The Processed Food Industry.......what EXACTLY are they trying to feed to the nation?

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I've posted this on a food thread, although my thinking was sparked by the trailer for next week's "School Dinners" programme by Jamie Oliver.

He will be showing children what goes into their "non Jamie" school dinners. I saw a few seconds of it, which involved pouring a pink sludge (some kind of "meat" product) into a big bucket. The kids clearly weren't impressed.

Whilst ingredients have to be listed on packaging, it can be difficult to visualise them eg "reformed meat".

Should supermarkets etc be required, by law, to show photographs of the main basic ingredients in highly processed foods?

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Secur, Dolmio is the vomit of the devil-!!!
Not sure about fiddling with prices..it's not working with fags and booze is it?
Surely on state owned/run property, they have a duty to focus on good food? Rather fits with my feeling that in hospitals, if you want to use formula, you should bring your own. (But, hey, that's another topic I know

What did you do sweetkitty?

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You're right secur - it would take you half an hour to do oven chips and chicken nuggets (10 mins to heat oven, 20 mins for 'food' to cook) but last night it took me less time to do a quick stir fry (chicken, carrot, brocolli, peas, celery) and cous cous (I mean, what is easier than pouring hot water over cous cous???).

Cooking for little kids is not taxing IMO, there are loads of quick healthy teas you can make - what about even just scrambled egg and wholemeal toast if you've really only got 5 mins?!

We got the boys MacDonalds on Saturday for about the third time in their entire lives and I'm relieved to say, they don't even like it and hardly touched more than 3 chips - that's ma boys!!

Re formula, like I said, not a good idea to get into this one here......
Intersting proposition on the schools issue.

Bizarrely, I find a sandwich one of the most time consuming things to make. (Mind you, they are very complicated concoctions chez Moondog.)

AND, we've got 2 of those Wacky Warehouse parties this weekend with the kids and I loathe the shit they feed them there too! Bleurgh - how do they get away with it!? Once again, my kids hardly touch it

(Moondog - yes, the formula thing is another issue but just to say, even as a formula feeder myself, I do agree with you on that one - perhaps just provide the first bottle as Mum is obviously not going to be up to making one up straight away!)

I reckon fat cat bribery has a lot to answer for. The govt can't bleat on about childhood obesity and then allow contracted out school meals as they are, tv ads for crap aimed at kids, sell offs of playing fields etc. I've been banging on about this for ages, The Parents Jury is a good site if anyone's interested. Will come back to this later, more to say but no time!

But people just don't realise that - its ignorance on the part of the person who prepares the food. And I suppose although it takes 1/2 hour to cook you don't actually have to be there. I could (but don't) come home from work and stick nuggets and chips on and then go get changed, bring the washing in etc. Actually though I think thats why jacket spuds are brilliant because they don't take anymore effort than chips and you don't even have a tray to wash.

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See what you mean Bozza - it is easier to bung something in the oven and get on with other stuff but then I just do my own chips (just cut a potato into wedges, skin still on, drizzle a bit of olive oil on and in the oven for 35 mins) and I buy the best sausages I can and bung those in the oven as well. Just as easy.

Also easy to make up your own pasta sauces and freeze it in portions then you can just defrost and pour over pasta.

Sorry, I'm rambling and preaching to the already converted!!!

Totally agree Secur - in fact I must look into wht happens at the school ds is going to in September - I know they cook meals on site but not sure of the menus.

this is another fascinating read

Gdg....are we agreeing?!!
Ok, maybe first one 'free' then..LOL

Don't go to those bloody parties.I never do.
B**cks to 'em. Someone's got to make a stand..

I think that if you took away all the marketing and free toys/cartoon character associations from the processed crap, the kids wouldn't want to eat it. It doesn't taste very nice, after all.

I think the government should make it illegal to advertise junk food before the watershed (well, I actually think they should make it illegal to advertise it at all!), illegal to endorse children's events, illegal to associate popular films/cartoons with junk food. And I think they should be called 'Unhappy and You'll Have No Friends Meals' instead of Happy Meals

lol HM!!
Or 'Eat-this-and-you'll-vomit-shit' meals (according to some on the other thread..)

It's all sounding SOOO appealing - think I may have turkey twizzlers and smiley faces for lunch...

Actually, I'd rather tear my own stomach out with a big wooden spoon.

I would seriously rather eat my own shit...at
least I know what went into it.

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LOL hunkermunker
Yep gobbledigook you are preaching to the converted. I am a big fan of the potato wedges idea (partly because they are so tasty and 10 month old DD loves gnawing at them) and last night after work we had defrosted/reheated bolognaise sauce with our pasta.
And I'm in the same position as you re the school meals in September. Headmistress says they are a healthy eating school but what does this mean?

I've read "Fast Food Nation" stickynote - fascinating in a grim sort of way.

I think that to classify food as junk, it can't just be the form it takes (we all know that all sausage-shaped food isn't junk, for instance). They would have to look more closely at the ingredients of said food - a turkey twizzler is 30% 'meat' for instance - so how can it be called turkey? It should be called a 'random binders, gums, salt and fat nasty-twizzler'

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frankfurters (hot dogs) could be called "processed lips and arseholes"