The Food Movement Minute is a top story news analysis for busy foodies. I chew up the top industry and consumer publications each day and spit out only the news that matters most in a quick and entertaining read. I have a very discerning palate.
Today’s topics: Vegetables, Processed Foods, Added Sugar
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Vegetables
The Story
If you consider french fries and ketchup to be one of your favorite vegetable pairings, you’re not alone. The USDA estimates nearly 50% of vegetables available in the US for consumption in 2013 were either tomatoes or potatoes. Looking for a way to diversify? Try lettuce. It came in third as the most available vegetable. Something about this is making me crave a burger….
The Details
The data from the USDA, published last week, found that not only is our veggie consumption largely focused on tater-tots, we’re still not coming close to eating the recommended 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables a day. 87% of adults failed to meet the recommended intake of vegetables during 2007-2010. So, does that mean the U.S. is eating potatoes and tomatoes because they’re more abundant or are farmers growing these crops because it’s what society demands? Marion Nestle, a leading nutrition researcher and food advocate points to the disconnect between agriculture and health policy for answers. “The USDA does not support ‘specialty crops’ [vegetables]…and the Department of Commerce’ figures show that the relative price of fruits and vegetables has gone up much faster than that of fast food or sodas.” A 2010 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine estimated that the U.S. vegetable supply would need to increase by 70% – almost entirely in dark greens, orange veggies and legumes – in order for Americans to meet daily recommended allowances.
Why it Matters
Clearly, Americans are used to eating potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce and changing dietary habits is no easy feat, especially if a population has grown up eating this way. Fortunately, a group of behavioral economists are focused on how to nudge kids toward more veggie diversity. Changes to school meal programs to incorporate more fruits and veggies seems to be working, and a Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity study found that since 2010, kids are eating more fruits and throwing away fewer vegetables from their school meals.
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Processed Foods
The Story
The authors of a new book, Ingredients, are revealing the ingredients of processed foods, or what Michael Pollan famously refers to as “food-like substances”, in a most visual way; through photographing their individual chemical components.
The Details
Can I get an extra side of artificial color Blue No. 1 with those Cool Ranch Doritos, please? The authors say their mission is less about fear-mongering and more about informing the public about what’s truly in the processed foods we eat. Steve Ettlinger, one of the book’s authors, contends that the real debate this book attempts to speak to is, “whether a diet filled with highly processed foods is as likely to be as good for you as one that minimizes them, and whether a food and agriculture system that relies extensively on artificial food ingredients, petroleum, and corporate, monoculture farming is sustainable and a good political and environmental policy”.
Why it Matters
Whatever the positions may be about the virtues or evils of artificial food ingredients, one theme that clearly emerges from this book: the foods we eat every day are often not what they seem. And another fact that’s clear: many processed foods deliver lots of calories without bringing an equal amount of nutritive value to the table.
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Factoid of the Day
About half of the sugars in U.S. diets come from sugar-sweetened beverages. Americans consume an average of 84 grams of added sugar per day (the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 24 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men).
Image from the book Ingredients