Jane Doe
Abstract
In the documentary film, “Fed Up,” there is a frightening look inside America’s health crisis involving obesity. The lack of real food in American diets is to blame. The entities behind creating this problem are the big corporations in America that manufacture these foods. These “foods” are processed foods, with high sugar content that can lead to numerous health problems including heart disease and diabetes. Advertisers are marketing processed foods made of high sugar content to young children and putting sugar into the formulas to get them while they’re young. They have people hooked on sugar, and now the population is facing severe health issues. The government has not helped at all as they benefit from and are threatened by these corporations and the industries that they cover. Rather than waiting for a change, it is important to become aware by finding out the truth and making those changes within your life.
“Fed Up” with the food in America? Well it seems that for those who are ignorant with what’s happening with the obesity epidemic, “Fed Up,” the documentary film is full of eye-opening information that will shock the audience. A number of obese children are presented in the film with stories about their struggle with weight. Many of these children are morbidly obese displaying health problems that generally were only seen in late adulthood. Problems with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some cancers are being seen at an overwhelming rate, all a result of the horrible diet that Americans have become accustomed to. Society often blames the individual for lack of self-control, but is it solely a problem of lazy indulgent people? The film begs to differ.
Many dynamics are presented in “Fed Up” that show the audience that the problem goes deeper than a lack of self-control by the young (and old) people in America. The problems are layers deep from an ignorant society, lack of government regulation, and corporate greed that are to be blamed. The entire culture of American society is designed around the food products and advertisements that are detrimental to the citizens’ health. One of the culprits in this whole problem is sugar. The delicious sweet white refined sugar. But it is not that sugar is to blame or “evil,” but that it is being added to nearly every product of processed food on the market. Sugar is in everything! The corporations and agencies that profit from the production and sales of sugar, dairy, and meat are heavily invested in this unhealthy diet that is and has been “normal” for the American diet for quite some time and is becoming worse in recent decades. The following paper will examine some important points made in the movie that coincide with the concerns of many health experts who are also fed up.
The Problem
Health Crisis
Obesity in America is one of the worst health crises the nation has faced. According to the CDC website (2015), “More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese.” The statistics on obesity are frightening and becoming worse, as the younger generations are growing up eating a large amount of processed foods full of excess empty calories detrimental to their health. “Four of the top ten causes of death today are chronic diseases with well-established links to diet: coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer” (Pollan, 2008, p.10). These are diseases that are showing up among younger citizens.
There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty about nutrition in our diets, but to ignore the fact that most of the diseases killing Americans are the result of “the industrialization of our food”
the rise of highly processed foods and refined grains; the use of chemicals to raise plants and animals in huge monocultures; the superabundance of cheap calories of sugar and fat produced by modern agriculture; and the narrowing of the biological diversity of the human diet to a tiny handful of staple crops, notably wheat, corn, and soy (Pollan, 2008, p. 10).
The food industry has hit a gold mine with creating food products that are no longer real food. Instead most people’s diets are full of food-like substitutes that last a long time on store shelves and create long term damage to our bodies. These foods are called “processed foods” that came from a food source that was broken down for its various parts and turned into something new. For example, ketchup, which would appear to come from tomatoes, is actually a product full of sugar.
Next is a review of some history on how the obsession with nutrition began in America, which has led to a complete manipulation by the food industries and a breakdown in the health of Americans. It all began as one man discovered and named the macronutrients in food. “William Prout, an English doctor and chemist, identified the three principal constituents of food—protein, fat, and carbohydrates—that would come to be known as macronutrients” (Pollan, p. 20). The focus of these macronutrients eventually led to another discovery in the first set of micronutrients by Polish biochemist, Casimir Funk (Pollan).
The 1950s brought with it information about the consumption of fat and dietary cholesterol, found mostly in meat and dairy, as the reason for the growing crisis of heart disease, which was called the "lipid hypothesis" (Pollan, 2008). In 1961 the American Heart Association started to recommend a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol (Pollan). Rather than eating a ton of meat and cheese or high fat products, society was told to move towards a lower fat higher carbohydrate diet. This was the beginning of the worst health problems society would face. Too much focus was placed on nutrients and not enough of the quality of real food(s).
The Parents and Children
One might ask, “What does this have to do with the health problems of children, shouldn’t parents know better?” Well, if parents knew better and could do something about it, then there is still the problem of the food served in schools. The lunch programs offer some of the worst types of food, as can be seen in the film and an article titled, “Unhappy Meal.” Here are some examples of lunch options available in many of the public schools- bacon cheeseburgers, cheese rolls, cheese nachos, pizza, pretzels with cheese, soda and fruit juices, and the list could go on (Yeoman, 2003). Even if these children were to have home cooked healthy meals with their parents at home, clearly there is a problem. Despite the fact that most parents who are working and rushing through life no longer even spend time planning for healthy meals, add to that the junk that is served in schools and we are looking at two thirds of a child’s diet consuming of fast food. Realistically speaking, their entire daily meal consumption may rarely include real food.
