http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/31/10282876-mcdonalds-drops-use-of-gooey-ammonia-based-pink-slime-in-hamburger-meat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wshlnRWnf30&feature=player_embedded
Your health insurance:
USDA, a government organization whose mission is to protect humans from the vast dangers that can affect food. Clearly, this entity does not value our health as much as they claim to if they allow Ammonia (a household cleaning product that is very toxic to humans) to be used in hamburger meats all across America.
Ammonia is a colorless gas that has a foul odor, and is a commercial cleaning agent. It irritates the eyes, mucus membranes (respiratory and digestive tracts) and to a lesser extent the skin. And if mixed with bleach a very toxic and very poisonous gas will result.
This same USDA that sets regulations and "protects" food is allowing a substance--one of many--that have harmful effects on humans to be apart of the fast food hamburgers that so many of us eat regularly.
This pink gloopy substance that is part of the "ground beef" (if you can call it that) process has been taken out after years of use. The USDA mentioned that Ammonia was part of the process of production and not an ingredient and therefore left it off the label.
How are we as consumers to trust such an entity that is supposed to be protecting against harmful substances in food when the entire time such substances are as much of an ingredient as the "ground beef" is in your McDonald's hamburgers?! How are we to trust that there are not other harmful substances in the many other foods that we consume? Transparency is needed if consumers are to trust! But apparently we're the fools.
Who is to say that an extra dose of Ammonia won't slip in unannounced and cause irreversible health effects?! It does happen! Food recalls are a prime example of how contaminated food products have leaked into mainstream society, cause some illnesses, raised some concerns about health and, you guessed it, as a final result the government steps in to halt the widespread distribution of that specific food. Government doing what it does best; stepping in to treat the symptoms and not prevent the upstream risk factors.
I am not saying that the government can prevent all of these unfortunate leaks into the public, but it can at least focus on prevention rather than solely treat symptoms. It is possible. With a little rallied effort by the leadership of the USDA to step in and make a stand that the use of certain harmful substances will not be used to eliminate potential life-threatening parasites, viruses, bacteria, etc in our foods. They should encourage food scientists to find healthier, more life-sustaining alternatives in the treatment process.
It is possible! It can be done, but not without a concerted effort from the leadership of such an organization as well as you and I. We as a society need to stand for values, standards and ideals that don't fluctuate but that encourage, promote, protect and prevent the onslaught of unethical decisions based solely on monetary motivations. McDonald's stopping the use of this pink-gloopy substance is a step in the right direction, and I applaud them, but many more steps need to be taken in that same direction if we are to reach our goal.
Showing posts with label upstream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upstream. Show all posts
31 January 2012
29 January 2012
Health & Politics
up·stream (ŭp’strēm’)
adj. Towards the source of a stream or river; against the normal direction of water flow.
Imagine walking along a riverbank with a friend. Suddenly, you notice someone drowning in the river, flailing his arms and screaming for help as he is swept downstream.
You jump into the river to pull him to safety, but as soon as you reach the shore, you see someone else in the river, screaming for help. This happens again and again.
Exhausted, you shout for your friend to help you. Instead of jumping into the river, your friend begins running up the river bank. When you ask her what she is doing, she replies, “I’m going upstream to find out why these people are falling in, and to keep them safe on the riverbank!”
"If we don't change the direction we are headed,
we will end up where we are going."
-Chinese Proverb
In Public Health we are constantly fighting the current misunderstandings of the time. There seems to be many vast health disparities that have resulted from such misunderstandings. This story relays the mission of Public Health and upstream politics. To understand and get to the root cause of any health disparity--whether it be socioeconomic, environmental, or personal--our mission is to move as far upstream as possible.
Upstream causes deal with interventions that are beyond the individual's control. These interventions focus on implementing new laws, policy and programs to help assist individual's health behaviors and choices. We have all seen how effective focusing on upstream factors can be, just take a look at the Tobacco industry and how effective they are at advertising to adolescents. The day of the Marlboro man and Joe Camel are long gone. There are other ways the Tobacco industries target audiences that require further implementations, but we'll address that another day.
If we are to effectively reduce these health disparities that plague our societies day in and day out, then theory-based health prevention programs require our attention.
adj. Towards the source of a stream or river; against the normal direction of water flow.
Imagine walking along a riverbank with a friend. Suddenly, you notice someone drowning in the river, flailing his arms and screaming for help as he is swept downstream.
