"Pollan" & "Oliver" are my HEROs

Michael Pollan RULES.... He's my HERO and I LOVE his message. One reason is, what he says is important...no, it's very important. It's life changing, because if you lose the most precious thing in your life (which is your health btw...) you are Done with a capital "D". If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Pollan, he is in my opinion the current expert on food. He is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, discusses the link between healthcare and diet, the dangers of processed foods, the power of the meat industry lobby, the “nutritional-industrial complex,” the impact industrial agriculture has on global warming, and his sixty-four rules for eating. “ His message is very simple, "Eat Food, Mostly Plants and Not too Much" enough said. I heard an interview recently he gave on a program called Democracy Now, which of course I would like everyone on the planet to listen to, but if this gives even one person the impetus to listen I will feel good. This is what stuck with me the most in that interview:

"Of the money we spend on health care, about $2.3 trillion, three-quarters of that goes to treat chronic diseases that are preventable. Now, they’re not all food-related, but most of them are. You’ve got smoking and alcoholism in there, and I don’t know where you want to count alcoholism. But, you know, upwards of $500 to $750 billion we are spending to deal with the consequences of this diet. It’s remarkable it’s not a more central part of the conversation."

Health care costs which includes Health care insurance is a major concern for (I will go out on a limb here) 99.9% of the country (except for congress of course as they have GREAT medical insurance coverage). I hear conversations about this topic everyday whether it be on the news or between individuals just talking. It is on everyone's mind because it is so very important. But most are missing the mark, especially those in government who introduce and pass bills that (may or may not)go into law. "They" are missing getting to the root of the problem. "They" are attempting to try and fix a broken barn door well after the all the animals have escaped. The core of the problem is Food. The entire food industry needs a overhaul, because the way it is now it's like a slow growing cancer that is eventually going to kill us.

And now I go onto my next Hero....Jamie Oliver who just won the coveted TED prize. For those of you who are unfamiliar with TED (Technology Entertainment Design)well I urge you to go to TED.com and listen to the many TED talks that are available. I guarantee you will find it difficult to navigate away once you are sucked in. Listen to Jamie Olivers TED prize wish - http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html and this is why you should listen to him:

"Jamie Oliver has been drawn to the kitchen since he was a child working in his father's pub-restaurant. He showed not only a precocious culinary talent but also a passion for creating (and talking about) fresh, honest, delicious food. In the past decade, the shaggy-haired "Naked Chef" of late-'90s BBC2 has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines, all based on a formula of simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen. And as much as his cooking is generous, so is his business model -- his Fifteen Foundation, for instance, trains young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants.

Now, Oliver is using his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. Campaigns such as Jamie's School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Oliver’s culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing -- to create change on both the individual and governmental level."

Now my wish would be for Mike and Jamie to combine their forces and actually make change happen. I realize this is a big wish but I can dream big can't I? Maybe, just maybe, something could actually be done to change Health Care but it's going to take each and every one of us to reform and make major changes in our personal food choices. As a collective society, if we begin to show the food industry we are not going to eat this crap (aka...fake food substances) anymore, maybe they will stop using dollars to manipulate the public, and actually put efforts toward helping us get healthier and lowering the 70% rate of preventable diseases we now have in the United States.
Wouldn't that be a hellava dream come true?