It is no wonder that there is a health crisis for our young people as they struggle against the options. It is unfair to blame the children for their lack of self-control when so much advertising is focused on marketing junk food to young people (“Fed Up,” 2014). Everywhere they turn; there is some type of lure towards processed food. Sure, parents could do their best to clear the home of these unhealthy “food items,” cook healthy meals, and encourage or force exercise, but according to the film it may not be enough.
The Corporations
Corporate greed is to be blamed in this entire debacle. Big business and the rich are running the show when it comes to most of these problems that society is up against. An entirely separate paper could be written, and surely many have been, on corporate greed, but for the sake of this paper, the focus will remain on the corporations that are invested in health and sickness. One might ask how those vested in health, such as health insurance, life insurance, and pharmaceutical companies could be involved in the lack of food quality? After all, is it not the food companies like Hershey’s and Kellogg’s, the dairy, meat, and grain industries that gain the most from the slew of fast food chains and junk foods that line the shelves of grocery stores?
The answer to both questions is rather disturbing. The health insurance companies are heavily invested in the companies behind the fast foods and processed food industries. Not only do they invest in the companies via the stock market, but they also gain from the health problems that arise as a result of the unhealthy eating. To provide further evidence of how these corporations work together consider “major insurers own $1.88 billion of stock in the 5 leading fast-food companies, representing 2.2% of total market capitalization of these companies on June 11, 2009” (Mohan, McCormick, Woolhandler, Himmelstein & Boyd, 2010, p.1029). For example,
Prudential Financial, an investment firm that also provides life insurance and long-term disability coverage, has fast food holdings of $355.5 million, including $197.2 million in McDonald’s, $43.7 million in Burger King, and $34.1 million in Jack in the Box; Northwestern Mutual’s stake is the biggest, with its total investments in excess of $422 million, including $318.1 million in McDonald’s alone (Mohan et al., p.1029).
Honestly, most of these company’s should be ashamed of the lack of integrity they present to the public, their customers, and the world.
The cycle of corporate control and wealth is not a simple one to put a stop to, and it will take a rather large fight to see things change. These entities are the enemy to society’s health crises. On the one hand, there is profit from the unhealthy food industry and on the other hand masking the symptoms of disease through pharmacology. All these industries stand to benefit greatly as the large majority grow sicker and lose quality of life.
The Government
If there is such unethical socially irresponsible corruption going on with all the big businesses, then the government should step in and punish these companies. However, the government is also bought and paid for by these same companies, so the policies and guidelines set by government agencies are skewed. Consider the transition that occurred around the late 70’s early 80’s.“Nutritionism had become the official ideology of the Food and Drug Administration; for all practical purposes the government had redefined foods as nothing more than the sum of their recognized nutrients” (Pollan, p.36).
The public school systems are reliant of the subsidies from the food industry to provide the ingredients that make up the meals at school. However, even those are being replaced in many places by fast food companies like Burger King and Pizza Hut (“Fed Up” 2014). Instead of helping the citizens of the nation, the government is somewhat turning a blind eye to the industry. Many programs supported by the “Federal Government foster a groundswell of consumer interest, which in turn, may go some way towards checking the disproportionately influential lobbying of the large corporations and interest groups” (McKinlay, 1977).
One of the scene’s in the movie was really insightful in how the government and corporations end up working together. When Barak Obama became President, his wife Michelle Obama was ready to take on the health of American children. She began a campaign called “Let’s Move,” which was supposed to tackle the issues of the excessive consumption and advertising of processed foods to kids, as well as encouraging exercise. Kellogg’s and Coca-Cola were two companies that jumped in to “help” with the campaign. Interestingly, instead of focusing on the advertisement and consumption of processed food that kids are faced with, the focus shifted to encouraging exercise (“Fed Up,” 2014).
These are only brief examples of the role the government plays in this health epidemic. Even when the government tries to do the right thing, the large corporations interfere with the implementation of change towards a healthier society. It is extremely frustrating to know that the people we trust to look out for us, our government, is helpless up against these entities.
What can be done?
