Ethical Companies – The Blog

Calls for cigarette-style health warnings on junk food that is ‘as addictive as heroin and cocaine’

Junk food is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, scientists say. Studies show that the fat, salt and sugar rush of fast food affects has the same effect on the brain as hard drugs. The findings have led to calls for cigarette-style health warnings to be placed on boxes and wrappers – and even the suggestion that manufacturers could be sued for knowingly putting people’s health at risk.

Sigh, here we go again.  It’s ABOUT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.  if I want to eat 15 Big macs a week I will, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, it’s my decision and it’s not for the “nanny state” to decide.  Don’t get me wrong I am not a McDonald’s evangelist (McVangelist ?) but they have as much to sell their produce in this country as fish and chip shops, Kentucky Fried Chicken etc.  What next ?  Health warnings on the Foie Gras at Mosimann’s and Petrus (I don’t know if Anton Mosimann or Gordon Ramsay have Foie Gras on their menus but it’s a relatively safe bet that they have done at some point in time).  For the uninitiated Foie Gras is seriously “loadsa calories” (and cholesterol etc) food, being the fattened liver of a goose.

The research comes as Britain fights a rising tide of obesity, with weight loss surgery alone costing the NHS more than £32million a year. The idea that junk food is addictive is fast becoming accepted by researchers, says this week’s New Scientist. The first hint came from American studies on rats showing that those fed on syrup developed brain and behaviour changes similar to rodents hooked on morphine. Crucially, the animals released the pleasure-seeking brain chemical dopamine after every sugar hit – a hallmark of drug addiction. Allowing rats to binge on bacon, sausage, icing and chocolate also caused ‘very, very striking’ changes to the brain,similar to those seen with cocaine and heroin. Even electric shocks did not deter them from getting their junk food ‘fix’.

I’ve worked with cocaine and heroin addicts, Big macs do NOT have the same effects (either on your health or personal life).

When people are shown pictures of their favourite foods, a decision-making area of the brain called the orbital frontal cortex experiences a surge of dopamine. The same area is activated when cocaine addicts are shown a bag of white power. New Scientist says: ‘There is now compelling evidence that foods high in sugar, fat and salt – as most junk foods are – can alter your brain chemistry in much the same way as highly addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The food industry says that junk food is only addictive to a ‘certain subset of consumers who don’t exhibit the discipline required’.

No kidding Sherlock.

Hank Cardello, a former Coca Cola executive, says solutions include giving tax relief to companies making healthy foods.
He added: ‘People aren’t going to change their behaviour. To me it’s about getting calories of the streets.’

“Getting calories off the streets” hahahaha, ain’t gonna happen.  This springs to mind:

“First they came for the drinkers, and I did not speak out—because I was not a drinker;

Then they came for the smokers, and I did not speak out—because I was not a smoker;

Then they came for the motorists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a motorist;

Then they came for the dog owners, and I did not speak out—because I was not a dog owner;

Then they came for the fat people, and I did not speak out—because I was not fat;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

The comments on that Daily Mail article really are unbelievable though:

Roger in Brighton is a real barrel of laughs isn’t he ?

Steve

Tweet This Post 

You can’t fail to notice that what we eat is getting a lot more “press” these days, for reasons of food provenance and also discussions about obesity etc. Yesterday I spotted an article on the Telegraph website about the “Bacon Explosion”:

There’s something about the dish known as bacon explosion that’s typically American. If you haven’t come across it, the recipe comprises Italian sausagemeat and syrupy barbecue sauce all bound up in a sort of roll with a lattice of fatty bacon, then smoked on a barbecue at a rate of one hour per inch. The whole thing contains about half a kilo of fat.

Yummy, half a kilo of fat …. Not. The article goes on tell you about a website called This is why you’re fat which shows a number of examples of American cuisine, some real items from menus, some presumably “home” recipes:

From FlipFlops in New Smyrna, FL. Four half pound patties with potato pancakes, five cheeses, grilled peppers, fried onions, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and a pound of fries for a side.

Do Americans really eat this sort of burger “regularly” ?  Or is it just all gimmick, designed to get customers in the door ?  I feel queasy now ….

Steve

Tweet This Post 

It seems the world is full of fibs/lies.  I know it’s a bit “nit picking” but what really really bugs me is advertising lies.  I mean companies blatantly go around saying things which are complete porkies “Britain’s number 1 car rental company” and things like that (I’m not picking on the car rental industry incidentally, it really is the first thing which popped into my head).

