We Are What We Eat
My passion for food is no secret, but it goes beyond simply enjoying a meal. Since arriving in Belgium I’ve changing my entire outlook on food. I know I blather on about sustainability in food, eating local and avoiding the processed stuff and I hope it doesn’t all sound too preachy. The thing is, I’m angry.
I’ve been reading more and more about the industrial food system in place in the world today and its effect on our bodies and health. Currently I’m in the middle of The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
The most frightening statistic I read the other day is 1 in 3 children born after 2000 in America will have type 2 diabetes… 1 in 2 if they are from a minority group. How can we sit back and let this happen?
This morning I was curious to find out how bad the situation is in Canada and Belgium vs. the United States. After a bit of digging, I found some statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), taken in 2004.
The following stats are based on the Body Mass index or BMI, which is a person’s weight in kg divided by height squared (m²). According to the WHO “Analysis of the relationship between BMI and mortality and morbidity suggests that the theoretical optimum mean population BMI is around 21 kg/ m².”
Percentage of people who have a Body Mass Index greater than 30 kg/m², making them obese:
- The United States – 32.2 %
- Canada – 23.1 %
- Belgium – 12.7 %
That’s a pretty vast difference and I’m curious about all the factors that may cause those particular numbers. My gut tells me it has to do with the amount of processed foods that are consumed in each country (although I am sure there are many other factors as well).
The truth is, it takes work not to eat processed food.
- It takes work to find local producers.
- It takes work to educate ourselves about what we are eating and what those labels really mean.
- It takes work to figure out the food-miles involved in our meal.
- It takes work to cook a meal from scratch.
Although, it’s not as much work as you would think. The best thing is – if we do the work now, maybe the next generation won’t have to.
Before you throw up your hands and say it’s too much work, I would highly recommend watching one or both of the following films.
Food Inc
King Corn
I would also highly recommend these books: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
It’s never too late to start eating real food again.
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OK, so next on your list to watch should be We Feed the World, then you’ll be really angry!
“My gut tells me it has to do with the amount of processed foods that are consumed in each country”.
On that point you made, I can’t remember if it was in one of Pollan’s books or one of the movies you mention, but they talk about the difference in cultures where if you put a bowl of food in front of someone they’ll keep eating until all the food is gone. Put more food in front of them and they’ll keep eating.
That was contrasted with cultures where food is seen as more of an experience, something to be savoured and enjoyed, rather than a task or a challenge to be overcome and measured by volume.
Pollan mentioned that in Omnivore’s Dilemma but I’ve seen it done somewhere else with a ‘never-ending’ bowl of soup that people kept eating.
I think you’re right that culture has a lot to do with our eating habits as well. In America the attitude is often quantity over quality. Restaurant eating is all about how fast you can turn over a table for the next customer.
Have you watched Super-size Me? Speaking of disturbing…
.-= Alison´s last blog ..We Are What We Eat =-.
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Corn… That’s why the US is #1 on that ranking.. You fatten your livestock with it, so why not fatten people with it too!
It is very sad. Serving sizes are smaller in Europe, there are less fast food restaurants in Europe, and so many people actually buy their fruits and veggies at a local market. In the US and Canada, you cannot find fruits and veggies to eat like that…
Take a local Safeway for example… They barely have any edible fruits and veggies around..
Eat rice!
It is sad, but it’s a big eye opener…
.-= expatraveler´s last blog ..An Undesirable Visitor =-.
It is an eye opener. Too bad that most of us need to see films like this before we even stop to think about the impact of what we are eating.
Hi there!
I came across your blog as I’m also an expat in Belgium but I work & live in Antwerp! I lovee food!
I come from Singapore and food culture’s really strong back home. I’m hoping to see if there’s any food club/gourmet club/food bloggers club in Belgium or Europe that organizes food events which perhaps you know, and I will like to join!
By the way I think that processed food is really unhealthy and honestly I would prefer if food are freshly prepared – doesn’t have to be organic or anything, but just that ingredients have to be fresh!
cheers,
Floh
Hi Floh,
Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a coment. I sent you a personal email. Please let me know if you don’t get it. Cheers!
I’m glad to see that you’re angry about how we deal with food. I’m right there with you. I just started reading “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer (I saw him at a book reading recently, too) and have learned so much I’ve decided to make some drastic lifestyle changes.
Thanks for the book and movie recommendations! Added to my lists
.-= Adam´s last blog ..How to be Semi-Successful at Your Job =-.
Hi Adam, Thanks so much for your comment. I think the most important weapon in the battle against factory food is education and information. I hope you enjoy the books!
This has been on my mind lately too – I did an interview for Flanders Today with Peter Scholliers, who wrote “Food Culture in Belgium”. It’s an academic take on food here but it’s fascinating and so was he (http://www.flanderstoday.eu/content/trusting-hands-feed-you).
If you find any particularly locally-based and/or eco-conscious restaurants in Brussels, do let me know. I’d love to write them up for my blog!
Hi Sharon! I’m definitely going to have to check out that book because I was hard pressed to find info on the state of food and farming here in Europe. I also just noticed that I don’t have your blog in my blogroll although it’s been in my rss for ages. I will fix that right now!
[...] we’ve been trying to eat healthier and more locally, I had been researching places to buy local produce in Brussels. It seemed like a veg box delivery [...]