I have decided to address the news article directly.
Long Beach, California (CNN) -- Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver on Wednesday called for an overhaul of America's food system, saying the country's poor decisions about what to eat are shortening life spans and increasing health care costs.
I agree with this assessment. Our system encourages poor food choice by making poorer foods appear cheaper, if not outright resulting in a higher cost for a healthier diet.
"My wish is for you to have a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity," he said in a speech at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California.
[sarcasm]The pretension of this man, how dare he wish that such a movement be strong and sustainable. The audacity to put his support and experience behind a movement in the US.[/sarcasm] Notice he is not claiming to start such a movement. He wants a strong sustainable movement and he is offering, unsolicited, his advice and experience in such movements.
Oliver, who is best known for the TV series, "The Naked Chef," will star in an upcoming ABC series where he promotes local, healthy food as a way to fight obesity in Huntington, West Virginia, which he called the most unhealthy community in the United States.
Promoting healthy eating and cooking habits through television progamming. I feel he may have some understanding of US culture.
"This is a global problem. It is a catastrophe. It is sweeping the world. England is right behind you [America], as usual," he said. "We need a revolution."
Emotional pleading. I choose to ignore this and move on to something substational.
Oliver was awarded the TED Prize, which is given to speakers each year at the nonprofit group's conference. Prize winners are invited to make one "wish" that will change the world. The organization gives the winner $100,000 and helps honorees raise money to make their wishes come true.
This sounds promising. Money is important in supporting an educational campaign.
Members of the audience stood up to pledge Oliver their support after his short talk.
Hopefully they do something more directly active.
Oliver, who grew up working in his father's pub and restaurant in Essex, England, outlined a number of specific steps to help America get back to local and fresh foods and to combat obesity. Among them, he said:
Here comes the meat!
• Every child in the U.S. should learn to cook 10 meals before leaving high school.
I agree with this. This is a sorely under educated part of our lifestyles now. In the past cooking was often regulated to home cooking, or focussed on a specific gender in the US. The change in the US lifestyle and culture has restricted the practical effect of how my generation learns food preperation. A friend of mine has taken up a culinary education and is surprised by the ease of cooking. Teaching the basics of cooking would have practical use.
• Supermarkets should appoint "food ambassadors" to explain to customers how they can prepare local, fresh and seasonal foods.
I both support and worry about this suggestion. Is this someone with actual knowledge and certification? Will they be butting into my actual shopping or would this be something I need to seek out at my supermarket? I do welcome the idea of a professional advisor available at supermarkets, the reasons I gave in a previous post.
• Food companies should make education a central part of their business.
I care less about this. I would prefer to keep my marketing and educational organizations separate.
• Food labeling should be improved to accurately warn people about unhealthy food. He called America's current food-labeling system a "farce."
I agree with this to a degree. It would help if there was more standardization in food labelling.
