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The Mad Science Behind Junk Food
Health | May 15, 2015
I came across this recent article in the New York Times and it is just insane. Almost twenty years ago a bunch of CEO’s from various processed foods giants such as General Mills got together to discuss the rising obesity epidemic. Their main concerns were less about producing healthier, less processed foods, but about how to avoid being penalized and suffering the way the tobacco industry recently had with all the heavy fines and taxation they received. Long story short, the meeting went nowhere.
What has happened over many decades are many, many different methods developed by scientists and marketing professionals to make crappy junk food more appealing and irresistible to children and adults alike. In fact, industry insiders talk about finding the ‘bliss point’ – meaning how to make people constantly crave a food product.
Much of these strange marketing tactics that seem straight out of a scifi movie are the works of a man named Howard Moskowitz. Not surprisingly, Moskowitz not only studied Mathematics at Harvard he also has a Ph.D in Experimental Psychology from that historic university. Scary stuff. And yes he might also be related to Dr. Frankenstein :).
While people like Moskowitz analyze a ton of data to get the results they’re after one obvious, gross fact about much of their work is that it involves a lot of sugar. Moskowitz is best known for making Prego spaghetti sauce wildly popular. Guess what the largest ingredient is after tomatoes? Sugar!
I think what is most frightening about the food industry is that they honestly don’t care. If they can sell crap and make money they will do it. Moskowitz is even quoted in the article as saying, “There’s no moral issue for me. I did the best science I could. I was struggling to survive and didn’t have the luxury of being a moral creature.”
This is all the more reason for us to educate ourselves to combat this insanity. The food industry is often like a drug dealer with its fake foods. They prey on the poor, the uneducated and the young. It’s really sad, but hey we’re fighting back!
Private Member |
germany
Hey Zuzka, you are so right. I was often thinking about it in the past and it make me sick that they are so ignorant. It´s again all about the money. Really sad!!!
Private Member |
I’m glad you wrote this article Zuzka, it’s incredibly important that people are made aware of how unhealthy these foods actually are and that fat isn’t the trap, it’s sugar.
Not to mention that it is rather jarring how callous most of these large food companies are – if you can indeed call it food in good conscience.
I understand that a company needs to make money, but there has to be a line.
Private Member |
lodz, poland
Sorry for off-topic guys, but I can’t see today’s JRC workout 🙁 Can you?
I’m already in my workout clothes and just can’t wait. 🙂
XOXO,
Magda
Private Member |
Guess she forgot to upload it last night. It’s around 3 am there right now so we’ll have to wait at least 4 or 5 more hours.
I was lacking motivation today and now that the workout is not there I think I’ll switch the Sunday and Saturday 🙂
Private Member |
la valette-du-var, france
You SO CUTE :3
Private Member |
lodz, poland
and you’re even cuter! 🙂
I just love you girl :*
Muahhhh 🙂
Private Member |
la valette-du-var, france
Ooh my heart is melting once again ! I love you too lovely Magda, you’re such a sweetheart <3 lots of warm hugs to you 🙂
Private Member |
ky, usa
They must know what they are doing too because I used to have a bowl of cereal before bed, and before I knew it, I was hooked!! I had to have a bowl every single night even if I wasn’t hungry. Now I’ve been doing pretty good avoiding it because I have really been trying Zuzka’s diet approach, but I still crave something sweet every night.
Any ideas what can satisfy these cravings without falling off the wagon?
Private Member |
québec, canada
You’re right, they just don’t care. That’s so sad. Fortunately, there are minds like you here, that helps people into reconsidiring their habits. 🙂
Private Member |
michigan, usa
The book “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” by Michael Moss is a great book that talks about this whole meeting undercover and how the “low fat” and high amounts of hidden sugars and food scientists corrupted America’s diet. Very interesting read!
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Moss’ book is really great and worth a read! I’ve heard him talk awhile back and that was also worth the time.
Private Member |
I made cupcakes today. It was rainy and drizzly and i was craving something sweet. I usually dont keep junk food in the house so i went all out and made cupcakes. I froze half so we wouldnt wind up eating allof them in two days!
Private Member |
Oh yes, now i am doing the workout for today!
Private Member |
Coca-Cola industry)))
Private Member |
Great post, Zuzka. Sadly, I started realizing all of this stuff about the food industry twelve years ago when I was still in my mid-teens. I suddenly couldn’t stop overeating and found myself craving certain foods uncontrollably. I felt ravenous for refined high-sugar and high-salt foods, but I was never satisfied–I only wanted more!! That was the only time in my life I started to get overweight. I finally realized that the main ingredient that was driving my body bonkers was high fructose corn syrup. It was sooooo hard to get rid of that from my diet at that age because almost everything my parents bought had it in it. But once I pinpointed that ingredient, I erased it from my diet and got over the addiction. My cravings went back under control and I got back to my normal size again.
I’ve seen other people struggling with the same kinds of uncontrollable binge-eating, but they never believe me when I try to tell them about this kind of thing. I’m sure they’d listen to you though! High fructose corn syrup is definitely not the only addictive offender out there. The worst part is even though I know certain foods are addictive, I still really struggle with sugar, refined flours, and too much sodium… Ugh…But when I try to replace them with more vegetables, I start feeling really weak… I don’t get it. It’s really frustrating…But I swear one day I’ll get the diet thing right!!