Sunday Focus: Eating

     My brother sent me a slideshow listing the supposed worst frozen dinners you can eat, and I thought for a moment I had stumbled on my own shopping list for the week. Marie's Chicken Pot Pies? Really? (OK, it is the one with the cheese and bacon added, but still...)
     Most of us try to eat healthier foods, some with more resolve than others. Not too long ago we selected a new version of Cheerios with the word "Protein" in big letter on the

box. Heck, we all want a good dose of protein in our diets, no? Then I read a Washington Post story that points out the extra protein is minimal, but the added sugar is significant. Busted, General Mills. 
     The New York Times reported there is a major shift underway in what Americans want in their food, and how the major food companies are reacting: 

Per capita soda sales are down 25 percent since 1998, mostly replaced by water. Orange juice, a drink once seen as an important part of a healthy breakfast, has seen per capita consumption drop 45 percent in the same period. It is now more correctly considered a serious carrier of free sugar, stripped of its natural fibers. Sales of packaged cereals, also heavily sugar-laden, are down over 25 percent since 2000, with yogurt and granola taking their place. Frozen dinner sales are down nearly 12 percent from 2007 to 2013. Sales per outlet at McDonald’s have been on a downward spiral for nearly three years, with no end in sight.

HERE's the Times full story. A good read.

You might also want to read this page on the FDA website. America's biggest food safety agency wants to know how the word "natural" should be defined. 

Their website announcement: "Specifically, the FDA asks for information and public comment on questions such as:

• Whether it is appropriate to define the term “natural,”
• If so, how the agency should define “natural,” and
• How the agency should determine appropriate use of the term on food labels.

The FDA is accepting public comments from November 12, 2015 through February 10, 2016."

     At the email urging of my retired siblings, I recently abandoned my usual peanut butter and moved to "natural" products. They tasted a bit like mulched-up cardboard. I moved back in the other direction a step and found one "natural" peanut butter that included only one non-peanut ingredient. Palm oil.
     I looked for it on a massive FDA list called EAFUS. It stands for Everything Added to Food in the US.
     No palm oil, though I suspect it is there and called something else. Sigh.

And all of this just in time for Thanksgiving.







[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.timlennox.com]