The Food We Don’t Eat

There has been a lot in the news lately about obesity, health and basically how American’s can’t seem to close their mouths when it comes to food. However, there is also a lot in the news lately about rising oil prices, and –even worse — a global food crisis. But, in the face of a global food shortage, one must look at what’s right in front of their faces: wasted food.

I recently read a very interesting article in the NY Times Well Blog about food that we DON’T eat. The article features a slideshow (which is awesome) and a podcast interview between Tara Parker-Hope (one of my favorite writers) and Jason Bloom, the author of WastedFood.com, a blog which will serve as the basis of his future book about wasted food.

So I took a look at Jason’s blog. Incredibly interesting and I highly recommend you read it regularly. In one of his most recent posts entitled “Envisible Elephants,” Jason tells us that 27 percent of food, or, 96 billion pounds, is wasted each year. Now, what’s crazy about this is that this is OLD DATA.  It’s from 1997.

Jason went to far as to predict that we now waste about 150 billion pounds of food annually, which equals the weight of about 15 million elephants.

Now, how is this happening? How about “all-you-can eat” facilities? Capitalism at its best.

In a post on 5/22, Jason gives us the example of food trays. Apparently, they make us pile on more than we can actually take in (people pile multiple plates per meal onto one tray). He refers to a  Virginia Tech student-led campaign which determined food wasted in a week. Apparently, the students averaged about a half-pound of edible waste per student per meal — 1,400 pounds of waste per day. Take a look at the slideshow. (disgusting)

I don’t know about you, but this makes me think twice before piling on the food in a cafeteria. With the oil industry taking over the world horrible global food crisis, we should be paying more attention to what we DON’T eat.

Wii Fit Exposes Obesity

Ok, I have to admit: when I first read this article I started to laugh. Apparently, the Wii Fit is causing quite a stir. Apparently, it told a 10-year-old that she is obese, and obesity experts are outraged.

In today’s society of youth and multimedia, I first thought the Wii Fit could be a good thing. Maybe, instead of sitting still and playing with these games, the kids would actually be moving. But I still can’t go back on my instinct that these games are not the same as actual outside sports which involve HUMAN INTERACTION, and they’re turning our kids into “zombies.”

Wii Fit was released in Japan on December 1, 2007, in Europe on April 25, 2008, May 8, 2008 in Australia and May 21, 2008 in North America. In North America, Wii Fit was launched on May 19, 2008 with an exclusive release at the Nintendo World Store in New York City.

But when this was launched in Europe, a ten-year-old British girl stepped on the game’s electronic balance board and entered her height, and the Wii labeled her ‘overweight.’ She was reportedly devastated.

Obesity experts are outraged — they are concerned Wi Fit could damage children’s body image and are telling parents to be warned. Many fitness experts don’t even believe in BMI anymore, especially with children, because they’re constantly growing and the BMI can change monthly.

I actually think it’s a good thing. It’s about time kids get a “reality check” on their weight. If they’re “overweight” or “obese,” they need to see it and start making changes in their lives. I actually HOPE they get embarrassed in front of friends. It should be embarrassing.

Maybe then, they’d get pissed off and actually turn off the damn TV and go outside and play. This is a beautiful time of year. It’s an AWFUL time for the Wii to come to the northeast of the U.S. People should be encouraged to go outside, not sit around a TV and MAYBE work up a sweat.

That said, I think the Wii Fit has amazing potential for people who are confined to a living room due to suffering a stroke, sickness or disability. Further, it has great potential for seniors, whose bodies maybe can’t handle the harsh impact of exercising outside.

If you’re interested in what the new game has to offer, check out this YouTube video. It goes through some of the games. The intelligence behind this thing is amazing. I’m just concerned about the impact it will have on society.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2XYRd28TOM&hl=en]