the state of the food industry in america is so dismal

[trent bortknob]

this is just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of the big food companies refusing to be regulated by anyone but themselves, leading to bunch of horrible shit.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/cereal-cookies-oh-whats-the-diff/?hp

[rtil]

i love how their excuse for refusing to follow health standards and regulations is that it would be a job killer. i hope that buzz phrase wears off on americans quickly, because it's a pile of crap.

one of the top commenters made a great point that this kind of food is all that is available to lower middle class and children in poverty, because it is cheap and subsidized by the government. and with more and more american families falling below the poverty line, it's a sad notion that if we keep heading in this direction we're bound to become a nation of overweight sloths with a significantly decreased life expectancy, as well as soaring healthcare costs trying to keep our diabetes infested, bed ridden population alive.

[trent bortknob]

i know, and it doesn't have to be this way. if people spent their money on better food, then that's what companies would make. everyone seems to realize that pretty much 99% of businesses care WAY more about their profit than what they're producing. these companies would make 100% organic food if that is what was profitable, but at the moment it's considered a "niche market" in a sense.

but everyone is associating "buying organic food" with "being a hipster", and eating healthy isn't much better reputation-wise. everyone thinks you're snooty for being health conscious. yeah, obviously there are very few benefits of buying organic oreos or organic soda (even though they taste better), but for buying healthy food, you're being good to yourself and your dollar is supporting something worth supporting. even if you buy from big business.

however, the whole idea of big business making healthy food is questionable. they're so prone to cutting corners, it seems doubtful that they could ever truly make good food.

[rtil]

buying organic and healthy is actually too expensive or even inaccessible for some people. what will really make a difference is in the hands of the government.

first of all, the corn subsidies have to end. most of it is used to make hfcs, because there is no way we would eat all the corn that is being produced in this country. and then what happens to the rest of it? it's turned into ethanol, a ridiculous venture that is disastrous for the economy and the environment.

secondly, the government needs to do everything they can to snuff monstanto and walmart and the damage they do to small farmers. they are destroying ecosystems and putting farming families out of business with their downright evil business practices, and monstanto is literally trying to take over the entire farming world with GMO crops and illegal spreading of their seeds.

and lastly there needs to be a larger focus on healthy eating and a total restructuring of what is considered a normal diet. the obama administration has sort of done this, but not on a very dramatic scale. the 2000 calorie/food pyramid diet is an antiquated and poor model for the american diet. we should not be eating 2000 calories a day and eating tons of grains and dairy.

[trent bortknob]

i agree with everything you said. fuck monsanto.

i think a big problem with the food in america is our perception of it. people over analyze things like the sugar protein, the calories, the nutritional aspects of it. yeah, they're important, but really. i think it's a lot more important that you just eat shit that is actually food, you don't eat ridiculous amounts of food that is obviously not healthy (like dude, ice cream is great, but it's ice cream. limit yourself, it's not something you eat every day), and you actually cook your own food.

i think that's really all it takes, but i guess that's asking too much. oh, if you just walked around sometimes you might not get super fat either.

[psi43]

buying organic and healthy is actually too expensive or even inaccessible for some people. what will really make a difference is in the hands of the government.

This, I couldn't agree more. I've said this several times already, but in Germany for example, even McDonalds is forced to use fresh food every morning (fresh patties, fresh salad, etc, all bought in the morning). McDonalds in Germany, although they don't have to, even buys from local farmers only, supporting them as well. McDonalds surely isn't the only one but it's a prime example of the difference in America and Europe (I'm pretty sure those health standards apply to almost every country here).

[tmk]

and lastly there needs to be a larger focus on healthy eating and a total restructuring of what is considered a normal diet. the obama administration has sort of done this, but not on a very dramatic scale. the 2000 calorie/food pyramid diet is an antiquated and poor model for the american diet. we should not be eating 2000 calories a day and eating tons of grains and dairy.

I remember reading a very bitter article attacking michelle obama's childhood obesity campaign as if it was both an elitist assault on poor, vulnerable fat kids and a form of government interference into our personal lives. I seriously wonder how long the sea change of the public consciousness' opinion on obesity will take

[trent bortknob]

buying organic and healthy is actually too expensive or even inaccessible for some people. what will really make a difference is in the hands of the government.

