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Food File Facts, issues, controversies

Childhood

the

ob es i

OBESITY FACT

which e condition in • Obesity is th creased e body have in fat levels in th ous e there are seri to a point wher health risks ed 10 children ag • About one in ese under 10 is ob lds is 11 to 15-year-o • One in four obese t a third in crease of abou in an is is h T • a decade ulation ird of the pop • By 2010 a th of en (Departm t could be obese es) Health estimat 2050 half ates say that by m ti es e m So • ne in ung boys and o yo ’s in ta ri B f o usly will be dangero s rl gi g n u yo five overweight

SIZE

of the matter

he alarming increase in levels of obesity is probably caused by changes in the way we live. Children are much less active than they used to be and we all eat more processed food. People today, especially young people, also eat bigger quantities than they did in the past. The food they eat is more energy dense – that means more calories in each portion – so more exercise is needed to burn it off. High calories and low exercise lead to weight gain. The rising number of obese young people will be a massive strain on our health services as obese children usually become obese adults, who will suffer with all kinds of weight related health problems. The World Heart Federation is an organisation which aims to prevent heart disease. It states that obesity is linked to problems such as trouble in using insulin in the body, high blood pressure and abnormal levels of fat in the blood. When someone has these conditions they often go on to develop problems with their heart and circulation (cardiovascular disease or CVD). Normal weight children very rarely have any of these problems. Obesity is also linked to type 2 diabetes and to stiffening and clogging of the arteries, both of which increase the risks of developing heart disease and suffering a stroke. According to the World Heart Federation, schools no longer protect children from bad diets and do not encourage them to be physically active.

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Dying to be

Thin

With recent media attention focusing on the rise in obesity and size zero celebrities gracing magazine covers, many vulnerable young people are turning to pro-anorexia websites for ‘thin-spiration’ Weight related issues plague our society. Health officials, newspapers, gossip magazines and chat shows all seem obsessed with who is overweight or underweight. Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, mirror this obsession with weight, and are more common now than ever.

Size Zero Photo: Eugenio Savio/AP/PA Photos

On the one hand a great deal of attention is being paid to the size zero debate. Celebrities and models are getting thinner. Compared to the supermodels of the 1990s such as Cindy Crawford, an increasing number of today’s catwalk models are in their mid-teens. This means that many are very skinny due to ordinary teenage lankiness and because they are not fully grown. When designers use such young and thin models to promote clothing that ordinary people aspire to wear, there is pressure on women of different shapes and ages to make their bodies fit an ideal that just isn’t natural for them.

Brazilian supermodel, Ana Carolina Reston, died weighing only 40 kilos

“I’m on the 5th day of my water and apple diet, I feel great but am finding it hard today. Support people, don’t let me break the diet!” “I ate dinner with the family, then went to the bathroom to purge, as soon as I started someone knocked on the door, now I feel fat and awful, why can’t people leave me to starve myself” Quotes from pro-ana websites

Obesity

In the media there is concern about rising obesity levels yet most TV channels and magazines are bombarding us with junk food advertisements. Even stars such as Lily Allen, who have long criticised the whole size zero issue have felt the strain. The singer posted a blog on her myspace site sharing her struggle saying, “I used to pride myself on being strong minded and not being some stupid girl obsessed with the way I look... I write to you in a sea of tears from my hotel bed in Seattle, I have spent the past hour researching gastric bypass surgery and laser liposuction.” Previously praised for her size 12 curves, Lily Allen has recently reduced to a size 8 through the help of hypnotherapy. While Lily claims her weight loss is due to her wish to “be healthy” it is clear

that the mixed messages sent out in the media are extremely influential, whoever you may be.

Who suffers?

It is estimated that 11 million Britons have psychological issues associated with food. The most commonly recognised eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. The exact number of people

“Of those who become seriously ill, 20% die prematurely.” suffering with these is difficult to calculate because many keep their disorder a secret. According to ‘beat’, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, there are approximately 90,000 people receiving treatment for such disorders. Professionals believe that with appropriate treatment recovery from an eating disorder is difficult but definitely possible to achieve.

