May 17, 2013 is FOOD REVOLUTION DAY!

Watch Jamie Oliver give his TED talk!

What is FOOD REVOLUTION?
HUNTINGTON'S KITCHEN

Q&A on Jamie Oliver’s TED talk:

What proportion of the US population is overweight or obese?

Two thirds of the US population is obese.

Is the life expectancy of children in the USA greater than that of their parents?

No, the life expectancy of children in the USA is shorter than that of their parents (they will die ten years younger on average than their parents).

What kills the greatest number of Americans every year?

Every year, it is the diet-related diseases which kill the greatest number of Americans.

How much do Americans spend, per year, on health problems related to being overweight?

Americans spend $150 billion dollars a year on health problems related to being overweight.

What is peculiar about Huntington?

Huntington is the place where there is the biggest proportion of overweight people in the USA.

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the HOME context?

In the home context, the problem is that the parents do not know how to cook properly and so do not teach their children how to cook. Families eat really badly (mostly pizza, hamburgers, French fries, etc.) and in huge quantities.

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the SCHOOL context?

In the school context, there are several problems regarding nutrition:

• the pupils are fed junk food rather than fresh food;
• the dinner ladies are told what to do by accountants rather than by nutritionists (the aim is not to feed the children correctly but to feed them as cheaply as possible);
• there is inadequate food education (the children do not even recognize fruit and vegetables).

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the MAIN STREET (i.e. work and social) context?

People also eat badly in the main street context. The problems are:

• the domination of fast food restaurants (portion sizes are too big and it is very poor quality), of supermarkets (they supposedly “just sell us what we want”), and of the major food companies (who sell food products that are largely processed and full of additives);
• misleading labelling of products;
• work canteens do not encourage healthy eating habits.

What, for Jamie Oliver, are the solutions to the problem of increasing obesity?

For him, there are several solutions:

• Children have to be taught about food at school (learning ten recipes is part of “life skills”);
• children have to be fed properly at school (to convert school canteens over to making proper food is not so expensive);
• supermarkets should have “food ambassadors” to explain to their clients how to feed themselves correctly;
• families have to learn to cook and pass on their knowledge to their children;
• brands should put food education at the heart of their businesses;
• the Government has to put pressure on fast food restaurants to change what they do so that we change our eating habits (this will take several years);
• labelling has to be “sorted out”, i.e. be transparent;
• corporate America has to feed its staff properly;
• the people (“angels”) who are already fighting against obesity (including Mrs Obama) have to be helped to do their job;
• community canteens like Huntington's Kitchen need to be set up to educate people about good food and provide healthy meals made from local products at reasonable cost;
• a strong, sustainable movement to educate, inspire, and empower people to eat better.

Do you think this "Food Revolution" could work in France?

Only 10% of the population is obese in our country so we do not (yet) need a “revolution” in our eating habits... Don't you agree?