This, I couldn't agree more. I've said this several times already, but in Germany for example, even McDonalds is forced to use fresh food every morning (fresh patties, fresh salad, etc, all bought in the morning). McDonalds in Germany, although they don't have to, even buys from local farmers only, supporting them as well. McDonalds surely isn't the only one but it's a prime example of the difference in America and Europe (I'm pretty sure those health standards apply to almost every country here).

yeah, you've told me about that before and it's really awesome that that is the case in germany.

it seems so far off and unrealistic for america, but that's WHY the state here is so dismal; what happens with mcdonald's in germany is so normal, it should be expected out of every food chain.

in america, this is far, far off from happening. there are basically no companies that have control over what mcdonald's does except for the FDA. the government has power of mcdonald's but has no will power to regulate anything they do, and would only step in under very, very extreme circumstances. the FDA moderating ANYTHING is a bit of a joke, however. a lot of people who make up the FDA are people who also work for or are somehow to related to large food industries, the same ones that they're supposed to be regulating, like monsanto and tyson.

if there were even the idea the create a policy similar to the one in germany being placed on fast food companies, there are so many obstacles that it would face it seems unlikely that it would ever even reach the first stages of being created, let alone ever being enforced. the government would start to write the bill and food companies would immediately try to lobby against it and say that it would cost them enormous sums of money, that it would "kill jobs". i can even imagine them going as far as saying "the government has no right to try to regulate our private business practices" or saying something like "there is no scientific evidence to suggest that eating healthy or fresh food makes you healthy", then they'd cite some "scientific journal" that was written by a paid off nutritionist.

it somehow passed through all of that, it wouldn't matter because it wouldn't be followed by anyone. not unless the government took it super fucking seriously, but we'd have to have people who were incredibly dedicated to idea and ethical implications of the bill, and also honest people with integrity who would not succumb to bribing or any other form of monetary compensation for being lenient on the bill.

honestly, i think we can only change the food industry if we change everyone's perception. if people have no knowledge of the food industry, then they probably have no negative opinion of it, and no desire to see it change. a lot of people just don't think it's a big issue. that needs to change in order for anything to happen.

a combination of people voting people into public offices that hold similar ideas about how the food industries ought to be run, boycotting companies that serve unhealthy or unnatural food (in general), and perhaps even making laws that prohibit certain activities, making companies like monsanto and tyson either drastically change or just simply go out of business, is how we could really change things.

i understand it's more expensive to buy organic or natural food, but guess what? i do it. and i'm so poor i can't afford shit. i mean i don't get any money from my parents, so i'm supporting myself. i work for minimum wage not even full-time (close to around 30 hours a week), plus i live in the bay area so rent here is really expensive, and i almost never buy inorganic good. i certainly never buy highly processed foods. the closest i get is buying certain brands of ramen noodles, just because they're so cheap and it's convenient, but i don't even buy maruchan anymore just because of how bad for you it is. when i go grocery shopping i usually buy bread, eggs, pastas, rice, beans, a few vegetables and fruits, oatmeal, and one or two snack food/dessert things for every once in a while. i used to buy milk and cereals (not super sugary ones), but while it was really quick and delicious it was really not worth the amount of money it costed me to buy it.

most people in most other countries and cultures outside of the U.S. spend a lot of time and money on food, a whole lot more than we do. people in other culture's spend a much larger amount of their income on food on a regular basis, and families and friends cook and eat as a pass-time, an activity to do together. this is very far off from americans, where though we like to eat together, it's usually "let's go to a restaurant real quick and grab something to eat". when other people go out to restaurants they stay for several hours. the way we seem to view food in general, something that you just *have* to do, almost like a chore, is probably part of our problem with it.

[ZennyPLUS]

The sad state of America:

Fat Bastard Sad

And with more overweight Americans, it means an even great stress upon our already expensive health care system. With a failing education system, it only doubles up upon what we need to do in educating people about how to better themselves. As far as I see, America will only become the nation of the fattest and dumbest people in the world. We sure are fitting that stereotype well these days.

[Sapphire]

The MyPyramid thing has been revised over the past few years. Currently, the USDA uses MyPlate, which I think is just nice.

