The food we eat - Our diet is our own responsibility

THE impact some industrialised food is having on our health — and our day-to-day economic survival as the chicken farmers of the south-east are learning — will be highlighted again in an Institute of Public Health report in November.

The report will tell us that more than 300,000 people on low incomes suffer from “modern malnutrition” because so much of what they — we — eat is junk.

Though so much of what is sold in supermarkets or at fast-food fat-fests looks like food, smells like food and seems to be food it does not contribute to a healthy lifestyle. In many instances it does the exact opposite.

The report will warn us that people with a limited food budget are overfed but undernourished. The institute says that 7% of us are caught in this trap and as our economy nose-dives that figure will grow quickly. Because so much of what passes as food is over-processed, over-flavoured, utterly dependent on preservatives or refrigeration and uses more colouring than a Louis Walsh boy band, a person on a poor diet may be overweight or even obese but deficient in nutrition.

If the truth be told it is probable that a lot of people, irrespective of income, are overfed but undernourished. So many of us are so time-poor — or think we are — that we cannot afford the time or be bothered to eat or cook properly. We can’t be bothered to chop and peel, to cook and then to clean up. All of this is understandable but nonetheless sad; it represents a diminished quality of life and a substantial cultural retreat.

And, as the report will confirm again, it affects our health. So much so that the report — commissioned by Safefood, a north/south food safety promotion board — will suggest that it is time for the government to engage the food industry to make healthy foods available at more affordable prices.

Food conglomerates and supermarkets have a huge influence over what we eat but they are powerful entities that will not concede advantage easily, so it may be expecting too much to ask the government to resolve this difficulty alone.

We have a responsibility to inform ourselves about what we are eating or feeding our children and we have a responsibility to change our habits if they are having undesirable consequences.

As in nearly every other walk of life real change can come through education. It is still possible to eat well in this country on a modest income but unless we have the time, the inclination or even the habit of being aware of what we can do to improve our diet this sad situation is unlikely to change.

Rather that waste energy and time confronting powerful business interests the government should reintroduce basic food programmes into all our schools and educate our children to eat and cook properly.

These life skills are the victims of economics or maybe even collateral victims of the gender wars but they have a significant role to play in our health and economy.

This country is one of the world’s great food producers and it is simply wrong that anyone living here should have to eat junk food.