The future of food
Do you dream about the future? Will we have flying cars in our lifetime? Ever wonder about what our food will look like?
A little background on me – I love food. I enjoy cooking, baking, and dining out with my family. I love food so much that the vocal point in both labors of my children changed from a calm and serene Hawaii to the meals I ate while there. I guess you could call eating an experience and my happy place.
Please note that there are many more of what I think of as disturbing things going on with our food. I don’t have time to list all of my grievances here. Any bold phrases are links to articles and more information.
What we eat has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Let those numbers sink in. Every wonder why they’ve raised so much? There are more additives and fillers to keep “food” cheap and you coming back for more. Why is there a need to add sugar to everyday items such as bread or soup? Because it’s cheaper than using real food and your brain will be tricked into craving more.
For some reason, ultra-bad trans fat is still lurking in many foods. Here’s a hint when you’re buying – if it says zero grams of trans fat, there’s trans fat inside! Zero grams is not the same as none unfortunately.
With daily news articles discussing GMO/Monsanto vs organic crops, last year the UN completed a study saying that small scale farming is the only way to feed the world. Should we eat what nature’s given us? How far should we go to feed ourselves?
It’s hard enough being parents and worrying about every tiny decision in your child’s life. Companies make it incredibly difficult for you to go to the grocery store and make healthy decisions. They are there to sell you their product, and will do whatever it takes to grab your child’s attention. How would snack time change if our produce aisle looked different?
Misleading labels make it easy to bring home crap. I cannot believe we live in a world where it’s okay to label a yogurt container as “strawberry” when it contains no actual strawberries.
I still don’t get artificial colors in foods. There are natural dyes, but of course they’re not as bright and more expensive. With links to ADHD in fake colors and pesticides, wouldn’t you want to subtract this from your diet?
Natural doesn’t always mean healthy, but if this is what the sun does to real vs chemical ice cream, sign me up for real every day of the week.
I am not perfect in the quest to feed my children ONLY locally sourced, organic, dye-free food, but I try very hard to find real food to feed my family. Friends often ask how my kids eat such a wide variety of foods from different cultures and the answer is as easy as they eat what I cook. If possible, I’d eat jelly donuts for the rest of my life, but it really wouldn’t last that long. It’s hard to make sacrifices to eat well, but it’s worth it. This article reinforces the need to start out as early as possible to set a good example for our children and instill great eating habits.
Another great tip for getting little ones to eat and snack healthy can be found on my Instagram page or searching through #eatyourrainbow. I am surprised at how taking a minute or two to arrange colorful food in a beautiful way gets them to explore things they’ve never tried. Even my husband munches on things he normally wouldn’t grab from the fridge.
I’m hopeful that in 50 years, my family is eating actual food with no fillers, additives, or chemicals. What a concept!
What are your thoughts? Do you and your family have guidelines before going grocery shopping? How do you feed your family?
2 comments on “The future of food”
As a dietitian, lover of “real” fresh food, mother of a toddler and pregnant lady, I LOVE this post!!!
I hate seeing people fill themselves up with additives, chemicals and preservatives. What makes me even madder is the food companies labeling and marketing these foods (some of them are barely even “food” they have so much fillers) as healthy options.
I counsel my nutrition clients to choose “real” food whenever possible, eat fresh foods as much as you can and stay away from pre-packaged convenience foods.
My daughter is 1 1/2 and she is a great eater. My friends are amazed that her favorite foods include carrots, tomatoes, salmon and fresh fruits. People ask how I got her to be a good eater and my answer is the same as yours “she eats what I make for meals”. I don’t make her an entirely separate meal of packaged convenience “kid” foods like mac n cheese or chicken mcnuggets. She eats the same foods me and Dan eat for meals. I also let her help during meal times….she loves helping me pick tomatoes off the vine, rinse them off in the sink and arrange them on her plate.
Presentation is a must as well! chop up those veggies and let them take what they want to try.
Kuddos to you!!!
It’s great to hear what a dietitian does in daily life to feed her family. I did take a few nutrition classes in college which I think more students should do to really understand how your body uses food as energy. Thanks for sharing your view, Brynn!