Macdon1588
03-05-2013, 03:52 PM
Paul Spector, M.D.: Addicted to Food? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-spector-md/food-addiction_b_2791232.html)
I think this article does a pretty good job of hinting what we are up against in the modern era. I used to drink diet Coke in the belief that it was better for me than regular coke. Then one day, I realized something that was pretty fucking creepy. I realized that the only thing that diet coke did was make me want to drink more diet coke. It's a scary concept really. It's a drug in the form of a combination of chemicals than simply addicts you to the thing itself without any reward. I mean, I really wanted the caffeine buzz, but I never really got that jolt despite drinking pails of that caustic shit. Coffee packs the caffeine that I need, but I don't find myself needing another mug of coffee like I did with diet Coke.
My further evidence is my wife. She gave up caffeine after a month long bout of insomnia and switched to entirely water. Missing the diet Coke, she decided to drink caffeine free diet coke. At first it was just sparingly, but after a while, she drinks that shit at the same rate as she ever drank the caffeinated stuff.
People talk all day long about the evil industry that I am in (oil and natural gas) but no really discusses the food industry to any great lengths. The media cast a blind eye to the fact that there is an oligarchy of monopolies controlling various areas of the food supply. Take a look at the ConAgra and Archer Daniels Midland empires. You see that those two firms alone have grain supplies on a virtual lockdown. Because of their market power and ability to effect grain prices, they affect the price of food for the entire world, which is particularly scary to parts of the world where the spot price of rice determines whether or not a person can afford to eat. The fact that a company can starve people to death ought to be a bigger issue than the price of gas for your SUV. I am convinced that their market interest alone is why the antiquated food pyramid remains unchanged as it can easily be converted into a pie chart that represents ConAgra's market interests.
There should have been a huge red flag when the tobacco giants got into the food game. We KNOW these guys are criminals that hide the truth about the deadliness of their products by manipulating research, blocking funding to studies and hiding the amount of various dangerous chemicals in cigarettes with the help of heavy lobbying groups. I believe that the food products should have to bear the same warning labels that cigarettes have. People ought to be informed that the 44oz Mountain Dew and Poptarts they call breakfast IS going to KILL them over time.
I'm a libertarian and simply put I believe that your freedom ends at the tip of my nose; as long as what you do doesn't effect me, do it to your heart's content. That said, smoking effects no only the smoker, but also the rest of society that has to foot the bill for all of the heightened medical cost and the same is true with food. Thus, there are taxes and regulations in place that have reduced the cost of smoking to society and the information campaign against cigarettes has reduced the amount of smokers. As soon as the truth was put out there, people started to make better choices about smoking and tobacco in general. I believe that the time has come to do this with food products. I know that it seems like I am advocating increasing the reach and power of our nanny government, but, I just feel that the vast majority of people are miseducated or undereducated about the effects of food products because the truth is being hidden from them.
I think this article does a pretty good job of hinting what we are up against in the modern era. I used to drink diet Coke in the belief that it was better for me than regular coke. Then one day, I realized something that was pretty fucking creepy. I realized that the only thing that diet coke did was make me want to drink more diet coke. It's a scary concept really. It's a drug in the form of a combination of chemicals than simply addicts you to the thing itself without any reward. I mean, I really wanted the caffeine buzz, but I never really got that jolt despite drinking pails of that caustic shit. Coffee packs the caffeine that I need, but I don't find myself needing another mug of coffee like I did with diet Coke.
My further evidence is my wife. She gave up caffeine after a month long bout of insomnia and switched to entirely water. Missing the diet Coke, she decided to drink caffeine free diet coke. At first it was just sparingly, but after a while, she drinks that shit at the same rate as she ever drank the caffeinated stuff.
People talk all day long about the evil industry that I am in (oil and natural gas) but no really discusses the food industry to any great lengths. The media cast a blind eye to the fact that there is an oligarchy of monopolies controlling various areas of the food supply. Take a look at the ConAgra and Archer Daniels Midland empires. You see that those two firms alone have grain supplies on a virtual lockdown. Because of their market power and ability to effect grain prices, they affect the price of food for the entire world, which is particularly scary to parts of the world where the spot price of rice determines whether or not a person can afford to eat. The fact that a company can starve people to death ought to be a bigger issue than the price of gas for your SUV. I am convinced that their market interest alone is why the antiquated food pyramid remains unchanged as it can easily be converted into a pie chart that represents ConAgra's market interests.
There should have been a huge red flag when the tobacco giants got into the food game. We KNOW these guys are criminals that hide the truth about the deadliness of their products by manipulating research, blocking funding to studies and hiding the amount of various dangerous chemicals in cigarettes with the help of heavy lobbying groups. I believe that the food products should have to bear the same warning labels that cigarettes have. People ought to be informed that the 44oz Mountain Dew and Poptarts they call breakfast IS going to KILL them over time.
I'm a libertarian and simply put I believe that your freedom ends at the tip of my nose; as long as what you do doesn't effect me, do it to your heart's content. That said, smoking effects no only the smoker, but also the rest of society that has to foot the bill for all of the heightened medical cost and the same is true with food. Thus, there are taxes and regulations in place that have reduced the cost of smoking to society and the information campaign against cigarettes has reduced the amount of smokers. As soon as the truth was put out there, people started to make better choices about smoking and tobacco in general. I believe that the time has come to do this with food products. I know that it seems like I am advocating increasing the reach and power of our nanny government, but, I just feel that the vast majority of people are miseducated or undereducated about the effects of food products because the truth is being hidden from them.