This was the last episode of this season. After spending 3 months in Huntington, West Virginia, Jamie offered up a review episode that showed what occurred after he left the town of Huntington and his return to help rectify the things that had started to go wrong.
He ended the episode on a positive note, but I have to say that this episode was quite disappointing for me and left me feeling like the battle for healthy real food in this country is a massive one – its a political one, and its all about money. Left to their own devices the Food Services in the district reordered the same bad processed food that Jamie had taken out of the school to the begin with. And in a move that would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrific, they created a ‘processed foods Friday’ menu so they could go through the surplus of processed foods they had. Processed food Fridays… What can there really be said about this? I mean who is the person that actually came up with that?
What I’m left with after watching this entire series is the importance to speak out. And speak out A LOT. I’m inspired to research the USDA deeper, and let them know that even though they say they know whats healthful, what they are pushing is actually killing this country. This is a political fight that comes down to money. Really. As Jamie has stated over and over again in this 6 week run, in 2010 we have the first generation of kids expected to live shorter lives then their parents. If this doesn’t get us all to stop what we are doing and completely change our habits and food culture, then what will?
If you want to do some research into the USDA, a good place to start is T. Colin Campbell's The China Study. He's a researcher and professor of nutrition at Cornell, and has been involved in US food policy for decades. The book discusses nutrition, but there's a section at the back where he talks about how US food policy has been established to support big ag rather than providing healthy and whole foods for the US. It's a great book.
As an aside, I'll be in So Cal for two weeks at the end of May, if you may be heading off the mountain at all. It'd be lovely to see you.
Thanks Denise, I'm adding this to my book list.
I won't be in California by May's end. Jon and I are leaving for Maui, May 13th and I will be there through the middle of August! Perhaps if you're out there? 🙂
I totally agree. I really respect what Jamie is doing- but it seems like in the US- more than other places- he's up against way too much with the wacky government subsidies, and food policy. You'd think it would always be more practical to have the fresh simple food- but apparently not. Have you read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma? Fascinating stuff.
I haven't read the Omnivore's Dilemma, but its in my 'to be read' pile! I'm hoping that this summer I'll be able to catch up on my reading. My guy read it and so did my best friend, and I got to hear some of it along the way. I'll likely write about it as I go through it.
I only saw that last episode, not the series. Why did he pick Huntington?
Andrea
Andrea,
He picked Huntington, West Virginina, because in a recent CDC study, that town and its surrounding towns were listed as the 'fattest' city in America.