…
“The countries with the highest trophic levels in the world include
Mongolia, Mauritania, Iceland and the Scandinavian nations, all of which
have traditional diets based on meat, fish, or dairy, and few
vegetables.” – that food chain article
um… how is the United States not on that list with that criteria? we don’t even know what a vegetable is over here. EAT FRESH!!
“Freshly made” clearly does not mean fresh, just not soggy, really.
The article has an awful lot of fear mongering over “chemicals” (e.g. nitrates, bacon anyone?) which is what I imagine caused the dust up over Coke, but I think we can all agree with the upshot – Subway isn’t fresh. It’s probably not good for you. And it’s saddening that they’ve been so successful branding themselves as both fresh and healthy.
You’re right, but I think it’s more accurate to say “anyone who truly cares about the quality of their dietary intake AND CAN AFFORD TO MAKE BETTER CHOICES.” That second clause is key. Of course, whole food costs more than crap, but should it? And why does it? Too often the crap is subsidized (i.e. corn all up in everything), which keeps prices down. And then this crappy subsidized food is marketed as being above all else low cost. So if you’re a worker earning the abysmal minimum wage, or even slightly higher in many areas, the low cost food is often the best you can do, even if you want to do better. What makes Subway (and other chains as well) so much worse is that they also market themselves as being healthy, which disproportionately targets those people who want to eat healthy but can’t afford traditionally whole foods. Essentially, if you’re working poor, even if you want to make smart choices, you can’t afford to do so because there are no smart choices available to you.
I’ll now step down from my soapbox.
I have to disagree on your main point here and in your other post. I truly care about the quality of my life and eat lunch every day for less than the $5 you suggested that limits low income earner to a fast food diet. I don’t financially “need” to spend $5 on lunch due to income, I choose to because I bring my own food so that I can eat healthy. Some days I’m probably well under $5, some days probably a bit over.
Chicken breast is $2 a pound, I won’t even get into what other cuts of meat cost because I don’t want to have the whole bogus red meat is unhealthy debate here. Even if you eat a ridiculously high amount of protein every day like I do, you don’t need more than $2 for your protein in your lunch. Add some rice, salad, veggies, fruit…whatever you want and you are still under $5. If $5 is too much, a can of tuna to make a tuna sandwich is quite a bit less and still leaves money for fruit and/or veggies. I’ve never worked anywhere that did not have a refrigerator or a square foot of space to store a lunch cooler. Buying lunch out is always a choice, and making a bad choice is not about finances as much as it is about being lazy. People need to educate themselves (which can also be done for free) rather than always look to blame others for the poor choices they make in life. The truth is it is much cheaper and healthier to cook your own food each day, but it takes time and commitment. People need to educate themselves (which can also be done for free) rather than always look to blame others for the poor choices they make in life.
Those countries still eat a traditional diet, just like it says. The article explains that eating higher up the food chain results in a higher trophic score. Scandanavian countries eat predator fish, we eat farm raised trout. They eat whatever vegetables, fruits, and roots they have access to. We eat bread, pasta, processed grains, and the like. If we ate what was available to us from the natural world, such as these countries do, and not what was easy to produce and store for long periods of time we would have a much higher score.
I don’t disagree with the point you make, but I think it ignores the reality of life for many people in low income communities. Now, to be sure, some of those realities are of their own making, but others are totally systemic. And I don’t think acknowledging systemic problems and the difficulties that arise as a result constitutes blaming any one player in the system for the problems of others. It’s how we get progress.
Regardless, food deserts are real. There are areas where getting to the nearest grocery store involves either a car you can’t afford or a bus trip with several transfers that takes more time than you reasonably have after working all day and then having to get home to feed a family. In those same areas, corner stores selling processed foods line the streets, as do fast food chains, all of which claim to offer healthy food at a reasonable cost. As you say, healthy eating takes time and commitment. But not everyone has the time, and if they lack commitment, it’s simply not entirely their fault. It’s easier to have time and commitment when you aren’t worrying about living paycheck to paycheck, when you aren’t worrying about your child’s terrible school or the violence that exists on the corner at the end of your street. This is a real problem, one indicated by the overwhelming statistical evidence pointing to obesity rates and income being tied. Unlike in times of old, in today’s America, the poorer you are, the fatter you are. Healthy living has become another benefit of financial stability.
Again, it’s not about blame. And you’re totally right. But all of the things you mention are easier on some communities than they are on others. And when it comes to issues of public health, I believe it should be equally easy (or hard) for everyone. Everyone should have ready access to healthy food, and the simple fact is they don’t, and it takes more than personal responsibility to make sure they do. It takes personal responsibility AND cooperation on the part of the food suppliers. A person shouldn’t have an easier time being healthy because he lives or grew up in the suburbs and was trained all his life to know better. And a company shouldn’t sell poison and call it candy just because it can.
Fair points.
I can admit I have never wanted for access to good food or education so I can’t 100% relate to those who live a life without access to fresh food. I do, on the other hand, work in a field and location where I have direct contact with some of the poorest and unhealthiest people in the country. Unfortunately many of the people in these communities have opportunities to improve, but chose not to. This is close to DC, where jobs are plentiful, so my bias is from years of experience with people who could work, eat better, take care of themselves etc., but instead make a conscious decision not to simply because it is easier. I know there are plenty of places where people are completely cut off from opportunity, and I can agree that for those people they may be left without choice in some situations.
Umm… that Focus video was CRAZY!!!
Did we just have a political yet still civil discussion in a website’s comments thread wherein we disagree but still respectfully acknowledged one another’s points of view and never resorted to played out cliches and put-downs? This is a rare thing.
Once again, the Dappered community proves itself to be above many others.
You both just broke the internet.