Recipes

All you can eat: Big ideas

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All you can eat
Our culture is a 24-hour buffet of supersize fries and 2-for-1 pizzas. No wonder it’s so hard to pass on seconds. Here’s how you can take control and avoid the fat traps

By Diane Peters
First published in Chatelaine’s May 2003 issue.
© Rogers Publishing Ltd.

Big ideas

The anti-fat revolution has begun. Here’s how it’s getting started:

• Responsible fast food American lawyer John Banzhaf has already sued the tobacco giants. Now, he’s slapping a handful of food companies with a lawsuit, claiming they’re responsible for making fast-food customers fat. He’s a long shot to win, but supporters hope legal action might spur restaurants to improve the nutritional value of their food.

• Fewer ads Ads for fast food and breakfast cereals often target kids too young to know or care about the difference between nutritious food and junk. As a result, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in Ottawa wants to ban junk food advertising aimed at children. Similar legislation is already in effect in Quebec.

• Tax junk CSPI thinks there should be no GST on fruit juices, salads or vegetables served in restaurants. Canada already has a tax levied on snacks and pop; CSPI’s Washington office wants its government to adopt a similar tax on a national basis.

• Thinner cities Dense housing, grid-patterned streets and tons of parks and walking paths keep us well: that’s the theory behind the Healthy Communities movement or neo-urban design. To get involved, find your local Healthy Communities network.


  • Intro
  • Our genes
  • Our homes
  • Our work
  • Our supermarkets
  • Our restaurants
  • Big fat lies
  Big ideas
 
  • The great health resolution
  • The joy of eating
 
  • Quiz: What kind of eater are you
  • Lower fat meal plan
  • Daily eating log
  • Guide to serving sizes
  • Healthy meals in our Recipe File
 
  • Talk fat in our Nutrition + diet forum
 

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