Obesity has been covered ad nauseum. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) statistics from 2007 – 2008, 33.9% of adults over the age of 20 in the United States are obese. One third of Americans are overweight! One third of Americans are at risk for various health issues including but not limited to: heart disease, sleep apnea, liver issues and Type 2 Diabetes.
On Tuesday, 1/17/12, Paula Deen revealed she’s had diabetes for three years. What a freaking shocker! You might be asking, “What does this have to do with science fiction?” My answer – I'm going to watch "Wall-E" again and get back to you. I heard and read about MS. Deen’s confession and then followed the resultant fallout and I thought to myself, “DUH!” and I had to get my thoughts regarding this on paper, so to speak.
Most accounts I’ve seen and read have crucified her. C’mon, really? Is anyone that surprised? Seriously, look at the way she cooks. She’s been dubbed the Queen of Butter (though to be fair many seem to share this title).
Over the past week, I’ve heard numerous times she shouldn’t have been promoting her recipes when she knew they were potentially unhealthy. In the words of an iconic television character from the 70s, “Shut … up … you.”
And I don’t care that she’s struck an endorsement deal with a drug company for a diabetes drug. In my mind, the two (drug endorsement and chastised for unhealthy recipes) are separate issues.
If you duplicate her recipes, then you are fully aware of each and every ingredient you shove down your gullet. You’d have to have been living under a rock for your entire life to NOT know the health risks of continually consuming food such as this.
To place the blame on Paula Deen is inane. That would be similar to me striking a kitchen match, holding it until it burns down to my fingers and complaining because the Diamond Match people didn’t warn me that I could burn myself if I hung on to the match too long. Jeez.
I think Paula Deen is the latest scapegoat in the war against obesity. For example, have you checked out the price of food in the organic aisle at the local supermarket? It seems as if the price of “healthy” foods has outpaced the price of processed foods. It’s no wonder Americans are fat, we have to live within a budget.
That’s my rant. What do you think? Is Deen culpable? Should she be taken to task for creating a multitude of unhealthy recipes?
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