One of my favorite food bloggers, Adam at The Amateur Gourmet, has a great post today on the hypocrisy of society’s paternalistic viewpoint on obesity and healthy eating. He points out exactly what I so often say (less articulately than he does, as my words are marred by my own personal frustrations): ‘healthy’ people eat badly sometimes too. And as he so rightly states, just because the fried chicken you get at your favorite hipster hotspot is local and free-range and organic, doesn’t mean it’s not dredged in flour and fried in hot fat, just like KFC.
The post is thoughtful and frank, and it ends on a comment that I think is applicable to the way we as a society treat ‘the obesity epidemic’:
“instead of preaching from the mountaintop, the best we can do to effect change in this country is to admit that we’re all human, that we all enjoy our pleasures, it’s just a question of balance.”
Word, Adam. Personally, I think the idea of admitting that we’re all human (and all individuals, who defy grouping on a very basic level), is one of the best first steps I’ve heard for solving (or just beginning to understand) the problems our society faces. Now if only the rest of the world would take that first step with us…
Side note: Adam’s post also makes me feel much better about my plan to make macaroni and cheese this weekend. Hey, I had a very healthy (free-range) chicken pozole for dinner last night, and tonight it’ll be salad (again)!
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