Secrecy

Secrecy is a major feature of these disorders. Many suffer in silence and hide their disorder while others seek advice on the web. Websites run by professional bodies such as ‘beat’ offer good advice and are a great source of support and guidance. As with most of the internet however, for every good website, there are easily as many bad ones. Welcome to the disturbing new cyber-world of ‘pro-ana’.

Pro-ana

These online communities dedicate themselves to offering advice and support to anyone with an eating disorder. The suppor t they offer however doesn’t help recovery from this life threatening condition. Instead it offers advice on how to starve, purge and prolong an eating disorder.

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How far has your food travelled? Despite increasing environmental concerns we continue to import many foods. Although supermarkets now have to state on the packets where food is produced, many of us still don’t bother to check. Here are some examples of how far food has travelled by plane to reach us and just how much CO2 that has produced. These estimates

don’t include the pollution caused by the lorry freight carrying produce to and from the various airports, from the airports to supermarkets’ central storage, from there to the actual supermarket and then to our homes! Considering our country is capable of producing all the food we need, it’s time we paid attention to where our food is from.

APPLES Imported from the US have travelled 3,666 miles. This will have produced 1,063 kgCO2

CHICKEN Imported from Thailand has travelled 5,922 miles. This will have produced 1,717 kgCO2

Asparagus Imported from Peru has travelled 6,321 miles. This will have produced 1,833 kgCO2

CARROTS Imported from South Africa have travelled 5,608 miles. This will have produced 1,626 kgCO2

To work out how far your food has travelled visit: http://www.organiclinker.com

Food File © Carel Press, www.carelpress.com

Healthy eating

Photograph © British Nutrition Foundation, www.nutrition.org.uk, concept for the Balance of Good Health model, © Food Standards Agency

Why is a healthy diet important? A healthy diet means a healthy life. A healthy and varied diet can help to maintain a healthy body weight, enhance general wellbeing and can reduce the risk of a number of diseases including cancer, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and diabetes.

What is a healthy diet? A healthy diet is based on breads, potatoes and other cereals and is rich in fruit and vegetables. It should also include a moderate amount of milk and dairy products, and a moderate amount of meat and fish. Diets that exclude dairy or meat should use suitable alternatives. Foods containing fat and/or sugar can be eaten sparingly as part of a healthy balanced diet but should not be eaten instead of foods from the other food groups, or too often or in large amounts.

8 guidelines for a healthy diet ➤➤

Enjoy your food

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Eat a variety of different foods

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Eat the right amount to be a healthy weight

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Eat plenty of food rich in starch and fibre

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Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables

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Don’t eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat

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Don’t have sugary foods and drinks too often

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If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly

What should I eat? The Government’s Balance of Good Health (pictured above) demonstrates how to eat healthily based on the 8 guidelines for a healthy diet. It shows the types and proportions of food that should be included in your diet. Having a variety of foods is important, the picture shows how much of which food groups a healthy diet should include over a day or two, not necessarily in every meal.

Food File © Carel Press, www.carelpress.com

Making trade fair

On 4th May 2002 the first World Fair Trade day took place. It now takes place on every second Saturday in May

Photo courtesy of Fairtrade

WHAT IS FAIR TRADE?

ganised social • Fair Trade is an or movement. trading partnership • It is effectively a s sure that fair price that helps to make in s are achieved and better condition le and that sustainab international trade also take place. developments can m larly on exports fro • It focuses particu ed lop ve es to de developing countri countries. n d on communicatio • Fair Trade is base r fo s ers/producer and respect for farm w they do it. what they do and ho ties lopment opportuni • It promotes deve lly cia pe es s, er produc for disadvantaged es tri d an le, op pe us women and indigeno from being exploited to protect children ocess. in the production pr s, to secure the right • Fair Trade seeks sed ali gin hts, of mar including human rig at th e ers – thos producers and work the bigger, more by e get pushed asid . wealthy companies ept. em like a new conc • Fair Trade may se s. gan in the 1940 In fact Fair Trade be

WHY IS FAIR TRADE IMPORTANT?