Anyway, as much as I'd love for these fast food companies to switch to a healthier menu, in the end it is up to the individual to decide whether they want to eat that big mac or if they want to cook their own lean turkey, whole grain burger at home. What people don't understand is that eating healthy does not necessarily mean eating organic. You can't afford those fresh peaches you love so much? Get it canned or frozen then. Just be sure there's no added sugar or syrup in it. Can't afford any lean meats? Get the regular meats and put forth the effort to cut the fat out of it, and eat smaller portions. The key to being healthy is eating in moderation and doing a good amount of physical activity. Seriously.

Too bad most of America doesn't really give a fuck about this. If you try taking away our precious flour, sugar, and fat we'll start crying.

[rtil]

Too bad most of America doesn't really give a fuck about this. If you try taking away our precious flour, sugar, and fat we'll start crying.

no kidding... remember a few weeks ago when people were outraged that coke changed the look of their can for the holidays? it's a fucking aluminum can full of syrupy hfcs soda water, and the outcry was so huge coke actually stopped making them and went back to original red.

[psi43]

Too bad most of America doesn't really give a fuck about this. If you try taking away our precious flour, sugar, and fat we'll start crying.

no kidding... remember a few weeks ago when people were outraged that coke changed the look of their can for the holidays? it's a fucking aluminum can full of syrupy hfcs soda water, and the outcry was so huge coke actually stopped making them and went back to original red.

lmfao is there an online article about that somewhere?

[rtil]

Too bad most of America doesn't really give a fuck about this. If you try taking away our precious flour, sugar, and fat we'll start crying.

no kidding... remember a few weeks ago when people were outraged that coke changed the look of their can for the holidays? it's a fucking aluminum can full of syrupy hfcs soda water, and the outcry was so huge coke actually stopped making them and went back to original red.

lmfao is there an online article about that somewhere?

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-02/news/30469681_1_coca-cola-cans-diet-coke

apparently some of the outrage was caused by diabetic customers who thought it was diet coke. first of all, diabetics shouldn't be drinking diet coke, second of all, they're retarded for not reading labels, and lastly, NO ONE should be drinking diet coke.

[trent bortknob]

btw i am the one who posted that in the peanut gallery

yeah dude, people don't give a shit. i work at a movie theater, and sometimes i work the concession stand. we sell some of the worst shit ever, even worse than most fast food places, and at fucking ridiculous prices. a small soda is $4.50, and they go up in cost and size increments of 50 cents. a small popcorn is $5.75, and it goes up a dollar with size. a pretzel, which comes from a box of several frozen together, already made, is $4.75. a hot dog, precooked and then frozen, is $4.50. we serve 5 pieces of precooked tyson chicken for $7.75. we sell a cheap little thing of tostitos chips and crappy cheese for $7.00.

and we get plenty of people who buy this stuff. it's so fucking ridiculous that for the first few months i was working i didn't even want to get trained to work in the concession stand so i didn't have to deal with the scenario of selling horrible quality food and 5 star restaurant level prices.

people come up to me all the time and say "i want a large diet coke". our large size is fucking HUGE, especially for drinks. i mean i almost want to say "...why?" really, just because the product says "diet" in the title doesn't mean that it's good for you, or even any better for you than it's non-diet counterpart. they're both bad, and plenty of evidence suggests that they're equally bad. and diet coke tastes bad anyway, if you're going to drink something that will kill you, at least get one that tastes better?

i don't even think HFCS sweetened soda tastes good anymore. i got a stomach ache from drinking one a few years ago and haven't had one since. i don't even really drink sugar sweetened soda either, though. it's just a stupid thing to drink. it's sugary water with some light flavoring. it can taste nice, but it's better suited as a dessert than a beverage. it's a treat, not a legitimate drink.

but people come up and they order their large diet cokes (a lot of times with small popcorns! popcorn isn't good for you either, but really? who suggested that ratio was a good idea?) and their "movienachos",  their two hot dogs and their pretzels, they get their candy and their "dibs" ice cream shit, they shell out over $50 for a bunch of shit that will not only be gone in a very short amount of time, but will do nothing at all but hurt you. nothing we serve has any even potential health benefits. it's a joke. and we're supposed to "upsell" and "suggestive sell" too, which makes my job nearly impossible for me.

