I saw a theme of food and children this week while I was going through my RSS feeds and wanted to link to a few posts that offer important reminders or information for me, and might help you too.

Tara from Feels Like Home reminds us that When We Know Better, We Do Better on using food for rewards and punishments. She describes receiving an email that "went on to describe ways that parents could help their children avoid behaviors that lead to obesity. I read intently, excited to see some concrete and specific actions I could take to help Gracie avoid the weight issues I'vesuffered my entire life."

Annie over at PhD in Parenting writes about Olympians and their McDonald's sponsorships, something we have discussed with our five-year-old as we've watched several OIympic events with keen interest. In Annie's post, she writes:

But when I'm trying to convince my kids that McDonald's is not good for you, that fast food will make you sick if you eat it too often, they get to see their Olympic heroes smiling and talking about how great McDonald's is and how much they love it. Mommy isn't an Olympian. If I want to achieve something big like those Olympians, I'd better listen to them instead of listening to Mommy.

I'd like to say my kids are smarter than that, but who am I kidding? They are five and almost three. Advertising works on them.

Katy Farber from Non-Toxic Kids has a guest post addressing Childhood and Obesity:

Studies have shown that obese children tend to have a smaller circle of close friends, leading to isolation and loneliness. Parents often join in the torment even if they are overweight. It can be difficult to escape from the self-image of unattractiveness and body dissatisfaction.

As we've watched the Olympics, we've taken the route of laughing at the commercials featuring the kiddie hockey team that "played like Olympians" and were rewarded with McDonald's chicken nuggets, and Z has picked up the thread and begun scoffing whenever a McDonald's commercial comes on. It's hard to say how deep this early version of critical engagement with advertising really runs, but maybe mimicry is the first step!

There has also been some interesting discussion surrounding our posting of Jamie Oliver's talk at TED regarding the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country, and the potential consequences of it for the lifespans and adult health of our children. While we think the primary commenter has some excellent points regarding our knowledge of obesity and its effects, our main point still stands - current mortality rates can tell you little to nothing about mortality rates under changing conditions, and those who claim "the sky is not falling" fail to understand the basic function and limitations of these statistics. If you'd like to enter the discussion with any observations or thoughts of your own, please do!

An eye-opening and inspiring TED talk from celebrity chef turned food industry reformer Jamie Oliver, author of Jamie's Food Revolution. "We, the adults of the last four generations, have blessed our children with the destiny of a shorter lifespan than their own parents. Your child will live a life 10 years shorter than yours because of the landscape of food that we’ve built around them. [...] The statistics of bad health are clear, very clear.”



[Via Thingamababy]

Leading health and environmental experts report that a vegetarian diet can improve your health in numerous ways and decrease your carbon footprint. Raising animals for slaughter and shipping the final meat product to consumers uses an enormous amount of the earth's resources, especially when compared to those needed to grow fruits and vegetables.

According to a 2008 New York Times article, "ReThinking the Meat Guzzler," "To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan - a Camry, say - to the ultra-efficient Prius," the author writes. So if you simply choose vegetarian meals over meaty meals 2-3 days/week, you are changing the world!

Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and protect against heart disease, cancer, and strokes. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have "lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease... lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and overall cancer rates.” Contrary to popular belief, vegetarian diets can provide a well-balanced diet with adequate intake of all nutrients. (True vegans who don’t eat any animal product need to consider a B12 supplement or B-12 fortified foods.)

And compared to 10 or 20 years ago, eating a vegetarian diet is much easier. The grocery stores are now chock full of tasty vegetarian substitutes, and as you can imagine, the internet provides an endless array of recipes for vegetarian cooking. If you are new to the idea (and many people are unfamiliar to cooking without meat), make a commitment to eating vegetarian-style just one day a week. When eating out, try one a meatless entree. If you are used to ordering a ham or turkey sandwich at the deli, try a hummus and avocado sandwich with crunchy veggies, or keep it simple and order a peanut butter and jelly.

If you'd like to try a shift towards a reduced-meat diet, consider these websites for a few recipes, tips, and inspirations:

Meatless Monday is a national health campaign associated with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health to encourage people to give up meat once a week to cut saturated fat intake and prevent diet-related diseases. This website is jam-packed with fabulous recipes!

The Vegetarian Society provides an “easy” recipe list for new or time-restricted vegetarians.

My favorite vegetarian/vegan meal has been a nice, warm bowl of chocolate chili. Check out the recipe and try it out! I have prepared this vegan delight on the stovetop and crockpot; both methods create an excellent dish.

And here are 22 more reasons to try eating vegetarian.

Are you a vegetarian or vegan? Or halfway there? What inspired you to reduce your meat consumption? What positive and/or negative effects have you noticed?