Food for thought 2

Food For Thought
"The food industry is making us sick", said CNN's Rudy Ruiz (Toronto Star 11/Oct/09). Costs of Obesity are estimated at $147 billion, diabetes $114 billion in the US. John Hopkins US researchers estimate in another 6 years, three quarters of Americans will be overweight or obese and already
26% of children entering kindergarten are overweight. Similar statistics could apply to several "developed countries, of course. How does this come about?

When US farmers were coping with chronic corn gluts in the 1960s and 70s, Earl Butz, agricultural secretary in the Nixon administration, unveiled a program of subsidies for farmers, school lunches, and alterations in food processing allowing corn to become a mainstay of the American diet. Canada followed suit. This ushered in the era of cheap, bad, fast food. Now the call to put this right is facing a tough challenge from farm-state politicians and fast food lobbyists.

Again, it's not what's right that counts, but what makes the most money for the owning class. John Ayers