Lost cause?

When our older grandson was in high school, he decided he wanted to learn to prepare some of the vegetarian dishes I served when he and his family came over for dinner. So we had some cooking sessions. I doubt if he used any of the recipes, though he took them with him when he went off to college, but at least he learned something about preparing food. And, of course, there was a lot to learn in a short time.

How many of today’s young people are learning about preparing food and cooking and especially about nutrition? How many have the inclination to ask “grams” to give them lessons? They’re not going to learn it in school. Often parents come home tired after a long day at work and spend what time is left doing other things — like going for a jog, getting on Facebook, etc. Even though they may know many of the reasons it’s important to avoid highly processed and junk foods, when their day is so full and there are so many other things that make demands on them, it’s very easy to go with what is most convenient. They may grab something from a pizza or fast-food place or slip some frozen dinners in the microwave. 

Preparing food from scratch can be more complicated than many people may want to even consider. First, you have to have a plan — what to eat when. And then there’s the shopping involved, reading labels, knowing how to store fresh foods and leftovers and keeping track of what’s in the refrigerator. If you haven’t learned the basics of cooking, then education is in order, and learning how to interpret a recipe may be daunting. And then there’s the mess to clean up afterward. 

Besides, anyone who wants to eat healthfully needs to be aware of precautions to take when purchasing products at the grocery store that are advertised regularly. The task of making that grocery list can be daunting. For instance, is that beef plied with antibiotics? How much BPA is in that tomato sauce? How many chemicals have those potatoes absorbed? Is it genetically modified? How many artificial colors, flavors and other additives in that processed food?

Most of today’s consumers have been thoroughly immersed in the junk-food age. By the time they may realize that they should eat better and have learned anything about eating healthfully and preparing food, they often will have developed eating habits that have compromised their health all along the way and which are difficult to change. They may make an attempt to feed their family better, but far too often good intentions fall by the wayside as life gets more complicated. As the kids get older, they are bombarded with commercials for just the foods they should avoid. Then, when the parents reach middle age and realize that they need to eat healthier to try to stave off possible future ailments, bad habits have often become firmly entrenched.

It’s too bad that the food issue has become so complicated and confusing. Is it too much to hope that more than just a few of the most dedicated will make the effort and take the time to prepare food that is free of chemical contaminants and contributes to health. As corporate interests, in the name of free enterprise, have so adulterated our food and so successfully brainwashed the average consumer, are we up against a no-win situation? Is it possible that eventually the health of most human beings will be so compromised by their poor eating habits that the resulting ailments will be simply be considered a part of life and human beings will morph into a variant of the human species?

“Whether it’s because we’re scared, or lazy, or time-pressed, or simply think the food we cook won’t taste as good as the junk we buy, we have allowed others to feed us, rather than taking charge of feeding ourselves. For the sake of our health, palates and the environment, that has to change.” — “How to Eat Now,” Mark Bittman, Time magazine, Oct. 20, 2014.

Meyers concluded: “I encourage everyone to hang on to a homemade version of at least one food that they used to buy, instead of going back, because cooking at home benefits health and human relationships.” 

Since 1984, Dorothy Dimitre has written more than 1,000 columns for various local newspapers. Her email address is gramsd@aceweb.com.