Millions of farmers and producers worldwide produce and sell their crops and crafts in order to survive. Trade, however, is a risky business. Due to mass-production and government subsidy First World countries are able to flood the markets with cheap products. Poorer producers from developing countries often can’t compete with these prices and are not able to find a market for their goods. Even the goods they produce in their own country cannot compete with prices of the same goods produced abroad and they will be imported instead. This leads to real hardship and may mean they can’t afford to send their children to school or buy food. This can also lead to poor farmers losing their land and therefore their livelihood. What Fair Trade does is to guarantee a fair and stable price for produce that enables production costs to be covered, workers to receive a fair rate of pay and sustainable developments to be made so that production can continue into the future.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Fair Trade organisations actively support producers in producing and marketing their goods. Products can only use the Fair Trade label if they meet certain standards. The first step is to make sure that a fair price is obtained for the goods – one that has been agreed through discussion in the region or the local area. As well as covering the costs of production, the price must allow for methods which are good for the environment and fair to everyone. This includes equal pay for equal work by women and men. Fair Trade goods are often more expensive than other products on the shelves because as well as making sure the producer receives the right price, a fair trade premium – an extra charge – is added. This premium is invested into community development projects which are chosen by the farmers and workers.

BACON

78,000 pigs killed

BACON

The bacon in your BLT will be Danish. 8,886 pig farms in Denmark produce 25 million pigs for slaughter annually. In 1985 there were 44,222 farms, but today 9% of farms have more than 4,000 pigs – a clear sign of industrialisation. Danish

pigs are confined in a succession of sheds from birth, with the size of cage and space they are allotted determined by weight. A century of breeding has created the Landrace pig, which is prized for its ‘uniformity of product’.

PHOTO BY VIVA

Danish Crown has developed a new slaughterhouse in Horsens, which is believed to be the largest in the world. It is equipped to kill 78,000 pigs a week. The whole process is automated, from when the pigs are stunned with C02 in mini gas chambers through to being eviscerated and having their backs split in preparation for butchering. Either the whole carcass or the cured bacon will then be dispatched in refrigerated lorries to Tulip Ltd in the UK.

Growth PROMOTERS

It is illegal to use growth promoters except for ‘health reasons’. As industrial pig farming causes stress and anxiety through premature weaning and overcrowding it is easy to see how this loophole is open to abuse. It might explain why pigs reach slaughter weight more rapidly than their traditional counterparts – in five months as opposed to around one year. The annual premature death rate of pigs on commercial Danish farms runs at just over 20%.

Manure

The Danish swine herd produces nine billion litres of manure a year. A sow producing an average 22 pigs for slaughter at 90 kg ‘liveweight’ can excrete around 100 kg of nitrogen and 18-20 kg of phosphorous a year. Most of this washes away from under the pig pens into rivers and aquifers. The OECD say ‘Impacts on the environment include the degradation of aquatic ecosystems, air pollution from odours and ammonia emissions, as well as impacts on soil quality and biodiversity.’

LETTUCE & 1,070 dams used TOMATO Fertilisers

LETTUCE & TOMATO

Ten per cent of lettuces in Spain are grown in polymer tunnels, the rest are grown in the open. In both cases, the lettuce is grown under irrigation due to the lack of natural water sources; rainfall in southern Spain is two thirds less than in the UK, at an average 300mm. Fertilisers and pesticides are drip-fed to the plants via water pipes. The average lettuce crop takes around 60 days from seeding to harvest. During the growing period migrant labour is used to weed and thin the crop by hand. Finally the lettuce is cut by hand, wrapped or bagged and transported to a cold store where it is cooled to 0°C. This keeps it fresh looking but destroys the nutrients. It will then be put on a refrigerated lorry, where it will be kept at temperatures between 0-5°C, on its journey to the UK.

