Article/tv prog about the food industry...

Disturbing but not surprising. Article here - show is on BBC2 tonight, I believe.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us-fat?cat=business&type=article

I watched Supersize me at the weekend. It is frightening how well these foods are marketed. I did read a study about how humans still crave fatty / sugary items because farming is relatively new, and our bodies are still programmed to forage and store.

I for one definitely crave sugar!

The programme was good, but to be honest, not revolutionary.

I didn't watch it myself. The stuff in the article would probably be known by most people who are aware of food and what goes on, but it would be good to be more widely disseminated. It's not difficult to avoid the junk if you're aware.

The article doesn't surprise me, one reason I try and stick with whole foods and fresh cooking is to limit my intake of added nasties. Unfortunately I DO like some junk foods and even though I limit it, my total resistance hasn't quite happened yet.

I think most people have a naturally sweet palate, sweet foods taste nice and are often energy givers (such as fruits). It's just sent into overdrive with added sugars in modern foods. African hunter-gatherers won't turn down honey from a bees nest, I doubt our cave type ancestors didn't either. It's a tasty source of energy.

Got to agree with you there GoneFishin. I much prefer organic foods although the only problem is how expensive it is to go organic. I have a real sweet tooth but I love the sweet taste of honey just as much. And you're not alone on the junk food thing - chocolate and bombay mix <3 

I have read articles and seen some TV programmes on organic foods that say there is no benefit of organic farming, or rather, the methods that farmers are allowed to use and still call their foods organic, mean there is little difference.

It's a difficult balance, and I'm sure over time these additives will affect us in different ways (if some people are dying young and not breeding, perhaps the genes that will cope with all the crap will get passed on). Additives are scary, though. I make my own bread, and within 2 days, the loaf is stale. Compare that to a loaf you but at the supermarket that keeps going for a week...

I'm sceptical about the attacks on organic farming - there are all sorts of agendas out there funding & promoting this research. It's true that it's a hard thing to define and police, but that is not always the farmer's fault. Can there really be such a thing as an isolated organic system anyway?

But actually organic is the only long term approach that can work. Intensive agriculture with chemical assistance is turning farmland into near desert - top soil, where it used to be measured in feet, is now measured in inches, and once it's gone, it's gone. Those dust storms that sweep across America and China are topsoil blowing away.... 

Too much short term thinking out there.

Hmm...scary stuff. I always feel a bit lost when shopping because I never know what's actually organic.

Very well put and I couldn't agree more.

I'm the same. I'd love to buy all organic but I never know what is and what isn't, and anything that is seems to be a bit too expensive! I may just start growing my own in my garden ;)

I love the idea of growing my own vegetables and herbs, and even have chickens to lay my eggs, but I don't know if I've got the time or the patience to be honest. maybe if I didn't work full time I would, so perhaps I will do this when I'm retired!

Check out Urban Organic Gardener on Facebook - he's starting an online step-by-step course in a few days:

http://www.fallgardening101.com/

I'm the same as you Rachel. I love the idea of having my own little allotment but i just don't think I'd ever get round to watering it.