So, examples ?  Well, currently there is an advert on TV (can’t seem to find it on YouTube sorry) where a trio of “ladies” are discussing laser eye surgery and this Indian woman (well I assume she’s Indian, she looks it) pipes up with “it’s affordable for everyone”.  Really ?  Is £395 per eye really “affordable for everyone” ?  of course it isn’t you LIAR.  Let’s see, the retired, the unemployed, and the not very well paid ….  Is £395 (per eye) “affordable” to them ? Optimax Laser Eye Surgery are therefore basically liars.

Yesterday I stopped and got a coffee at a “snack wagon”.  Well it wasn’t your run of the mill “snack wagon”, they sold decent coffee and there wasn’t a film of grease everywhere.  HOWEVER, the menu board clearly stated “freshly cut sandwiches”.  Excuse me ?  I can see the “crappy tasting sandwich made in a factory and shoved in plastic” in your fridge (glass door) from here !  This is like saying supermarket sandwiches from the chiller are “freshly cut”, NO THEY ARE NOT.

Ok, this might seem a little petty of me, but honestly it really does niggle at me sometimes.  I can forgive the sandwiches, but Optimax is so blatantly “full of it”, and I wish they’d get off the TV.

Steve

Tweet This Post 

Now £5-a-jar Marmite is more expensive than petrol.

It’s a nursery favourite that has nourished generations of children – but now Marmite is more expensive pound for pound than rump steak, with a large jar costing more than £5.

I love Marmite (not that I eat it very often), but a “nursery favourite” ? I don’t think so somehow. I hated it as a child and I can’t imagine many kids liking the taste, children (in my experience) don’t like “strong” flavours, although I grant you there may be exceptions.

The yeast spread you either love or hate has risen in price by 25 per cent over the past five years for no obvious reason. A 500g pot costs £5.03 at Sainsbury and £5.38 at Waitrose – which means it can cost more than a gallon of petrol in most parts of Britain. Yet sales are booming. They rose by two per cent last year despite the recession – and around 60 million jars are produced for sale annually. The big supermarket chains were last night unable to explain the steep price rise and food giant Unilever, which owns the Marmite name, declined to discuss it.

It sounds a lot of money, but in fairness a £5 jar of Marmite lasts me about 2 years. As for why it’s gone up, it’s obvious isn’t it ? Unilever, like any other company, will charge as much as they think they can get away with. If sales dip, then the price might come down, it’s basic supply and demand Keynesian economics, hardly a “mystery”.

Adam Leyland, editor of the industry magazine The Grocer, said: ‘Compared with bread, which has gone up by around 40 per cent in price over the past five years, this is a relatively modest rise. ‘But Marmite does not appear to contain any ingredients that have been subject to sharp price hikes. This could be a case of Unilever trying to increase its profit margins.’

No kidding Mr Leyland. Unilever is a big big company, and whilst we may criticise them for raising the price of Marmite, I suspect there are other products they manufacture/sell which are not doing so well. So, it’s swings and roundabouts, they have to make the profit someplace and if demand for Marmite exists and people will pay the price then it’s a no brainer really.

The brand’s high price is a far cry from its humble beginnings. It was first manufactured in 1902 using a process that turned yeast sludge left over from brewing beer into a protein-rich food with a high vitamin B and folic acid content. It was given away free in NHS baby clinics until the Sixties because of its nutritional value. A Waitrose spokesman said: ‘We are constantly reviewing our prices to ensure great value and this is something we will look at.’ A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘I don’t know why this has happened.’

Lovely “non” statements there from the supermarkets. Anyhow, I’m sure there’s lot of things more expensive than petrol.

Steve

Tweet This Post 

A few snippets from the news on food I don’t want to write long articles on:

Is this Britain’s unhealthiest snack? Chip shop launches calorie-laden deep fried ECCLES CAKE

Well, sounds interesting, I like Eccles Cakes after all. Why not ?

The world’s first ‘lasagne sandwich’: The new ’snack’ from Tesco that rivals even the most fattening American treats.

Apparently these are quite common. Never tried it myself, sounds revolting.

KFC introduces ’sandwich’ with buns made of CHICKEN instead of bread (but at 1,228 calories, it’s not exactly healthy).

Sounds divine I love KFC.

Just can it: U.S. inventors dream up ultimate convenience food… sandwiches in a TIN.

Sounds like a good idea, but I get the feeling it will taste revolting.

Tourists beware: London voted ‘Europe’s worst city for food’.

Not surprised. I can never decide what to eat in London. Unless you go “expensive” it’s hard to find anything worth the money in my experience. I suppose it depends on what they mean by “London”, I’m sure the suburbs have some decent places.

Sell-by date to go in war on waste: 450,000 tons of good food are dumped every year.

