When we think of healthy foods, American cuisines rarely come first to our minds. It is certainly not a coincidence that Americans have been stereotyped as couch potatoes and junk food gluttons. To create a safe and intellectually stimulating environment where we examine this issue, Cosi chairs Georgia and Wen invited residents of SP to participate in a dinner discussion on June 29, 2014. The topic of the discussion is “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food”. A group of about 15 S-P residents with a diverse range of cultural backgrounds participated in the lively exchange. Universally agreed upon was that there is a problem with unhealthy eating habits in our general populace. Identifying the cause and the mechanism behind the problem had also been straightforward. But conflict arose when solutions were proposed. Three main approaches were vocalized by various participants. First, regulatory measures such as taxation of “fatty foods” should be imposed on food suppliers. Second, regulations on school lunches should be set to cultivate healthy eating habits at a young age. Third, the public should be further educated on the harmful effects associated with junk food indulgence, and people should be aware of marketing strategies food companies employ to promote their products. During the discussion, participants shared their personal experiences regarding food choice, and a few mentioned differences in diet across different cultures. The dinner concluded with potential topics for future discussions, one in particular being the current state of higher education. Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements from the Cosi chairs if you are interested! Additional references can be found here:
http://theweek.com/article/index/240554/should-the-us-adopt-a-fat-tax