Food issues R us

So I was reading a blog this morning... Petite Anglaise, as a matter of fact. And enjoying it tremendously. And I read a post about culture shock, and differences between our cultures, and I was reading the comments section.

Two things jumped out at me, one of which is one I've talked about in the past, and the other is one I am going to have to do more research on.

Portion sizes and F-A-T. I'm fat. I admit it. I need to lose 30 lbs. Yet I'm still slimmer than a lot of Americans. I am also amazed at how hard it is here to get simple, plain food, in moderate portion sizes. It ws one of the things I loved about France, and on the boat...the portion sizes in general (except for places that were tourist-oriented) were reasonable. The other thing, the food is so much closer to natural. Just simple full-fat yogurt without flavorings or gelatin? Easy to find in France (and wonderful), here in the states? even in Whole Paycheck? Spend an hour looking through the case. Or take butter. Wonderful French butter....going to the grocery and marvelling at the cases and cases of different butters... and lets take meat, for a moment. You could go to the supermarket and find a package with a reasonable portion size of meat. Something for dinner that night... Here in the US, its always enough for four! Or you could go to the butcher shop... but my point is, they had small sizes there, on the shelves. The food didn't have a lot of crud added to it.... And you know, you can tell. The majority of Europeans are slim... yes, there are some who are gaining, but the majority... what the US used to be, before factory farming.

The second which ties in a little with the first, is that apparently there is formaldehyde in US milk!!! Now it may be true, may not be, it has certainly been used as a preservative in the past... (early 1900s, from what I could tell). I don't know. I'm sure there are things in the milk (yes even organic) that we don't know about... and yes, we have fads in food scares. People get paranoid about flouride (sp?) in the water, or what have you. A lot of things in the food we eat really aren't good for us (HFCS anyone?), but that gave me a moment of 'no frigging way!'. But in some ways I do start to wonder. When I start gaining weight the moment I get off of the raw milk I drink all summer. When I go back to eating from the grocery store in the winter.... maybe there is such a thing...

I just worry when we have so many issues with our food supply. There are more allergies then ever before, there are more weight and health issues than ever before, and, instead of simplifying the food supply, they add more fake stuff, more fillers, more preservatives... its all low-fat, non-fat, sugar-free, fortified with essential vitamins and minerals....and all have ingredient lists a mile long with the things that you worry about disguised, so you can't even see them...