upselling is when you ask if someone wants to get a larger size instead of the smaller size, saying that it's cheaper by the ounce that way, or something similar. that is true, but it doesn't mean that you need to get something that you're not going to finish, or that you shouldn't be consuming anyway, in larger portions.
suggestive selling is when you suggest something unrelated to the order in some vain attempt to get the consumer to buy more products that they don't want. lots of establishments do this. at the theater, you might order a drink and some popcorn, and i'm supposed to suggest something else. the transaction would go like this. "hi, can i get a large coke and a large popcorn?" "ok" (get the food) "all right, do you want any hot dogs or pretzels to go with that?". the real response that people are probably thinking is "uh, no. i told you what i wanted, why would you think that i would want any of those things?" or, if they've worked in the food business before "oh, they're trying to suggestive sell me something. i want to be polite, i know it's just their job to do this." regardless, they'll usually say "no thanks". the company, however, seems to be under the impression that suggesting these items will somehow make someone say "yeah, i would love to have one of those!".

from what i can tell, all food companies are trying to shove as much food down your throat as possible. that is their goal, because selling more more more makes them get more more more money. no matter what their marketing tells you, there's nothing else to it than that. they don't care that the whole idea of just selling, selling, selling larger and larger amounts of food only makes people get fatter. they only care that it makes them a lot of money (of course, it doesn't make the employees who have to sell all of the food any money at all. the cashiers all get minimum wage, maybe a little more depending on the company, while the people in the corporate office take home bags full of money). this is even true for chipotle, because while i applaud them for using free range pork, they still treat human beings like dollar signs.

[rtil]

people come up to me all the time and say "i want a large diet coke". our large size is fucking HUGE, especially for drinks. i mean i almost want to say "...why?"

hahahaha

this is even true for chipotle, because while i applaud them for using free range pork, they still treat human beings like dollar signs.

ya but chipotle is so fucking good . although i feel bad for the people that work there. i can't imagine a worse job in food service in which the person you are making food for is watching you do it. one time this guy kept literally putting his goddamn arm over the glass and pointing at the thing he wanted on his burrito. i wanted to slap the guy in the fucking face.

[trent bortknob]

people come up to me all the time and say "i want a large diet coke". our large size is fucking HUGE, especially for drinks. i mean i almost want to say "...why?"

hahahaha

this is even true for chipotle, because while i applaud them for using free range pork, they still treat human beings like dollar signs.

ya but chipotle is so fucking good . although i feel bad for the people that work there. i can't imagine a worse job in food service in which the person you are making food for is watching you do it. one time this guy kept literally putting his goddamn arm over the glass and pointing at the thing he wanted on his burrito. i wanted to slap the guy in the fucking face.

i'm not a huge fan of chipotle, but i have to admit i've only been there a few times and never really got anything good. i have heard it's a shitty place to work, though, and not just because of the customers. i've heard they pay you like a dollar or two above minimum wage, and expect you to work really fucking hard for the extra wage. i've had a few people tell me about how shitty the managers are to you. but that guy you're talking about sounds like a real douchebag. i really don't understand people like that, people that apparently have plenty of money, enough money to spend on luxuries for themselves (whether it's fast food, going shopping, or a trip to the movies) and go out for a day of fun and are just fucking pissed the whole time. i've had people buy tickets from me and be like "i need two for such and such movie" in this really hurried voice, and you try to be friendly with them and they just totally reject you. i've had people say to me "just give me the goddamn tickets", because while the tickets were printing out, i was making some slight small talk. and the thing is, their movie didn't even start for like 20 minutes, so it's not even like i can be like "oh well they were in a hurry". they were just assholes.

come on man, you're at the movies. you're treating yourself to some horrible fast food. why are you so angry, and why do you take it out on the cashier?

[Casey Pixmintro]

chipotle is ehh alright

[Sapphire]

^this guy wants to start a fight

[rtil]

come on man, you're at the movies. you're treating yourself to some horrible fast food. why are you so angry, and why do you take it out on the cashier?

for some reason some people just don't treat people in food service like human beings. i just don't get it. everyone has their on and off days, why do you have to treat them like crap? they have a shitty enough job as it is. i've never had a job like that, but i've heard enough stories that i be as nice as i can to waiters, waitresses, cashiers, etc.

[creamcorn]

dismal? well hey, at least theres subway