HEALTH
Do You Want to Better Survive This and Future Pandemics? The answer lies in eating the right food and saying “Yes” to less BY MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH
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early three out of four American adults are obese and half of them have diabetes or pre-diabetes, says a CNN report (Aug. 7, 2020). This information concerns Americans because for a world crippled by the coronavirus, salvation hinges on a vaccine. Scientists in the emerging field of immunometabolism are finding that obesity interferes with the body’s immune response, putting the obese at greater risk of infection from pathogens such as influenza and the novel coronavirus (https://westerntoday. wwu.edu>ame). Obesity is a complex health issue caused by a combination of causes and factors, such as behavior and genetics. Others are “food deserts,” namely, geographical areas that sell poor quality and often processed foods such as sweet desserts, fried foods and sugary carbonated beverages — all high in salt, sugar and fats — instead of healthy nutritious foods such as meats, fruits and vegetables that contain dietary fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. This is because the latter foods are hard to find in those areas. Eating too much and moving too little stores much of the surplus energy as body fat. Some blame restaurants and government policy for nutrition insecurity and the prevalence of obesity. A research survey, however, finds that most people blame the individual, not the farmers, grocery stores, restaurants or government policies (https://www.sciencedaily.com). During this pandemic, farmers and donors have faced a historic spike in the need for food. However, as imperfect as the U.S. food system is, no other country has so much cheap food and wastes so much. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and obesity via 15 federal nutrition assistance programs, including programs directed toward women, infants and children; food stamps; supplemental nutrition assistance; and school meals program. The government also provides guidance about eating nutritious and balanced meals
through the USDA’s famous “Food Pyramid” of the 1970s, the current “MyPlate” and “Nutrition labeling” programs.
But the government can do more. For example, it can establish long-term sustainability programs rather than short-term payoffs to farmers not to grow certain foods, create incentive programs to attract supermarkets to vulnerable communities, restrict unhealthy food and beverage marketing to schools, regulate calorie labeling in restaurants and revive the like of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. However, it’s up to the individual to make healthy choices. As one survey shows, people living in full-service grocery store areas where healthy nutritious foods are available still eat unhealthy foods (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca>how-to-eat-healthy). They need to resist how good the food feels in their mouth, its smell and taste, as well as the perfect blend of ingredients that excites their brain, stimulates its reward system and keeps them coming back for more (https:// www.healthline.com>nutrition). Moreover, new products keep entering the market and soon are available everywhere. Ordering online is also rising, and technological advancements mean more food fraud, the lack of traceability, the ever-decreasing lack of quality and fresh foods, along with other issues. One result of this is that vegetarian and vegan menus, once unheard of in this country, are now
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being offered on board, conferences and restaurants. The two most popular meatless burgers, “Beyond Burger” and “Impossible Burger,” are in demand. People naturally like convenience and cheaper foods. Even when those on limited budgets can afford nutritious food, they still want to buy at cheaper priced foods, except, perhaps, millionaires. Food processors worldwide know this. And so they use technological innovations to beat competition and process food to transform it from one form into other forms. Each year about 39 million cattle from farms, feedlots, auctions and sale barns are slaughtered in the U.S. (https://awellfedworld.org/factory-farms/). There are eight different USDA quality beef grades. “USDA Prime,” the highest, precedes “USDA Choice.” Unlike meat produced on a commercial level that must be inspected for its fitness for human consumption, meat grading, which analyzes the meat’s quality, is optional. Meat inspection is free; however, as the USDA charges for grading services, not all carcasses are graded. The meat industry integrates all edible tissues, including blood, meat trimmings and bone scraps, into the food chain as protein-rich ingredients for human consumption. For example, blood is integrated into human diets as whole blood or separated blood plasma. There are even processes that remove miniscule amounts of meat attached to beef trimmings and connective tissues. Known as “partially defatted chopped beef ” (PDCB) and “lean finely textured beef ” (LFTB), they cannot be removed manually. These products meet the official definition of meat, cost less and are added as a meat blend to help lower the price of ground beef. These realities need to be considered by those who give blanket permission for consuming food produced by the People of the Book. Ground beef is categorized as ground chuck/ground round, ground beef, hamburger, pure beef patties, pure beef patty mix, beef patties and beef patty mix. Each has its own standard of identity, composition and labeling requirements. Some products contain PDCB or LFTB, which is allowed; in other products they don’t even have to be mentioned on the label. Mechanically separated meat, which is produced by forcing bones with attached edible meat under high pressure through a sieve to separate them from each other, is
