The American Food Revolution: Jamie Oliver Leads The Way

Posted on | April 7, 2010 | 1 Comment

Mike Magee

Last night, my wife Trish forced me to sit down and watch British chef Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution“. (1) He’s on a mission to change the way America eats. And he has some experience doing just that . His 4 part series in the UK unlocked the purse strings to the tune of 1 billion dollars. (2) His target? The British school lunch system. His answer? Fresh and local, and no more junk in the vending machines.

Now it’s on to the US, and he’s begun in Huntington, WV. Why? Because an AP report of CDC data identified it as a pretty unhealthy town. It indicates that the nationwide obesity median percentage is 26.3. West Virginia has 30.3%. The Huntington Area has 32.4%. (3)

You should take a moment to watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution not for the recipes but for the interesting way Jamie mobilizes teens in the effort. He dismantles our bias that reforming our food culture is an unattainable goal. Not that this is an easy nut to crack. We eat out a lot, our portion sizes are huge, we’re unaware or unconcerned with what’s actually in our food, and our habits are reinforced by everything around us.

But Jamie isn’t the first food guy to see pay dirt in what is possible. (CONTINUE ….)

Category: American diet, childhood obesity, food revolution, Jamie Oliver, nutrition, obesity, public health

Comments

One Response to “The American Food Revolution: Jamie Oliver Leads The Way”

Michelle Mancell
April 13th, 2010 @ 11:17 pm

I have never watched this show, but I have noticed the positive reactions this chef is getting. The first tv broadcast I saw Jamie on was with the Food Network years ago. I religiously watched the line ups and even new the broadcast times when each chef would air. I always thought this guy really loved to cook and truly wanted the audience to know the best and freshest foods to cook with. He promoted healthier ways to eat and taught you how to enjoy them. Even if most of them were veggies.
We need to take some responsibility of our own and not just blaming the local McDonald’s or Burger King for our downfalls. They are providing foods that adults and children enjoy. They are in the business to make money too. I believe that we can all eat what we want provided that we eat those “bad foods” in moderation and not to forget the “good foods” along the way. Routine exercise will also allow you more freedom to enjoy certain foods deemed “not good for you”. We make those choices to eat those foods and how much we eat as well. No one holds a gun to our heads. All I’m saying is, we need to take some responsibility and learn to control those urges to overconsume and make unhealthy choices of foods. We can “just say no” to these temptations and still enjoy our lives. I try to eat healthy everyday. I drink plenty of water along with a moderate amount of fruit. I also try to broil or bake my foods without adding too much salt and butter. I try not to go back for seconds and I always eat with a small plate. These things help me to control my urges. Fattening foods will always be made available to the public. I would not want the government to restrict me from obtaining those foods if I want them, but I know the consequences that I will face if I overindulge. My self image, self esteem and my health. My health will effect others at some point and I would not want to burden society for my downfalls.