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Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

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Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#11

Post by rdouble »

DaniFong wrote: post #8
3dFlatLander wrote: post #2

I'm curious what a better nutrition labeling system would look like. I think each country has a different system. It would stand to reason that at least a few have something better than the US system.

I have a startup idea surrounding this that I think could be killer. I'm working full-time (on another startup) but I'm applying to YC anyway because I think it would be an easy hack with huge benefits and the possibility of making a lot of wealth. If you're interested I'm looking for a cofounder -- email me at daniellefong at daniellefong dot com.

Have you seen Joel Fuhrman's ANDI rating system? It's being used at Whole Foods.

http://www.examiner.com/x-672-Disease-Prevention-Examiner~y2...

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#12

Post by larsr »

albemuth wrote: post #7
wvenable wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sugar != fat in terms of the content of food. If something has zero fat but 400 calories, then it's still bad for you but in a different way. Either way, it's clearly labeled. The problem is that people don't know how to interpret the labels. Better education would help with that. Weight watchers, for example, has their points formula which boils down the calories, fat, and fiber values into a single number that is e…

I can't recall any other sources other than that Robert Lustig talk, but from what I've understood you gain more fat by metabolizing sugar than by actually consuming fat.

That does not appear to be true. For instance, here is Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health:

From many kinds of studies conducted over years, we are quite confident now that a calorie from fat will cause a similar amount of weight gain as a calorie from carbohydrate. There are some interesting questions about whether eating carbohydrate calories versus fat calories will make you eat more calories, but based on what you put into your mouth, it's pretty clear that the source of the calories is really not important.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1822118,00.ht...

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#13

Post by jrockway »

rdouble wrote: post #11
DaniFong wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a startup idea surrounding this that I think could be killer. I'm working full-time (on another startup) but I'm applying to YC anyway because I think it would be an easy hack with huge benefits and the possibility of making a lot of wealth. If you're interested I'm looking for a cofounder -- email me at daniellefong at daniellefong dot com.

Have you seen Joel Fuhrman's ANDI rating system? It's being used at Whole Foods. http://www.examiner.com/x-672-Disease-Prevention-Examiner~y2...

What I get out of these "boiled-down" systems is that I should just eat a vitamin pill and some cardboard. Low sugar, low fat, high nutrients.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#14

Post by rdouble »

jrockway wrote: post #13
rdouble wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen Joel Fuhrman's ANDI rating system? It's being used at Whole Foods. http://www.examiner.com/x-672-Disease-Prevention-Examiner~y2...

What I get out of these "boiled-down" systems is that I should just eat a vitamin pill and some cardboard. Low sugar, low fat, high nutrients.

Go for it.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#15

Post by henrikschroder »

3dFlatLander wrote: post #2

I'm curious what a better nutrition labeling system would look like. I think each country has a different system. It would stand to reason that at least a few have something better than the US system.

Where I am, all nutrition labels contain the amounts per 100g/100ml (for comparison with other items) and per "serving" (for knowing how much you typically get).

The problem though is that serving sizes typically don't reflect how much you actually eat, especially for food that's bad for you. A serving of chips is usually a fistful, a serving of chocolate is not the entire bar, etc. Overall the system is ok, but there's room for improvement.

On the other hand, nutrition labels are such a small problem, the big problem is that people eat too fucking much, and no label in the world are going to stop them from doing so.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#16

Post by henrikschroder »

felixmar wrote: post #10
cwan wrote: post #4

I found this rant a bit vapid - you'll find more usable information here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1041452 (or read Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories). I think Oliver clearly identifies a problem (and quite passionately believes in what he says), but the solution seems squishy - "fighting obesity" and "education" are great ideas but when you empower people with bad ideas that's probably worse than u…

Besides, the problem isn't educating the kids but the parents. In one episode of Jamie's School Dinners some parents were giving junk food through the schoolyard gate to their children when Jamie had convinced the school to start serving healthy and delicious meals. His Don Quixote like crusade to improve the food culture of the English is worthy of praise and makes him much more remarkable than most TV chefs.

That parents do that to their kids is sad on so many levels. :-(

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#17

Post by drewr »

wvenable wrote: post #9
albemuth wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't recall any other sources other than that Robert Lustig talk, but from what I've understood you gain more fat by metabolizing sugar than by actually consuming fat.

I understand that's the case as well. A lot of low-carb diets, such at Atkins, allow you to eat as much fat as you want and you'll still lose weight. Dietary fat is bad for your cardiovascular system, though. The food that contains 0% fat doesn't contain any fat. That's actually useful information. If people think that 0% fat foods are automatically good for them, that's an education problem not a labeling problem.

Dietary fat is bad for your cardiovascular system, though.

As cwan mentioned earlier, read Taubes.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#18

Post by DaniFong »

rdouble wrote: post #11
DaniFong wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a startup idea surrounding this that I think could be killer. I'm working full-time (on another startup) but I'm applying to YC anyway because I think it would be an easy hack with huge benefits and the possibility of making a lot of wealth. If you're interested I'm looking for a cofounder -- email me at daniellefong at daniellefong dot com.

Have you seen Joel Fuhrman's ANDI rating system? It's being used at Whole Foods. http://www.examiner.com/x-672-Disease-Prevention-Examiner~y2...

Yeah I think the ANDI system is fundamentally flawed and there's a much better way to do things.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#19

Post by wvenable »

larsr wrote: post #12
albemuth wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't recall any other sources other than that Robert Lustig talk, but from what I've understood you gain more fat by metabolizing sugar than by actually consuming fat.

That does not appear to be true. For instance, here is Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health: From many kinds of studies conducted over years, we are quite confident now that a calorie from fat will cause a similar amount of weight gain as a calorie from carbohydrate. There are some interesting questions about whether eating carbohydrate calories versus fat calories w…

Wouldn't the calories label on the food include both calories from both fat and carbs? So this is all moot to the discussion at hand.

Re: Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

#20

Post by chipsy »

larsr wrote: post #12
albemuth wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't recall any other sources other than that Robert Lustig talk, but from what I've understood you gain more fat by metabolizing sugar than by actually consuming fat.

That does not appear to be true. For instance, here is Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health: From many kinds of studies conducted over years, we are quite confident now that a calorie from fat will cause a similar amount of weight gain as a calorie from carbohydrate. There are some interesting questions about whether eating carbohydrate calories versus fat calories w…

That article is talking "carbs vs. fat." Lustig is talking "sugar vs. everything else," and the key to the sugar-obesity link isn't in calorie quantities, but in how it affects future appetite and preferences. After drinking a soda, you will eat _more_ on average than someone on an empty stomach, even though you've just downed ~45 grams of sugar. It's the same reason why you can enjoy terrible bar food once you're drunk.
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