So, last night I was just browsing around, looking for stuff to think about (what? you think I just come up with this junk on my own?) and I found this article.

I strongly suggest you read it.

If you’re link-phobic, or if the link has expired some day in the future: this is an article from the New York Times that discusses how the food industry competes for our ‘stomach share’ (their words, not mine) by using massive research to help them design food that is very difficult to stop eating.

Judging by the size of my ass, they’re very, very good at this.

It’s just a fascinating read. For example, the holy grail of the food industry is coming up with recipes that taste great, but not so great that I’ll get tired of it. Apparently Coke and Doritos have mastered this art. Again, judging by the size of my ass, the fine folks at the M&M factory completed their own grail quest, too.

I have long known that many types of food had addictive qualities. During my stint as an employee of a famous weight loss support organization (we’ll call them ‘Freight Batchers’) I seriously referred to so many junk foods as ‘crack’ that I started to consider the similarities between my company and Alcoholics Anonymous. For some of us, food has a similar effect as booze and drugs, and ‘kicking the habit’ may require a similar mindset.

I don’t blame the food industry for any of this. They’re doing what they’re supposed to do: make money for their owners (with an important side effect, called ‘jobs’), and using market research to make me want more of what they’re selling is an important and logical tool in doing that.

Another way to look at it: “I want the food I make for my family to taste horrible, and it’s a bonus if no one eats very much of it,” said no one who has ever walked into their kitchen and proceeded to cook, saute, bake, or fry, ever. Since I have spent a great deal of time trying to make my own cooking taste as good as it possibly can, am I guilty of some sort of crime against my household?

I don’t think so.

I don’t want Bloomberg Laws imposed on me and I don’t expect Pepsi to be my mommy. But just because they want me to eat my weight in Fritos doesn’t mean I have to.

© E. Stocking Evans 2013