12 Comments
User's avatar
Bruce MacDonald's avatar

The root of almost all the policies you mentioned is greed. Maximizing profits seems more important than maximizing health.

Expand full comment
Kari Cooper's avatar

Absolutely nailed it.

Expand full comment
Tamara Whittle's avatar

Appreciate your science-/evidence-based and balanced perspective. There is a lot I could say in response to this post, but one thought that keeps coming back to me is how the word ‘research’ is so misused by people who don’t actually understand what it means.

Research is something that people with science backgrounds are trained to do - from idea, to study design, to conduct, to analysis and publication of results. What most people are referring to when they say they ‘do their own research’ is really just reviewing information from a source.

This may seem nuanced, but misuse of a word degrades its meaning and importance over time. Most lay people don’t know how to interpret actual study data (identify bias, poor study design, etc.), so they are mostly getting their ‘research’ from social media and news outlets that are summarizing for them (from their own, and likely biased, perspective).

Let’s start with defining what research actually is, and stop using the term to describe scrolling the internet for information.

Expand full comment
Hydroxide's avatar

Great article. You're spot on

Expand full comment
Brooke Hayes's avatar

Poverty. Food deserts. For starters.

Expand full comment
Merc's avatar

If MAGA TRASH want to shorten their life expectancy, Who are we to stop them?

Expand full comment
Melanie Lynn Brown's avatar

Excellent read! I hold an MA Ed Trauma Studies, and wanted to share an additional angle from that lens. I’ve been horrified by the MAHA agenda. Look forward to following your work! .//open.substack.com/pub/melanielynnbrown/p/the-biology-of-being-broke?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=2j7bke&utm_medium=ios

Expand full comment
Kami Hall's avatar

This is amazing information! Thank you.

Expand full comment
Debra Irvine's avatar

I’m an older mom. If you don’t buy unhealthy stuff they will not make it anymore. I didn’t for my kids and they don’t do it for their kids. If we all do that it will take care of itself. It’s not so hard. The government really can do what it needs to do.

Expand full comment
Mary Puppé's avatar

I totally understand what you're saying, but I think the answer isn't that simple for everyone, sadly. Some people only have access to the "unhealthy" choices (she explained in the article about places that don't have grocery stores). Additionally, many people are over worked and don't have time to turn ingredients into meals. We're lucky that we have choices when it comes to our kids. Not everyone does.

Expand full comment
Debra Irvine's avatar

Ok I agree with that. That’s what needs to be fixed, not what’s going on now.

Expand full comment
Bryan's avatar
2dEdited

Your comment leans into the idea that not only will the market fix itself (and it hasn't), but also ties directly into what she says, "The burden of staying healthy is placed squarely on the individual".

This is a much larger issue than "If you don't buy it, they won't make it". She explains pretty well why were are here, how we got here, and actionable things we can do that can create beneficial change. It's a lot more than not buying unhealthy foods.

Expand full comment