About time too ….

Steve

Tweet This Post 

Junk food mountain: The astonishing amount of rubbish one child eats every year.

This shocking picture, with its piles of oven chips, mini rolls and tubs of icecream, represents just how much junk food one child in the UK consumes in a year. It is perhaps unsurprising then that today’s children have been labeled the ‘junk food generation’, with a third of youngsters aged five to 13 already considered obese. Despite this, the Conservatives have decided to axe the watchdog that was set up a decade ago to regulate the junk-food companies. The Food Standards Agency was set up in 2000 to hold food firms to account after a series of scandals in which people had died from food-borne illnesses such as e.coli and CJD. But today Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will unveil a long-awaited white paper containing plans to abolish it as part of a ‘bonfire of quangos’.

“Oh my God, won’t somebody please think of the children ….” Ok, so that’s over reacting.  However, let’s not get too paranoid here, kids eat “crap”, let’s face it. My youth was interspersed with Cheesey Wotsits, crisp sandwiches, tomato ketchup sandwiches, Pot Noodles (the cheese and tomato one was yummy, sadly the manufacturers ditched it some years ago) and Pink Panther “candy” bars. I’m still alive, and whilst not as healthy as I could be, I haven’t turned out too bad, or too fat either.

The decision to reduce regulation on food companies will enrage doctors who only this weekend called on ministers to impose ‘fat taxes’ on unhealthy food – and cigarette-style warnings to children about the dangers of a poor diet. The Health Secretary was accused of being ‘taken to the cleaners’ by food companies after announcing plans to ditch tough controls on salt, sugar and fat content – if producers agree to fund healthy eating campaigns. Junk-food companies admitted they had not yet been asked to provide any money. Mr Lansley defended the plans, saying the closure of health bodies would save £1billion a year in bureaucracy costs. So while the political debate rages, just what ARE British children eating ? The Food Standards Agency and the 2009 National Diet and Nutrition Survey have calculated the amount of junk that children consume per year – and it makes worrying reading.

Fat taxes are not a good idea in my opinion and there are reasons for this:

• How the hell would we implement such a ruling ?  Who gets to decide what is and isn’t “fat” and/or “unhealthy” ?  Are we suggesting skimmed milk wouldn’t be taxed but full fat milk would ?  I might not know a whole lot about kids, but I’m pretty sure that full fat milk is likely to be pretty “nutritious” and good for children, on a number of levels.
• Individual responsibility, we all have it.  Why should we “coerce” people to change their eating habits.  If I want to live on kebabs and milkshakes I will, thank you very much.  We all know coercion doesn’t work, we tax alcohol, tobacco, petrol and diesel to death yet we still have alcoholics, smokers and couriers ….
• Parental responsibility.  It’s the responsibility of parents to feed and bring up their children, not the state’s.  Educate the parents by all means but coercion and tax is not the answer.
• Fat taxes are unfair.  Extreme example: if a 7 stone grandmother of 75 wants to stuff herself silly on a McDonald’s “make it fat sod” meal then why should she pay tax on it ?  At 7 stone she’s hardly overweight and by this stage it’s hardly likely to kill her either.
• Balance.  What you eat and drink is all about balance.  There’s nothing wrong with the occasional chocolate bar, donor kebab or even a trip to Taybarns, it’s all about HOW MUCH you eat (if you haven’t tried Taybarns I do actually recommend it, see my earlier review).

Let’s have a look at that picture again ….

I see milk …. Milk is NOT junk food, neither are fish fingers or fruit juice in my opinion.  Whilst some of this stuff is undoubtedly not too healthy, a lot of it’s not too bad.  And Dairylea Triangles, come on come on, that’s an essential part of childhood

Mind you this article is in the Daily Mail ….

Steve

PS have you ever tried to get kids to eat “healthy” all the time ?  Leah (my daughter) basically spent most of her teenage years avoiding vegetables like the plague, to her tomato ketchup was as close as she got to vegetables ….  She’s turned out a healthy girl, nice figure, attractive and all the rest of it (and that’s not just parental bias).

Tweet This Post 

Gemma Merna slinks off for a midnight snack after partying with glamorous Hollyoaks cast.

Part of the Daily Mail’s stunning contribution to journalism and media coverage. Sarcastic, moi ?

Seriously, did she have it “made large” ? Did she opt for quarter pounder with cheese or Big Mac ? Does she drink McDonald’s “shakes” (I use the term shake loosely here) ? Does anybody care ?

Blasted woman, I fancy a Big Mac now

Steve

Tweet This Post 

Eat less meat to save 18,000 lives, warns government’s medical chief.

