Sara Thomas

Food has always been a topic of debate in the United States. Historically, there has been a lot of debate about which foods are good for you, and which are not. As our readings for today point out, what "the experts" consider healthy is ever changing. The sad part about the what the readings discuss is why the idea of health is ever changing. With the agricultural industry being so heavily involved in the decision making, the concept of healthy foods has become very difficult for most people to understand. Unfortunately, those individuals who do not have access to information that is not provide by health officials who are being governed by industry have become disadvantaged where health is concerned. I remember growing up with a different food pyramid that the current version. How is one expected to know how to eat healthy when the concepts are always changing, and there is not an easy way of knowing which concepts are biased? I find it very frustrating that we even have to consider the fact that agencies which are supposed to exist solely to ensure we get valid information about our health may not be giving us the whole truth. I should not have to do research to find out if the FDA's recommendation that I eat two servings a meat per day is in fact a good recommendation. However, this has become the case. I am excited that people are starting to do something about this, though. I hope through a food movement of sorts, we can get more transparency in our food related government agencies. This seems to be the trend, hopefully it will continue.