Obesity and Food Insecurity: Two Deadly ExtremesThis week we examine the third deadly epidemic of the American Empire, Obesity. This is only one end of the spectrum however, and we must also explore the rising problem of food insecurity. America has created a paradoxical situation, whereby unnecessary suffering, illness and death are being caused by both too much consumption and too little. The American Empire has prospered through its cultivation of the American Dream, a powerful creation myth that endows every citizen with an inalienable right to pursue happiness and all the trappings that this brings, Coupled to a model of unchained capitalism that requires ever-increasing levels of consumption to maintain corporate profits, at the expense of consumer protection, the American Dream has become a nightmare for many. Lobbying groups for “Big Food” (unhealth food and beverage companies) ensure compliance from elected officials through campaign donations to the value of tens of millions of dollars per year, critical to their continued relevance and electoral success. The methods used by the industry to ensure their influence do not simply involve co-opting legislators, as they also: Finance shadow advocacy groups and industry-friendly scientists to sow confusion and hide negative data, in much the same manner as Big Tobacco years ago. Litigate against attempts to regulate the food industry, under the guise of “free speech”. Block litigation efforts against the industry. Use the guise of “self-regulation” to avoid external independent oversight.
As one expert described, “They lobby about anything that’s going to affect their business, no matter how remote … I can’t think of a single area of food or nutrition policy that isn’t subjected to lobbying.” American citizens are bombarded from cradle to grave with advertisements that have one goal: consumption. Portion sizes are often grossly excessive and unhealthy. Obesity and the resultant type 2 diabetes can be viewed in the same way as another disease caused by overconsumption. Unlike gout, though, obesity is not simply “the disease of kings”, as mass-marketed unhealthy food and drink are available to all and they are priced so cheaply that, for many working families short of time and money, this is the simplest and most obvious option. It all leads to an estimated 280,000 deaths per year and shows no sign of abating. Even school lunches are not immune, as private companies with a single-minded focus on profit are allowed to control the nutritional intake of the nation’s younger generations. This early adoption of unhealthy eating and drinking habits has led to record levels of diabetes, with around 10 per cent of the adult population suffering from the disease - the most in the developed world. In sheer numbers, the US has almost 30 million cases, which is around two thirds of the 46 million cases seen elsewhere in the developed world. This is unsurprising with a population where more than 40 per cent of all adults are clinically obese, a figure that has increase by over 25 per cent since 2008. The number one cause of death in the American Empire is heart disease, and the main causes of this are intrinsically linked to the unhealth diets and lifestyles emblematic of overconsumption. This is one end of the spectrum, while on the other end an estimated 34 million people, 9 million of whom are children, are worrying where their next meal will come from and are deemed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be food-insecure. Once again, non-white members of the citizenry are more likely to be adversely affected. Moderate or severe food insecurity affects 8.2 per cent of the US population, which does not compare favourably with most of its western European peers (for example, the figure for both the UK and Germany is 3.5 per cent). For a country whose average income per year is the seventh highest in the world, and the highest among any country with over 10 million citizens, America’s level of food insecurity reflects a growing gap between rich and poor. The most basic needs that a state must satisfy are those for food, shelter and security. America’s astronomical spending on servicing the latter need - supported by both major political parties - has been a direct factor in the dire state of the other two. As we have seen, this would not be the first empire to crumble due to food shortages and the unrest that typically follows. The national baby-formula shortage of 2022 serves are a powerful, highly emotive warming sign of what could go wrong and how next time could be much worse. As if this situation wasn’t critical enough, the restrictions of a healthcare system driven by the goal of shareholder profit, rather than patient welfare, only exacerbate the problem. To find out what this means for the American Empire, make sure to pay attention carefully to Chapter 3: Society: Decay from within.
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