Read 'n' Seed 3: First quarter of "The Food Revolution"

I read pages 84 to 168 of, "The Food Revolution by John Robbin's and learned a lot of interesting information.

Main Topics
The main topics I learned about was: children eating unhealthy and contracts in schools with fast food companies/vending machines, the dairy industry making false advertises and making people believe milk cuts down the risk of osteoporosis. The book also talked about what is being most advertised in our economy is not necessarily healthy food choices, and lastly I learned about E coli.

Significant Things I learned/New Terminology

The average U.S. kid sees 1,000 ads each week that promotes eating unhealthy such as restaurants such as McDonald's and Taco Bell. Most kids that start eating unhealthy at an early age will eat unhealthy for the rest of their lives. More than 5,000 schools in the U.S. have contracts with fast food companies and supply vending machines. This only helps support bad habits and is not sending the right message about health to children. An interesting fact I read was that the amount spent annually by the dairy industry on milk ads is $190 million where as the amount spent on McDonald's advertising its products is $800 million. The amount spend annually by the National Cancer Institute promoting fruits and vegetables is $1 million. If the U.S. shifted more toward a plant based diet the majority of people would lead healthier lives, feel more energetic, and live longer.

I learned that the milk mustache commercials that promote milk to put the risk of osteoporosis is creating false information. There is no evidence according to the FDA that increased calcium intake from milk will lower the risk of osteoporosis. The Media called John Robbins, "the dairy industries public enemy number one" which is ironic because his father owned the largest ice cream company. John criticizes the dairy industry because they put ads out that are untrue and trick people into believing dairy products are necessary for a healthy diet. There was a study of more than 75,000 American nurses that found that women with the highest calcium consumption from dairy products actually had substantially more fractures than women who drank less milk.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 200 people in the United States officially become sick every day from E coli and several die. Ironically, undercooked meat is more likely to result in cancer. Ecol i bacteria can be found in up to 50% of the US cattle carcasses.

Implications of What I Read

What I read has a huge impact on Americans. People are not getting properly educated on certain foods such as dairy products and E coli. Also, there are way too many ads on T.V. promoting unhealthy eating. People need to get educated on foods and realize what is actually healthy for them opposed to what is not.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

SMART Goal- How I Achieved My Goal.

My SMART goal is to stop drinking pop and start drinking out of a reusable water bottle.

Successes and Challenges

Week 4 went by really fast for me, yet very well. I am impressed with how well my SMART goal is working out for me! I went home last weekend. Home is usually where I drink the most pop because I like pop with home cooked meals (for some odd reason). My mom offered me one multiple times and I was very happy with myself when I turned it down.

Feelings I Experienced
I felt great when I turned down pop and choice a more healthy choice. It made me feel more determined to achieve my goal. Also, when I tell people I have given up pop for this semester people really respect it and think it is really cool.

What I learned This Week

I feel each week I have wanted pop less and less. I also got a new pink water bottle which I am pretty excited about. I have been filling that up multiple times a day to keep hydrated.

Next week I plan to put orange juice in my water bottle and bring it to my morning classes, then drink water the rest of the day :)


Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Share and Voice: Being Eco Friendly Can Pay Economically

I found an article http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/adtrack/2005-08-14-ge_x.htm about companies being eco-friendly. Many Retailers are going green and consumers have been responding to it. Companies such as automakers have made hybrid vehicles mainstream which has had a great outcome. Even products such as cleaning supplies have had natural ingredients which has been a hit with consumers. The sales went up 250% since doing so. Going green has been a huge hit and companies are starting to realize this may boost sales. GO GREEN :)

Share and Voice: Fast Food and America

I thought this  YouTube Video was very inspirational. It shows a lot of obese kids and adults with  many eye opening statistics. I am very interested in obesity in children so it was a good video for me to watch. It makes you realize, if children are taught to eat unhealthy/fast food they will more than likely be unhealthy in their future. The lyrics to the song say, "what have you done today to make you feel good?". I thought this was a great song choice because when you think about it, in the U.S. their is vast majority of people who sit on their couch, watch tv, go on the computer, or play video games instead of being productive. If we can get people to go outside, be more adventurous, and work out and eat healthier (starting at an early age) our obesity rates would go down.

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

The cosmetic item I chose to evaluate is Victoria Secret's Dream Angels "Heavenly" perfume. I chose this product because it is something I use every day . I was a little shocked when I saw the results because I never really thought of perfume as being hazardous to the environment. I found out that the ingredients in this product are linked to developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, and other concerns for ingredients used in the product such as neurotoxicity, enhance skin absorption, and occupational hazards. On a scale from 1 to 10 my perfume was ranked at a 5 which is considered to be a moderate hazard. It is crazy to think that our every day objects are hazardous to the environment.