As regular readers will no doubt I agree with people having the right to smoke and have commented upon such on a number of occasions. I have also intimated on a number of occasions that the “anti smoking” campaign could well be the “thin end of the wedge” and as such is being used to control people in the name of “it’s good for you”, uh huh. I’ve also mentioned the following famous passage on a number of occasions:

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.” – Martin Niemöller

We could oh so easily change communists or socialists etc to drinkers, smokers, motorcycle riders, motorists and so on. So they’ve come for the motorcyclists (compulsory crash helmets), the motorists (compulsory seat belts) and they’re coming for the smokers and the drinkers …. Yes, next thing you know it’s all about what we/you eat, and if you’re “obese” or even (heaven forbid) “a bit portly” then you just know you’re going to get some “grief”, from someone somewhere.  So what do we have this time ? “Eat less meat”:

“Britons should significantly reduce the amount of meat they eat in order to save thousands of lives, the chief medical officer said yesterday. Sir Liam Donaldson said that if the country cut its meat consumption by 30 per cent, 18,000 premature deaths from heart disease would be avoided each year. And the resulting fall in the number of sick people would mean tens of thousands of extra ‘healthy life years’”

Just because not doing something means you live longer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to stop doing it.  Heck we might all live longer if we live in Norway, so let’s all move to Norway shall we ?  Err no, I have nothing against Norway but I don’t want to live there, same as I don’t want to quit eating meat.  It’s all about pros and cons as well so eat less meat and PRO you might live longer but CON you might prefer to eat meat (which is enjoyable) and live less, nobody wants to spend their entire life eating lentils and tofu (ok extreme case formulation strategy there I know, but you see what I mean).  In the comments on the Daily Mail article we have Jimmy Smith from Norfolk:

“Eat this, dont eat that, do this dont do that, this is bad for you, this is good for you, eat 5 of this a day, dont smoke, dont drink, get 7 hrs sleep a night, how about you all please shut up and keep your opinions to yourself, I’ll live my life how I choose. We all die at some point anyways, why not enjoy our time on this planet.”

Well it’s a good point. As for myself I don’t smoke, I don’t drink (not much, really really not much), I don’t “do” illegal drugs and I don’t gamble (not counting the lottery). I am soooo NOT giving up meat as well, in fact I have this urge for a nice big juicy steak right now, so well done Liam Donaldson for promoting the British Beef industry.  And if Mrs Donaldson is listening and is tired of Liam’s sanctimonious ranting, get him one of these for his birthday, he’ll sooooo love it:

Steve

Tweet This Post 

My last post (quote of the day by David Jason) reminded me about something which I’ve been thinking about (on and off obviously, I’m not a total anorak) for some time now.  That is the subject of hotels, more specifically the food in hotels.  Most of them can turn out a half decent breakfast these days and with the advent of decent coffee machines and ready made pastries even mid morning nibbles and afternoon tea etc is half decent.

Where a lot of hotels (obviously not all of them but a lot in my experience) fail on is food during the rest of the day.  Like I say above other than breakfast so many of them can’t seem to turn out anything half decent food wise.  Isn’t this a missed opportunity ?  They have to employ chefs anyway, so why not turn out some decent lunches and dinners ?

When I was working away from home all the time I learnt very quickly NOT to eat at the hotel, other than breakfast.  Here’s some of the disasters I recall:

• Courtyard Marriott, Northampton – A salmon dish which was on a base of “noodles”.  Well I say noodles, it was more like uncooked spaghetti, brittle and very nasty.
• Marriott, Cromwell Road in West London – My wife had to send a steak back three times for being undercooked.  When it came back the last time it was still pink in the middle and the waitress said “that’s well done”.  Uh huh, and I’m George Clooney.  I have been a chef, I know what a well done steak should look like.
• Some hotel in Manchester near the Science Museum – Steak au Poivre.  Gravy with pepper stirred into it is not pepper sauce ….

There’s plenty more like this, but you get the idea.  Don’t get me wrong I actually like the Marriott hotels but DON’T EAT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE BREAKFAST there.

Some hotels on the other hand though ….  Mosimann’s at the London Swissotel is simply superb food, but there again Anton Mosimann is probably one of the greatest chefs ever.

Steve

Tweet This Post 

Ok, ok it’s a blatant plug. However, I am aware a lot of visitors to this site are from the North Staffordshire area. Michelle and Dave over at Rock End Farm are now offering very high quality beef packs from local cattle. The beef is properly matured and the cows well husbanded, so you can be sure of the provenance of the meat. Recommended all round, check it out here:

Rock End Farm

Steve

Tweet This Post