Mindless Eating

According to Brian Wansink, Author of the book entitled Mindless Eating Individuals make approximately 200 food related decisions a day, every day. That’s a lot of time spent on food related thoughts!

Our environment is a source of persuaders or cues that encourage us to eat more than is required to satisfy our hunger. Large plates and packages indirectly suggest a consumption norm- that is, how much is appropriate to eat.

I never really noticed how big most restaurants plates and portions sizes were until I went to a restaurant the other night offering authentic French cuisine (Leopold’s on St.Clare and Arlington). The waiter brought me my meal in a small 7 inch by 7 inch dish; I could count the number of green beans I had on one hand. The interesting part was, I was full… I was not hungry anymore, but I wanted more. Despite knowing that this portion size was much more in line with Canada’s Food Guide recommendations and was a Mediterranean diet inspired dish, well executed, it seems as if Western society’s consumption norms have had an effect on me. I like the unnecessary blow of bread and butter offered with my meals.
Wansink states that humans have been programmed, through evolution, to eat as much as our environments make available, and no one, is immune to the environmental cues that tell us to eat more. That’s right nutrition experts and dietitians-to-be, not even us!

Also interesting, my experience from Dr. Judy Paisley’s Cultural Dimensions class reminded me of how many restaurants in Toronto offering Mediterranean cuisine (typically considered healthier than Western diets) tend to make modifications to appeal to Westerns society’s large portions and love for meat. No wonder why when I found a restaurant that finally did a good job on representing Mediterranean cuisine I was surprised.

My last thought on this restaurant was although the portions were smaller than I was use to I definitely savored the meal… those 5 green beans were amazing!

Registered Dietitians are an essential part of a balanced eating plan

This blog emulates a discussion that took place in Dr. Gingras’s FNP 500 seminar back in October of 2009. We were presented with an advertisement from the Dietitians of Canada, which is illustrated with this blog. After a few minutes of observation, we were asked to think about what this image says about our professional identity.

The surface impression of the ad appears to be a marketing technique by Dietitians of Canada to promote the dietetic profession and the services they provide to the community, via education and awareness. For me the first thing that came to mind reflected the fine print that dictates, “You can trust Registered Dietitians to give you good advice on nutrition. Their university training has given them the technical knowledge needed to master this most complex science.”

Primarily, I was pleased with the additive description to the picture of the dietitian on a balance beam with a pile of fresh fruits and vegetables; as it provided recognition of all the hard work and schooling people go through to become dietitians, as I feel not many people are aware of the great lengths people go through to be a Registered Dietitian now in days. Also, this ad portrays dietitians as experts because of their university degrees and knowledge of food science. Initially I felt this ad was well done, as it creates awareness of the profession, the value of dietitians, in addition to the importance of balanced eating.

However, as we began to discuss this ad in class, skepticism arose. It appeared that the ad also seemed the reinforce that dietetics is mainly focused on body weight, supported by the balance beam which the dietitian sat upon in the poster; where the concept of measuring out food, portion control, and eating a balance diet appraises the ‘evidence’ that supports the ‘need’ for dietitians. But this is not all dietitians do, we counsel on nutrition therapies for various diseases and illnesses, keep on top of new developments in nutrition, and address food security within a community.

Some additional criticism included how this ad further supports the stereotype of who a dietitian is, represented by a slim Caucasian female. Where perhaps if a male dietitian and or a group of multicultural dietitians of different shapes and sizes was used to promote this ad, then Dietitians of Canada would minimize the stereotype associated with what the public believes a dietitian is, as well as promote our diversity and acceptance within the profession, which in turn reflects our acceptance of the diversity within out community.

Lastly, some of the criticism also reflected how this ad attempts to make our professional identity legitimate by proclaiming our expertise in “complex science and technical knowledge.” But, perhaps this is an attempt to create a niche for our nutrition field amongst the health care community as unique and highly educated professionals who do have something to offer rather than blabber on about Canada’s Food Guide, which can be accessible online.

What do you think this image says about our professional identity?

Genetically Modified Foods vs. Locally Farmed Produce

On Tuesday January the 5th 2010, The Globe and Mail published an article entitled “GMO is in, local is out: Britain unveils future of food”. This article speaks of Britain’s 20-year food strategy and how it aims to safeguard the food supply of the country, while simultaneously reducing the environmental footprint. Reducing the environmental costs will be accomplished via ‘technological innovation’ whereby some experts have interpreted this to mean “introducing GMOs into the country”. According to Hilary Benn, Britain’s secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, currently Britain is in danger of a reduced food supply due to food practices that have been normalized by consumers including: consumers favouring local foods over imported, rejecting GMO foods, and the use of ‘food miles’ to measure the environmental impact of the food system.

I know what you are thinking, wait a minute, isn’t the local food movement (LFM) considered a good thing?

Some of the purposed benefits of local food markets include benefits to the environment, increase wealth in local economy and personal incomes, and the establishment of a sense of community. It seems that while the LFM concerns itself with environmental practices, critics may argue that a reduction in the miles food travels will not have a large impact on reducing pollution. Currently not much is done to reduce energy spent on other aspects of food system including the harvesting, processing, consuming and recycling stages. While I commend the LFM in making steps to reduce the cost of food our environment bares, what about all the other energy consuming activities? I would like to know more about the efforts in these other sectors.

A LFM may increase jobs and local wealth as well as the economic accessibility of foods to consumers. Controversy may exist in terms of how ethical some of these new jobs are, since farm workers wages often are not regulated by the government (El Contrato, 2003). Some farms contract workers from across the globe and pay them crappy wages to be competitive in today’s market. Thus, an increase in some types of jobs may not actually be in the best interest of human dignity and does not reflect acceptability of the food system. It would be interesting to find out more about where our food is coming from and the labour conditions subjected to the workers, illustrating food choices as a political decision.

While the LFM claims to initiate “community building,” critics argue that current policies of the LFM are not all inclusive and instead foster alienation and racism of individuals within the community. More specifically, an imbalance of power is created when a heterogeneous group, that of white, middle class individuals make decisions for a homogenous population. Most individuals of power in Western society fall within a very specific demographic, white, middle class, as mentioned, thus can they really and truly create an all inclusive community environment? Additionally, individuals may be left out due to lack of city planning for access and the fact that every local market would be limited in the amount of culturally acceptable foods they can provide, thus individuals may feel socially isolated.

Essentially, the LFM has some potential benefits, but it is not without its flaws. A system that speaks to a balance of local food markets and imported foods integrated into the system may be a better strategy in achieving the aforementioned goals of the LFM. Britain’s new hardship, a concern for reduced food supply, speaks to some of the challenges of finding a balance.