Last night was Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution premiere on ABC. I’ve been waiting for this for what seems like forever, and was thrilled that Jon and I could actually watch it at our neighbors house. I cooked up a yummy shrimp stir fry, a batch of regular rice and a batch of gluten free rice for me, put it into our pyrex lidded bowls, slipped it all into a bag and across the street we went!
It was a fun evening. Pat and Anne, our neighbors, Tivo’d the program so we were able to pause the program at different points and dialogue about what we were watching. I knew that what Jamie Oliver was doing, would lead to startling revelations about the diet of our school kids in Huntington, Virginia as well as the rest of the country, but my god… What I saw was so disturbing I can’t even fathom it.
In a country, in a world actually, where we know what is nutritious, where we know that processed foods are causing all manner of obesity related diseases that are killing people daily, you would think that we would do what we could to steer clear of them. Instead, we make these poisonous foods cheaper, and train our kids to eat them from the time they start eating solid food. What also amazed me about the show last night was how people will tend to make arguments for their ignorance. Government statistics based on mortality is saying that this city is the unhealthiest in the US, and yet there is still resistance. Why do we do this?
I encourage you to watch the 2 hour premiere. Its important that we all know what is going on in the dietary evolution of this country. Below I am embedding both videos from Hulu.com.
I love Jamie Oliver and thought the new show was great- though for some unknown reason my dvr only recorded the first hour of the show?! Great blog- I just discovered it. Beautiful pictures!
Thanks Melange! You can watch the remainder of the episodes on Hulu.com or ABC.com. I’ve also embedded the episodes here and will try to do that for all the upcoming episodes as well.
I also saw the show in utter disbelief at the state of things in Huntington, though this is essentially the same as the rest of the country. The fact that children could not identify any of the vegetables in their raw state was a shock. This just tells me that the parents are putting the same thing on the home table as the school cafateria (if they aren’t eating out at McDonald’s). Also, I have to agree about the comment of defending their ignorance about and resistance to someone trying to improve their nutritional knowledge. GOOD LUCK JAMIE!!!
Jim, I too think this is nation wide. And although there are some areas that are more food conscious then others, the fact that school meals are USDA recommended speaks to a massive systemic problem that needs to be changed at the highest level. I think Jamie needs all the support he can get, and I’m thrilled that he won the TED price this year.
Bravo to Jamie Oliver for making parents wake up to the fact that this is going on in our schools. I, too, didn’t really think about it until I watched the show. After further consideration, I’m now packing lunches for my kids. Jamie can do it and I hope he has the success he deserves in Virginia and everywhere else! I wish the USDA and a physician’s panel along nutritionists would work TOGETHER in order to make our school lunches more nutritious, colorful, edible and enjoyable by the students. I definitely think they need to have some educational options at school (i.e. the vegetable class and more like that).
Ali, I agree about educational options, but you would think that something as common as FOOD would be covered in the earliest classes, especially when learning to read. Bravo to you, for making sack lunches for your little ones. That is an art in itself! Have you seen Hapa Bento? Its a great blog on Bento box meals. I’ve always fantasized about the day when I have to make myself a packed lunch or for my future kids and how i would try my hand at what is a totaly art! It makes eating out of a box a practice in beauty.
I really can’t give enough credit to Jamie Oliver for this show, and this movement. I know he has been all about transforming school lunches for quite a while now, but there’s no better way to get through to Americans than TV (unfortunately). Changing the way our kids eat has a bottom-up effect for everything from obesity to rising costs of healthcare…the list goes on.
I have loved this guy for so long and our entire family enjoys this show. I freaked out last week about the french fries being a veggie and his beautiful veggie noodle dish didn’t have enough veggies??? I was ANGRY as a matter of fact.
Don’t even get me started. We have all this knowledge at our fingertips and yet we still have these ridiculous nonsense regulations in place that are in the end killing people! And again, this isn’t new, it now like proper nutrition is some obscure little secret hidden away from public knowledge. Ya… Its shameful. I’m really hoping this will create a wide spread up rising in food changes for our society.