218 the rice diet renewal
person, we are in overall worse health than people in most other
developed nations. How can the most powerful and richest country
in the world be faring so poorly, as we nose - dive, seemingly uncon-
scious and out of control, in such important realms as fi nance,
health, and food quality? If we pause for a refl ective moment, we
intuitively know that our country ’ s recent fi nancial collapse, our
obesity and chronic disease epidemics, and the disastrous plunge
in the quality of our food, farms, and precious natural resources
are really symptomatic of the same sin — gluttony. The more affl u-
ent we become and the more excessively we consume, the less
satisfying material things and food become, and the less connected
and in tune we are with other people, our planet, and its valuable
resources — that is, until we change.