You jump into the river to pull him to safety, but as soon as you reach the shore, you see someone else in the river, screaming for help. This happens again and again.
Exhausted, you shout for your friend to help you. Instead of jumping into the river, your friend begins running up the river bank. When you ask her what she is doing, she replies, “I’m going upstream to find out why these people are falling in, and to keep them safe on the riverbank!”
"If we don't change the direction we are headed,
we will end up where we are going."
-Chinese Proverb
In Public Health we are constantly fighting the current misunderstandings of the time. There seems to be many vast health disparities that have resulted from such misunderstandings. This story relays the mission of Public Health and upstream politics. To understand and get to the root cause of any health disparity--whether it be socioeconomic, environmental, or personal--our mission is to move as far upstream as possible.
Upstream causes deal with interventions that are beyond the individual's control. These interventions focus on implementing new laws, policy and programs to help assist individual's health behaviors and choices. We have all seen how effective focusing on upstream factors can be, just take a look at the Tobacco industry and how effective they are at advertising to adolescents. The day of the Marlboro man and Joe Camel are long gone. There are other ways the Tobacco industries target audiences that require further implementations, but we'll address that another day.
If we are to effectively reduce these health disparities that plague our societies day in and day out, then theory-based health prevention programs require our attention.
11 March 2011
Nip it in the butt
Prevention is the key! An interesting correlation exists between insurance companies and obesity.
There are currently 50.7 million uninsured American's; the total population is roughly 300 million. You do the math! Now there are many problems with this! We have a bunch of greedy people that don't want to sacrifice higher wages, quality of care, access to whatever care they want and whenever they want it for a universalized health care system. I have yet to meet anyone that is willing to take less; willing to compromise for the benefits of universal health care; nor willing to get paid less. Until we as American's reach that point, we are simply "nibbling around the edges." This poses great risks for those that are uninsured; the inability to find affordable health insurance that covers their needs as well as their families.
The insurance companies are businesses; they make a profit when their clients don't use their policy and file no claim; on the other hand they define it as a "loss" when clients report a claim. An affordable insurance policy is hard to find these days, even harder to find, one that insures those with pre-existing conditions!
I mentioned yesterday that America is the fattest country to date, there is roughly 66% of American's that are defined as being overweight or obese. That means having a BMI anywhere from 25-39. What's also disturbing is what obesity can cause: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, Coronary Artery Disease, stroke, sleep apnea, hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease (#1 Killer), and a host of other physical impairments such as: fat fingers, a butterball effect, cankles, double chins, a front butt, and other serious enlargements. If this doesn't deter you from getting obese...nothing will!...not even liposuction (the majority of the people gain their weight back within the first year). Obesity shouldn't be taken lightly, it's a chronic condition that suffocates your organs and decreases your chance at a healthy life.
This is problematic because everyone has a right to a healthy life...it's not your fault you're fat...well...kinda ...but it doesn't help that insurance companies don't provide access to health insurance for pre-existing conditions at an affordable price. Now the way that I look at is this; if 66% of American's are overweight/obese and 50.7 million uninsured American's then that means that if obesity continues at this alarming rate each year (which since 1985 it hasn't declined) and if America doesn't find a solution to insure people then we as a country will face a predicament: there are going to be millions of obese people that won't have access to health care. A nightmare for the insurance companies (no client=no profit, and pre-existing conditions=no client...make sense?) And to make matters worse, the 3rd leading cause of death in America is medical error. We now face yet another problem, we have uninsured obese patients that have no access to health care because of their pre-existing chronic health conditions that are under the scalpel of doctor's that can't adequately save our lives, and now even more will fall victim of the scalpel (because obesity won't decrease and there will be more patients to be treated)...oh, did I mention that the majority of this percentage is poor?...so what is to be done?!
Prevention is the key! Insurance companies want you to be healthy and file no claims so that they can profit as a business. If you stay healthy then you steer clear of the Top 3 Killers of American's (CHD, Cancer, Medical Error). You subsequently steer clear of all the adverse side effects of obesity; you therefore find an affordable health insurance that covers you and your families needs, and you avoid being a nightmare! It matters what you put in your mouth; and if you can practice self-control and choose an apple over an apple fritter and decide now that you won't even nibble around the edges and steer clear of what your body innately tells you is bad in the first place then you won't have to deal with any of the previously mentioned life-altering problems. This will allow you to: live a healthy life, educate those around you, and address the social factors that contribute to obesity. I believe we will prevent the number one most preventable cause of death from growing into an alarming epidemic that will soon be utterly unstoppable!
