Dnate Mars

Yes, but at the same time, as word gets out of how bad these are for you, the companies react. That is why the corn industry is trying to counter the claims that HFCS is so bad, it is why you see so many things that now say they are trans-fat free. Educate the people and you will quickly see companies change. It is not the government or anyone elses responsibility.

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Brenda Archer

Unfortunately there are a lot of isolated and/or semi-literate consumers who still don't know HCFS or trans fats are bad for you. They trust that if they're allowed to buy something it is safe. It's for their sake I think these things should be regulated, just as we regulate other potential additives in food for safety. It's not as if either of these things occur in nature or in traditional cooking.

So I would say the precedent on this is the way we regulate artificial food additives, which these two things are.

Portion sizes are a whole different ball of wax. The consumer doesn't always have a lot of choice. I've been in plenty of situations where I've bought a meal and only eaten part of it, which means that the rest of that food is going to waste. I hate that, but I'm not going to feel obligated to eat the whole thing.

If only the portion sizes were half the size, at half the price. People could always buy more if they need it. I don't see that as an issue for regulation, though, more as one for consumer communication with the companies they buy from.

Harvey Swenson

I can't imagine companies taking a huge hit on their profits by cutting portion size and price. Large serve sizes are all about money money money and the fast food companies couldn't care less about obesity.

It's not always about consumer choice either, long working hours, and excessively high stress levels, mean not having to cook dinner is just one less worry for a lot of people.

Brenda Archer

Yes.

There's FAR more in modern living that is making us fat, than just the food we eat.

Stress. Lack of time. Lack of chances to just go out and walk (crime, pollution and location being causes of that). Lack of sleep (very bad for the endocrine system and a contributor to obesity and diabetes). Chemicals in the environment and in the food supply which mimic hormones and cause havoc in the body. In the U.S., lack of health care which means that a lot of low-level disease goes untreated, including PCOS, pre-diabetes and finally even diabetes.

You could be trying to do everything right, and still wind up with a health problem.

So I don't feel putting it all on individuals is fair when the system is corrupted. There really needs to be better oversight on additives and chemicals. It's only that people have gotten so used to HCFS and trans fats that makes them think they are food - instead of eating what people used to eat in their place, honey and butter, which in moderation are harmless.

I've never heard of anyone bingeing on honey. I think there's a feedback loop between the body and natural ingredients that prevents a lot of overeating.

Dnate Mars

I just can't subscribe to the mentality that most people are to stupid to make the right choices, therefore the government has to look out for us.

Vivianne Draper

No its not. Its got breading on the chicken

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Cristiano

It is often more that companies will get away with whatever they can, no matter the danger to consumers. Without some regulation, it would be chaos.

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Harvey Swenson

Unfortunately I think people make a lot of bad choices when it comes to their own health whether they know about the risks or not, which, for parents and role models they then pass on to others.

I don't think it's stupidity but rather ignorance about the risk, habits, apathy, and perhaps a feeling of it'll happen to someone else, and then a whole host of excuses(why they couldn't avoid the problems) when something does happen to them.

We all know about the dangers of smoking and have done for a long time, yet there are still people taking up the habit and then spending a long time regretting the addiction. For things like trans fat and hfcs the warnings aren't as in your face as 1/2 a pack of cigarettes covered in warnings. With transfat in a restaurant, most of the time a customer wouldn't have any way of telling whether it was used or not.

Roxanne Blue

IS OK, QD...



.....See? ^^^

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Trout Recreant

..and dipped in batter first. Tempura makes everything better.

Surreal

Between the breading on the chicken and the sugar in the sauce, that sandwich is not low carb.

And has been mentioned earlier, focusing on the fat ignore one of the serious health risks of fast food - sodium content. Kidneys are your friends, and they don't like high sodium diets.

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Surreal

I'd rather see regulation on the industry side with accurate labeling enforced, no health claims allowed for food whatsoever .. not Low Fat, Heart Healthy, etc. Remove government welfare for corn. And educate consumers to make their own choices.

Won't happen though. For one thing, you'll run into the same thing that spurred current farm policy in the 70s. Americans want cheap meat, and like the tea baggers, they get political if they don't have it.

Also, there's an intersection of other issues you'd have to tackle at the same time... make cities friendly for walking... job stability so people could live close to their jobs... and so on and so on

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Dnate Mars

I am not going to disagree that some regulation is required, however, I think where we disagree is to what extent and by whom.

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Vertigo Paris

This was a interesting read that was in Time:

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food - TIME

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Trout Recreant Helllllooooo Verti! At last! The chance to rate one of my favorite people! Absolutely beautiful pictures. You are a strong, opinionated woman who is not at all afraid to express herself both verbally and physically. You have a strong sense of fantasy and mystery surrounding a drop dead beauty. You maintain an aloof intelligent exterior that we long to break through, but which might intimidate some men. It shows a complexity of personality that few possess. Based on these pictures, I am giving you an 8.4 on the official Trout Recreant Scale of Slutiness. You are a slut, but only in the best possible way, and any man lucky enough to see that side of you should count his blessings.

