Anyone else walk into a big box store and feel like they’re the only ones awake in some sort of toxic capitalist matrix?

[brazilianchristianlady]

@naka What kind of over processed food are you thinking of? I lived in Germany for a long time and I wouldn't have said it's hard at all to find processed junk food. Or any country in Europe for that matter

 

[naka]

@brazilianchristianlady Idk, like, Pop tarts?

This was 20 years ago, you go to an Aldi in Baden-Wurttemberg and there's a sweets section with some of those processed breads, but most of the stuff is just not like what we have here. And on top of that the emphasis in store is usually on the fresh food.

The US subsidizes corn heavily; Europe subsidizes fresh fruit and vegetables. Thus why we have an expansive plethora of corn-based processed foods, and Europe has a fantastic 50¢ tomato.

 

[brazilianchristianlady]

@naka I mean local preferences will obviously differ. So of course the products aren't exactly the same but I do think theres processed food in abundance in every German supermarket.

While you can get pop tarts, they're not as common. But the German equivalent of that is probably knoppers - a treat, trying to sell itself as a healthy breakfast

 

[naka]

@brazilianchristianlady Are Knoppers marketed as a breakfast food? I don't think a Knopper would be an appropriate breakfast...

I remember when I first got to Germany and rejoiced at how easy it was to find un- or minimally processed foods and how inexpensive they were. I also remember how overwhelmed and sickened I was upon returning to the US and walking into a Wal Mart.

 

[brazilianchristianlady]

@naka

Are Knoppers marketed as a breakfast food? I don't think a Knopper would be an appropriate breakfast...

Ya. Not sure if they still do but when I was there they ran ads like "Knoppers: the little breakfast" (Knoppers das Frühstückchen) . Then went on about how it's full of grains, hazelnuts and wholesome milk and the usual spiel about it "can be part of a balanced diet". Kinder cerlali had a similar gimmick

 

[jaenalyn]

@naka “Isn’t what is patently unhealthy pretty objective”

Sure. Maybe you’re deathly allergic to peanuts. Peanuts are patently unhealthy for you.

Maybe some food was contaminated with e.coli. That’s pretty patently unhealthy for you.

Short of that, it’s pretty fuckin subjective.

Restricting foods only makes unhealthy relationships to foods.

 

[zenbible]

@mackied I'd like to gently suggest that you reframe your thinking around these programs. It's only very recently in human history that we have any kind of options about the calories we consume. Modern conversations about food tend to center around "healthy vs unhealthy," but historically that wouldn't even be a conversation. the comparison would be more like "food vs no food." it's far, far more damaging to growing bodies and brains to have insufficient calories than to have "unhealthy" calories. this is what these programs are designed to address. is there room for improvement? of course, but criticizing individual food choices as unhealthy doesn't fix the situation, and it can be actively detrimental by adding to stigma. i recommend this post from Kids Eat In Color about school lunches to explain this concept more eloquently than i have.

 

[mackied]

@zenbible It’s only very recently in human history that we’ve used artificial additives and junk ingredients. The things I’ve suggested are those improvements

 

[katrina2017]

@mackied Appropriate user name.

 

[yazzy]

@mackied Are you doing anything to help increase access to nutritious foods in your community? Do you work with families who receive SNAP benefits? Do you work in policy?

It’s easy to say how the world should work. It’s very hard to actually implement widespread change in a manner which fits in a sustainable budget. It’s hard to change habits, especially if you don’t know the in and out struggle that people who qualify for SNAP and WIC deal with. I think before we make statements on how other people should change, we need to make an equal effort into helping those who struggle as we do judging them.

 

[mackied]

@yazzy I pay taxes, a lot of taxes. I’d like to see them put to better use

 

[doubra]

@mackied Thanks for sharing.

I wish there was more education and guidance around cooking from scratch and healthy foods, especially for those who need food assistance and need to stretch their dollars. The marketing aspect of it all is the worst.

 

[tgreen78]

@samira742 Thank you for being so reasonable

 

[doubra]

@samira742 Very true and well put. I by no means have the answer or any remote idea how to fix it. When you zoom out the problem is bigger than time, than education, the system, the generations of people subjected to these poor standards. It’s all a big sad mess.

 

[samira742]

@doubra It is, and in America we’ve been busy dismantling all the social systems set up in the post Great Depression era that helped subsidize some of the hardships that people experience. Then we punish and look down on those who “can’t get their act together.” A giant mess indeed.

 

[apor2017]

@samira742 Yes!

 

[omnitude]

@samira742 Thank you.