There are currently 50.7 million uninsured American's; the total population is roughly 300 million. You do the math! Now there are many problems with this! We have a bunch of greedy people that don't want to sacrifice higher wages, quality of care, access to whatever care they want and whenever they want it for a universalized health care system. I have yet to meet anyone that is willing to take less; willing to compromise for the benefits of universal health care; nor willing to get paid less. Until we as American's reach that point, we are simply "nibbling around the edges." This poses great risks for those that are uninsured; the inability to find affordable health insurance that covers their needs as well as their families.
The insurance companies are businesses; they make a profit when their clients don't use their policy and file no claim; on the other hand they define it as a "loss" when clients report a claim. An affordable insurance policy is hard to find these days, even harder to find, one that insures those with pre-existing conditions!
I mentioned yesterday that America is the fattest country to date, there is roughly 66% of American's that are defined as being overweight or obese. That means having a BMI anywhere from 25-39. What's also disturbing is what obesity can cause: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, Coronary Artery Disease, stroke, sleep apnea, hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease (#1 Killer), and a host of other physical impairments such as: fat fingers, a butterball effect, cankles, double chins, a front butt, and other serious enlargements. If this doesn't deter you from getting obese...nothing will!...not even liposuction (the majority of the people gain their weight back within the first year). Obesity shouldn't be taken lightly, it's a chronic condition that suffocates your organs and decreases your chance at a healthy life.
This is problematic because everyone has a right to a healthy life...it's not your fault you're fat...well...kinda ...but it doesn't help that insurance companies don't provide access to health insurance for pre-existing conditions at an affordable price. Now the way that I look at is this; if 66% of American's are overweight/obese and 50.7 million uninsured American's then that means that if obesity continues at this alarming rate each year (which since 1985 it hasn't declined) and if America doesn't find a solution to insure people then we as a country will face a predicament: there are going to be millions of obese people that won't have access to health care. A nightmare for the insurance companies (no client=no profit, and pre-existing conditions=no client...make sense?) And to make matters worse, the 3rd leading cause of death in America is medical error. We now face yet another problem, we have uninsured obese patients that have no access to health care because of their pre-existing chronic health conditions that are under the scalpel of doctor's that can't adequately save our lives, and now even more will fall victim of the scalpel (because obesity won't decrease and there will be more patients to be treated)...oh, did I mention that the majority of this percentage is poor?...so what is to be done?!
Prevention is the key! Insurance companies want you to be healthy and file no claims so that they can profit as a business. If you stay healthy then you steer clear of the Top 3 Killers of American's (CHD, Cancer, Medical Error). You subsequently steer clear of all the adverse side effects of obesity; you therefore find an affordable health insurance that covers you and your families needs, and you avoid being a nightmare! It matters what you put in your mouth; and if you can practice self-control and choose an apple over an apple fritter and decide now that you won't even nibble around the edges and steer clear of what your body innately tells you is bad in the first place then you won't have to deal with any of the previously mentioned life-altering problems. This will allow you to: live a healthy life, educate those around you, and address the social factors that contribute to obesity. I believe we will prevent the number one most preventable cause of death from growing into an alarming epidemic that will soon be utterly unstoppable!
10 March 2011
Super size me!
The popular phrase, "You are what you eat!" is beginning to drastically alter our perceived notion of reality. America is arguably the fattest country to date. We are becoming a super-sized nation; everything from waste sizes, meal portions, and anything in-between. What's next...super-sizing kid's meals?! Oh no...heaven forbid! We live in a time where America's children will be the first generation that won't outlive their parents; a time where these ever-increasing obesity trends will result in the entire nation having a severe case of diabetes. It's time to realize what we are up against. March is National Nutrition month. It's a time to address the real underlying problem...the countless social problems that influence each of us several hundred times a day to eat. What we eat matters!....it matters physiologically, environmentally, individually....but it also matters politically. What we eat determines who can exploit us for the biggest fiscal profit. If we don't stand up for and address the underlying social/political issues then we won't have any say-so in what goes on the shelves and essentially what we put in our mouths. This nation was founded upon the principle of freedom and having God-given rights that we can exercise anywhere and anytime, and if we can't believe in those then we will be like the cow to the slaughter; controlled, manipulated and exploited. It matters what we eat; how much of it we eat and when we eat. We are free agents to act according to the dictates of our own conscience; so let us act in defiance against the social factors that are contributing to this rise in obesity and start making a change today!
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