Unexpected Consequences
eating, one that did not include squash, green beans, tomatoes, corn,
peaches, or cherries—foods I ate plenty of at home. My sights were on
juicy cheeseburgers, hotdogs, candy bars, and ice cream. I would start
by eating one of everything, including every kind of ice cream bar and
every brand of candy bar. The second round would be similar. My father
would be back in a matter of hours. Time was wasting.
My best-laid plan was a bust. The fatal flaw in my scheme was feeling
satiated too quickly. I never made it through the first round. After a
cheeseburger, hotdog, ice cream bar, and two candy bars, I felt stuffed.
My body was not up to the task. So I cleaned the grill, stored everything
away, and settled in for the night. When my father returned the following
morning and asked how I fared, I recounted what happened. He wryly
responded that I needed more practice.
The food I ate that night cost more than food I ate at home. In
the future, rodeo fare would become cheaper per calorie than the fresh
fruits and vegetables I took for granted. Fast-food restaurants would
dominate the food landscape. Little did my father know how easy it
would be to get more practice consuming unneeded calories.
As the modern food system was becoming more proficient in produc-
ing food and convincing people to eat more, medical science was busy
reducing the incidence of infectious diseases and making procedures
like open-heart bypass surgery common practice. With the spotlight
on medical breakthroughs, it was easy to ignore how food and diet con-
tributed to chronic ill-health and diminished life expectancy.
Not until 00 did the surgeon general officially acknowledge
America’s national obesity epidemic. By then, chronic diseases were
becoming a new cultural norm, though most people were reluctant to
acknowledge it. Behind growing waistlines, vital organs like the heart
and liver were being encased in morbid layers of fat.
Human genetics evolved when food was scarce and lots of energy
from food was needed for daily physical activity. Getting enough calories
was key to survival. But American culture wanted convenient food, with
little physical effort to get it. Food manufacturers were all too happy to
oblige, turning out rich processed foods with captivating tastes, textures,
aromas, appearance, and even sound. Perfecting this formula was money