After reviewing the facts that the movie, Michael Pollan’s book- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, and the various articles on the subject, it is easy to become resigned and feel helpless. However, there is always hope and that hope comes with knowledge. It is more important than ever that society utilizes their ability to learn and gain information on their own through the avenue presented, such as documentaries and books. It is important to become aware of what is happening and what the options are for protecting ourselves and the children against the ongoing health crisis. The following section will go over one of the primary culprits in the food problem and the affects it has on the body- sugar.
Sugar
Coming from the sweet cane plant, refined sugar is one of the most addicting additives responsible for the health problems that are discussed. Sugar is in everything that involves processed food. If you shop in the middle aisles of grocery stores rather than the perimeters where the real food is, then chances are, you are eating a high volume of sugar that is too much for the body to handle.
Sugar comes in other names, all of which end in “ose,” such as sucrose, fructose, and glucose. It is a sweet and tasty treat that most people cannot stay away from. But sugar is not just an ingredient in candy, cookies, and ice cream; it is included in “tomato sauce, fat free dressing, tonic water, marinates, crackers and even bread” (Kirkpatrick, 2013). There are an outrageous number of processed food items that people consume, which includes a lot of sugar.
Effects of Sugar on the Body
As yummy as sugar is, it is difficult to turn down the foods that are riddled with sugar. However, the damage done to the body is definitely not worth the few minutes of indulgence. The basic process of how the body handles sugar is through the liver, which becomes overwhelmed passing the job onto the pancreas, which produces insulin, excess insulin turning into body fat. This is only a very brief description of the way sugar works in the body, but there are a whole slew of diseases that exist as a result of excess sugar consumption. Many of the problems caused by sugar include heart disease, belly fat that stresses the organs, certain types of cancer, along with addiction and a response in the liver that is similar to the toxic effects of alcohol, problems with the brain, and the obesity crisis of America (Kirkpatrick, 2013).
A Solution
It would be nice to know that a simple formal complaint by the citizens of America would be enough to urge government to put a stop to the unjust practices set forth by food corporations; however, the likelihood of that is slim. The only real solution is to hope for the end of corruption, but in the meantime, it is important to educate oneself on food. Reading books like In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and watching movies like Fed Up are step one. Now that the information has become knowledge it is time to make some different choices. Each household must do everything in their power to use the knowledge obtained and make different choices in what they eat. As Pollen suggests as the underlying message of his book, “eat real food,” which would be things that are mostly plant based or come from the earth rather than manufactured at a factory (Pollen, 2008).
No matter how much society would like there to be changes in policy that protect the kids and the public from the poisoning of our food intake, it is not something we can sit back and wait for. The clock is ticking and Americans are becoming unhealthier. The world is becoming unhealthier as a result of the American diet. The American diet is not one to be envious of or mimic because it is a death sentence of sorts.
The main thing people can do today is monitor their intake of sugar. Limit or exclude processed foods from being bought. Most importantly eat real food and get moving as much as you can.
Conclusion
The documentary movie Fed Up introduced many disturbing facts about America’s diet and the food industry. Understanding what is happening with the food system and the companies behind them is a starting point for many citizens in the uphill battle society faces as we hope to manage our health and the health of our children. So many factors involving big business and government are involved in the unethical transformation of our food sources, and instead of blaming young children for becoming fat, it is time that society works towards a shift in culture. Too often those on the bottom of the socio-economic class are the ones that become victims as the rich get richer (Cockerham, 2005). The only protection society has is the knowledge they gain through the various avenues of information. One could hope that a trend begins that encourages a cultural shift that forces these companies to rethink what they are doing. Without intervention, the citizens of the nation are in trouble, with the youngest generations facing a shorter life span than their parents. In conclusion, it is important to consume real food and be weary of the enemy.
References
Center for Disease Control (CDC). (2015). Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and
Nutrition. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Cockerham, W.C., (2005). Health Lifestyle Theory and the Convergence of Agency and
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Couric, K., Monroe, M., Brook, M., Soechtig, S., RADiUS TWC (Firm), Atlas Films,, Artemis
Rising Foundation,, Entertainment One (Firm),. (2014). Fed up.
Kirkpatrick, K. (2013). 10 Things you Don’t Know about Sugar (and what you don’t know can
hurt you). The Huffington Post. Web. Retrieved from- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/dangers-of-sugar_b_3658061.html
Pollan, M. (2008). In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York, New York: Penguin
McKinlay, J. B. (1977). A Case for Refocusing Upstream: The Political Economy of Illness.
Applying Behavioral Science to Cardiovascular Risk. 583-596. Available at Course’s Blackboard site.
Mohan, A.V., McCormick, D., Woolhandler, S., Himmelstein, D.U.& Boyd, J.W. (2010). Life
and Health Insurance Industry Investments in Fast Food. American Journal of Public Health. 100 (6),1029-1030. Retrieved from-
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