Have you voted today? If you have had a grocery item run across the scanner, you have voted with your dollars.
It is easy to get a helpless feeling as we look at the country’s economic and healthcare situations. They go hand in hand since the cost of medical care is so great that it is bringing the country to the edge of an economic crash.
As Bob Schieffer explained on Face the Nation, it takes so much money to win public office that candidates take it from wherever they can get it. Because diseases are very profitable, huge industries involved in disease care and causes are the biggest contributors to political campaigns. In return, they require that the candidates pledge support of legislation that will assure them of continued and increasing profits. By the time presidents, or other lawmakers get elected, they are beholden to so many special interests that the have virtually no power to do the right thing.
If you stay on the alert, you will see the evidence of their powerlessness. Michelle Obama is on a campaign to correct the epidemic of obesity among children. She is to be commended for taking on such a challenging, and long overdue task. In her talk with school nutritionists, she says “Our kids don’t stop learning at lunch time.” She is encouraging that they be taught by experiencing healthy foods. Mrs. Obama said small changes in the school cafeteria can make a big difference in the number of calories kids consume at school including switching from 2 percent to 1 percent milk, switching away fruits served in heavy syrup, and substituting low fat salad dressing. I notice she did not say anything about the dairy industries biggest seller, and unhealthiest milk given to school kids – chocolate milk, which is full of sugar and fat. Why didn’t she say that we need to be providing fresh, raw fruit, and not just switching away from fruits canned in heavy syrup? I doubt that low fat salad dressing will be helpful when fat is replaced with larger amounts of sugar. What she did say would have no detrimental influence on the food industries involved.
Famous alternative physician, Joseph Mercola, appeared on Dr. Oz’s show last week. I have read his newsletter for years and I have quoted what he says is most important for your health – stop drinking sodas and eating sugar. When asked what was the most important on Dr. Oz’s show, he replied, take krill oil for its omega 3 content. He does recommend krill oil (and it is now advertised on television) but he does not believe it is most important. Take a look at who sponsored the show, and you will know why he couldn’t tell the truth.
A pharmacist told me once that you wouldn’t believe the power of the pharmaceutical industry. That also applies to the food industry. They both thrive on the poor health of the population.
Knowing all this, there is still a group of people more powerful than any industry, or the governmental body. Every time you buy an apple instead of a candy bar, you are voting for your own health and that of everyone else. Whenever you choose an organic apple, you make an even stronger statement. Whenever you read the small print on packages of food and you see a long list of questionable ingredients, you put it back on the shelf; you cast a vote for better health.
Walmart has started carrying some certified organic produce. Last week I found cauliflower, broccoli, celery, green onions, and carrots. A spokesman for Walmart said they are responding to consumer demand.
As I was looking for information to complete this column, I went to Dr. Mercola’s website and found the following, which summarizes what I am trying to say: “It all boils down to this: if you want to optimize your health, you must return to the basics of healthy food choices. Put your focus on WHOLE foods — foods that have not been processed or altered from their original state — food that has been grown or raised as nature intended, without the use of chemical additives, drugs, hormones, pesticides and fertilizers. It is not nearly as daunting a task as it may seem to find a local farmer that can supply your family with healthy, humanely raised animal products and produce.”
We need to support those markets that are responding to consumer demand for healthier foods. At the same time, we are wise to buy as much as possible from local growers. Once you make the switch, the choice will seem natural.
Let’s face the fact that we cannot count on politicians who have made room in their beds for industries. It is up to us to implement change with the dollars we spend.
The consumer is king, if we only know it and are willing to take the responsibility!
(Janice Norris lives in Heber Springs, has a B.S. in home economics from Murray State University, taught home economics, owned and operated health food stores in Illinois and Heber Springs, has taught numerous health and nutrition classes, and wrote a weekly newspaper column in Illinois for 15 years. She can be reached at janicenorris34@yahoo.com)
