What I see are almost identical expenditures in most categories for all households, with slightly greater purchasing of soda, beef, frozen snacks, and infant formula in households utilizing SNAP. This doesn't seem unusual to me: people are generally eating the same foods all around the country. The greater problem to me is how to inspire and educate everyone to eat healthier in a way that doesn’t threaten the food industry so much that it fires back with zero compromise. I personally don’t think further restricting how people spend their grocery dollars on SNAP will accomplish that.
I’ve been blessed to live near well-supplied supermarkets for most of my life, while I’ve visited plenty others in less economically robust areas that are tiny, not fully stocked, have limited and unpredictable hours, and carry little fresh produce or items of quality—though they may be inexpensive, which helps ensure stores can sell their products and not take an unrecoverable hit when they don’t. Grocery stores have tight margins and if they can’t sell their wares and eventually close up shop, the community will be far worse off. People are often doing the best they can given the circumstances. If we lived in Flint MI, we would probably also be drinking soda for the time being. Not everyone has consistently safe water and almost no one has good-tasting water these days.
These are complex issues with economic, social, and educational aspects tugging at the politics on all sides. I think listening and understanding more can lead to greater trust and hopefully, some effective change and compromise. For example, PCRM has funded billboards taking aim at obese cheese eaters: yet all a congressperson has to do is show those ads to their constituents to help determine which way the wind is blowing...and one can understand why a dairy farmer helping provide the few hundred or thousand jobs left in a region will entreat their representative to come down on the side of business, because in that case it often translates to immediate survival for many on the brink of poverty. My understanding is that many farmers are often on contract and in debt, while other players in agribusiness (lobbyists, processors, food companies, etc) tend to be more affluent and hold more of the power. It’s not easy to set limits in one area of agribusiness without hurting others, potentially others whose communities are much more vulnerable. And those well-heeled commuters viewing the ads will likely brush it off, feeling relatively unaffected, hoping their organic cheese from grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic-free moo-moos is somehow healthier! What’s more, many thin people eat cheese and ice-cream, and many overweight vegans don’t.
Which begs the question, who is PCRM really reaching and educating in this way? To me it seems they are preaching to a very passionate, but tiny, choir—while possibly alienating everyone else. I’m disappointed in the approach and tone they’re taking with SNAP in particular: hunger is hunger and if you’ve been there, you really don’t need the added insult of being scolded for the foods you’re buying (while the rest of the country freely indulges with no such chastisement). Reframing the issue as being about nutrients seems rather callous to me when folks are having a hard time just getting access to food and water. While healthy basic foods are a wonderful idea, I’d like to see them promoted for *everyone,* along with substantive cooking-skills classes. (What might really help are a few superstars in those videos with no apparent influence of the government or industry;). And I can only speak for our area, but our local food bank is frequently running out of food, much of it basic plant-based fare: instant potatoes, oatmeal, pancake mix, bean chili, applesauce, ketchup & mustard, salt & pepper, fruit juice, fruit, vegetables, and so on. There are ways to support plant-based options without creating such tension about the other options. I think we have to find those ways because I just am not seeing meat and dairy and oil disappearing any time soon.
The message has to be simple, but also accurate and with deeper understanding. This path is not a cakewalk. Most of us have been at this so long, we may forget. Dr. McDougall has spoken of the fear that people have when contemplating a diet change. And think how much we emphasize here that it's not a diet--it's a lifestyle change, which is even more overwhelming to contemplate, let alone implement. It involves new ways of shopping, cooking, socializing/connecting with others, even in our own families—it’s much more than just a change in what we eat. These are not small potatoes.
Most of us have accomplished this over years of fine-tuning.
While all of us have worked diligently to become healthier, I think we also have to acknowledge what truly propelled us here (for many, perhaps serious illness or the fear of it), as well as what luck and blessings were involved, including the support we likely received. Just having (high-speed) internet access and time to find this website--let alone research the plan and participate--is an autonomous luxury that many on SNAP don't have.
So many of us have experienced the disappointment and frustration of trying countless types of diets, only to end up back where we began or in a worse predicament. It can be hard to trust those who promise “this time, it’s real,” or try to convince us to set ourselves up as dietary oddballs when the thing we need most at the moment is to feel a sense of security and that we can succeed in the mainstream. We might see that as self-deluding or weak, but I believe it’s understandably and intuitively self-protective. We’ve almost all been there in one way or another.
Learning how to appeal to the majority of people—who we also love, who also help light the world in their own ways, who also help make the world better for us—is important. Learning how to truly, effectively reach them is critical. I agree that education is key. I’m fascinated by
nudge theory, particularly regarding how many people who achieve their goals apply it to their daily lives. I also love how it accepts the reality of where people are as part of the matrix for their learning.
On a societal level, what professionals like StarchHEFP, Jeff Novick, and TerriNC do seems precious to me. Personally, I think one of the best things that could happen would be for more healthy plant-based professionals to spread the word with care and depth one-on-one in their work, whatever that may be.
Truly, we all play a part, whatever, however we choose. Perhaps all we can do sometimes is plant a seed and be willing to meet people where they are. And offer gentle nudges when the timing seems right.
StarchHEFP, I'm so glad you're doing what you do. Don't forget to take care of yourself, too.
by StarchHEFP » Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:54 pm 