Surreal

A sizeable portion of the US seems unable to grasp anything that can't be reduced to a sound byte. Thus, the stupidity over health care, energy policy and food policy.

So long as you can hide the real cost of things, people will continue in their destructive but cheap course.

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Trout Recreant

Just to chime in on the Sodium issue. As much as I joke about living on a diet of bacon and butter, that really isn't the case. I've gotten to the point where I cannot eat KFC at all. The sodium is so high that it makes me physically ill. I get severe stomach pains and nausea.

It's just too much fat and sodium. I'm better off not eating it anyway, so it's for the best.

Bard Jameson

About once or twice a year, Atia and I will have KFC as a guilty pleasure. I went in there a couple of weeks ago for the usual big ol' Bucket of Death and three sides of Hellish Disease, and the kid at the counter asked if I wanted to try their new "better-for-you" grilled chicken.

I said no, if I wanted to eat healthy I wouldn't have walked in this door

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Truthseeker

to everything everyone else has said (shuddup, I know that sounds contradictory, but it's an important discussion, with more than one valid point of view).

Plus:

Seriously? Double down?!? They're calling it a DOUBLE DOWN?!?!


*sigh*

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Circe Timtam

Some Pepto and an emesis basin as well.

*horf*

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Lady Circe the Shade, Horror of the Righteous, Destroyer of Lives, Oppressor of the Damned, Hated Ruler of Those For Whom all Hope is Lost and Murderess of The Lost. Her Name is Legend Amongst The Scores of Doomed Who Have Had the Misfortune to Cross Her Path.

- My Holy Trout of Troutlandia Evol Title!

Circe Timtam

The grilled chicken of theirs IS actually far better for you than the fried shit...SHOCKINGLY enough. But it's still ridiculously salty.

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Lady Circe the Shade, Horror of the Righteous, Destroyer of Lives, Oppressor of the Damned, Hated Ruler of Those For Whom all Hope is Lost and Murderess of The Lost. Her Name is Legend Amongst The Scores of Doomed Who Have Had the Misfortune to Cross Her Path.

- My Holy Trout of Troutlandia Evol Title!

Rema Quandry

Fast food is synonymous with "salt bomb" as are Stouffer's (tm) and other frozen "convenience" dinners. And while it isn't just the salt alone that causes problems, it is the ratio of Potassium to Salt that does. Americans should take in a 5:1 ratio of Potassium to Salt on a daily basis.

All too often they take in just the reverse . . . because salt is used in almost everything we consume . . . and people aren't trained to monitor their salt intake.

--- Rema

Bard Jameson

Agreed. But as I said, if I was after a healthy dinner, I would not have even considered KFC, even if they offered skinned chicken breast salads. I make those at home. When I want to throw caution to the wind, and eat a "comfort food" meal reminiscent of my childhood, and don't care a whit for my health, then I go to KFC.

Or In-N-Out. Oh God! How I love In-N-Out!

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Brenda Archer

It's not about being "stupid."

The first time I heard about the problem with trans fats, it was in an article published by _Nexus_, a rather inconsistent publication that will also run ads with pure fantasy conspiracy material.

But because I had already had a course in organic chemistry, I could follow the author's argument, and could easily see he was making sense. Every once in a while, Duncan (the editor) does nail it.

But that is setting the bar too high. You shouldn't have to have the equivalent of a science degree to be able to figure out if your food is safe.

So, would you object to regulation of ALL artificial ingredients, or damn even the regulations that require the ingredients be listed on the label? Because that's where your line of reasoning is going.

The (large L) Libertarian fantasy that food safety could be privately monitored ignores the fact that any unregulated market has gray zones of poor practices.

I don't buy food from China. There's a REASON for that. You should read what goes on there. We don't need that here.

Trans fats are accepted as a food, and HCFS too, only out of habit. They don't occur in nature. They are artificial ingredients. There's no basis for treating them differently from other artificial ingredients.

I'm not suggesting, and I don't think anyone but an unreasonable fanatic would suggest, a ban on large portions, butter, sugar or anything else that occurs in nature. We don't have a precedent for that.

We DO have precedents for regulation of artificial ingredients.

Brenda Archer

And yes, before anyone says it, a bit of trans fats do occur naturally in meats. But it's a tiny amount compared to what you would get if you had your meat fried in good old Crisco.

Chip Midnight

I'd try one of these, but I go to KFC for their pot pies. Those things are awesome. It's the best thing on their menu.