Due to the poor fertility of soil in southern Spain, fertilisers are heavily used. These contain nitrogen, potassium, calcium, sulphur, magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc. A study concluded that growers are applying 1 tonne of nitrogen per hectare, as opposed to 200 kg N/ha for crops in a rotation, which creates a vicious circle: the nitrogen causes the soil to deteriorate further meaning more fertiliser is required. The run-off causes algae blooms in rivers, causing ‘dead zones’.

In humans, nitrate turns to nitrite which decreases the ability of the blood to carry oxygen. Excess levels of nitrogen in humans have been linked to heart-disease and numerous cancers. Roughly half of the inorganic nitrogen use on the planet has occurred

in the past 15 years. The production and use of nitrogen also contributes to climate change. As a greenhouse gas, nitrogen is 300 times more potent than C02. Nitrogen use as a growth promoter is expected to double over the next 40 years.

This is food poverty! their standard ranges. Higher levels of salt, fat and sugar were the usual problems with economy range products. There also appears to be a perception by many in this income group that fresh fruit and vegetables are more expensive and so they will avoid buying them.

n the Victorian era, poverty meant that some people could simply not afford to eat. Today, although most people are not literally starving, some are still suffering from food poverty. There is evidence to show that people with a poor diet – mostly those on a low income – are more likely to die younger than those who have a balanced healthy diet. This is the modern day reality that is known as food poverty. The Department of Health says that food poverty is “the inability to afford, or to have access to, food to make up a healthy diet”. Having a poor diet is known to be linked to some of the country’s worst diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes. This knowledge has only come to light in the past few years so many people remain ignorant of the strong link between poor diet and ill health. According to the Faculty of Public Health, the people most likely to experience food poverty are: people living 48

Awareness

on low incomes or who are unemployed, households with dependant children, older people, people with disabilities and members of black and minority ethnic communities. Research from various groups such as the National Consumer Council and Food Access Network has identified four main factors that lead to food poverty. These are: accessibility, availability, affordability and awareness.

Accessibility In some areas there is limited access to shops. There may not be any shops local to people’s homes or they might have trouble reaching them due to disability or the lack of adequate public transport. Between 1986 and 1996 eight independent stores a day closed down, leaving some areas shopless. Without adequate transport, many people’s diet will be affected by which shops they can reach and how often. If they can’t get to the shops regularly they may avoid buying items such as fruit as it will not last as long as frozen products. This would make sticking to the

government’s recommended 5 a day health plan difficult.

Availability Even if people can get to the shop, not all shops stock ranges that can be found in most major supermarkets. Sometimes the limited stock is the least healthy food. Fresh fruit and vegetables won’t always be stocked because their short shelf life means they may be perceived as a low profit product by the shopkeeper.

Affordability Unfortunately, food is often the last thing to be considered in household budgets. For someone on a low income, essential bills are usually paid first and the food is bought with whatever is left, so cheap brands and economy foods often feature largely in the family diet. The National Consumer Council’s report on supermarkets’ economy range brands found that low income consumers were often buying products that were more unhealthy than

Even people who may understand the type of food to eat in order to achieve a healthy diet, often lack the ability or knowledge of how to cook the food. After having survived for years on packaged foods, cooking something from scratch, with fresh ingredients, seems beyond them. Since so many packaged foods are high in salt, sugar and fat, low quality diets often lead to people being overweight and obese. This is known as ‘modern malnutrition’ and is more prevalent in people in lower socioeconomic groups. As it’s cheaper to buy in bulk, lower income families tend to have less variety in their diets. Low earners eat less high fibre cereals, fish and vegetables. The fact that 58% more male manual workers die prematurely from heart disease than non manual workers (and for women the figure is nearly double for manual workers than non manual workers) is largely attributed to diet. In lower income families, babies are generally born lighter, diabetes rates are higher, people are less likely to survive cancers and obesity levels are higher. This is the consequence of modern day food poverty.

For more information go to: http://www.dh.gov.uk