Health Food vs. Mass Market Food, Which Will They Choose?
Don't feed me any of that healthy, flaxseed, chicory root slop!
Ever since we’ve had our cats, I’ve gone out of my way to purchase the healthiest food I can for them. Originally I purchased the healthiest food available in Pet Smart, at the recommendation of Linda who runs the cat shelter from which we adopted several of our cats. When we adopted our fifth, most recent cat she changed her cat food recommendation to a high protein brand that was supposed to be nutritionally superior. I followed her recommendation, but it disturbed the digestion of our original cat. We switched to a different brand of high protein food recommended by the small, non-chain pet store where we now shop. All was good, for a while.
One day I decided to try them on the “light” variation of the food since the cat shown in this post was packing on the pounds. A major boycott ensued and it didn’t appear that any of the cats touched the food for days. I grew concerned and switched them back to the regular, high protein food. The cats seemed as happy as you might expect for a diet of dry food without access to the tasty meats we enjoy.
But lately I noticed there was a growing boycott in the food bowls again. This time we decided to try a premium variety of mass market cat food since,if we were switching, I wanted something that didn’t require an extra trip to purchase. As you might expect, it was a hit. For the past few days I’ve been mixing it with the other food, but they’ve been gobbling it all up at double the normal level.
Which goes to prove that mass marketers know equally well how to sell junk food to cats, as well as to humans. And that living beings have a predisposition to like the food that’s less healthy for them. That leaves the choice in our hands – what will we choose for ourselves, and to a lesser degree for our pets? Food that tastes better, but makes us overeat, and possibly cuts our lives shorter in the long run? Or boring food that we’ll only want to eat in moderation over the course of a potentially longer life? It’s a tough question that I ponder nearly every day for myself.
Buyers Beware – That Foodie Bargain May Be Too Good
We’ve heard about counterfeit money, watches, handbags, designer clothes, and other luxury items. And many of us are happy when we can knowingly purchase a “knock off” of a designer item for less, when we really don’t care about paying top dollar for the real thing.
But the latest concern in counterfeits gives us reason for genuine concern. Counterfeits in food items not only affect quality, but also our safety. The fraudulent replacement of red snapper with tilapia may spoil a good meal; French cognac diluted with U.S. brandy won’t sip as well; but we’ve seen the dangers in Chinese milk that has been boosted with melamine for the sake of simulating a higher protein content. Even if we’re not talking about an outright toxic product, consider the risks in a seemingly inexpensive can of extra virgin olive oil, that’s been diluted with peanut oil to bring down the expense. Sure, to most of us it will cheapen our salad, but for a person with peanut allergies it can be deadly.
According to the report on this crime in Newsweek, the FDA and other groups are attempting to uncover these fraudulent foods, and states are instituting stricter legislation to combat these crimes. But the public needs to be as vigilantly suspicious of a good food deal found in a store as we’ve been about a handbag sold on the street corner.
The Rewards of Teaching Your Kids to Cook
Experts will tell you that if kids become involved in the kitchen, they will adopt healthy habits that will last a lifetime. There’s a program in California called The Edible Schoolyard that teaches kids to grow and cook their own food, for that very reason.
Kids that help plan and prepare the family meals are more likely to try food they wouldn’t have if Mom served it to them.
They will learn skills that will help them to avoid the expense and dietary pitfalls of depending on takeout and restaurant meals as they grow older.
But for me, the rewards are much more immediate. Take, for example, the Chinese Chicken Wrap you see in this photo. Annie prepared it for our dinner tonight with minimal supervision from me (I only guided her in poaching the chicken). Joe and I took Louisa to her basketball game and when we returned, Annie had dinner ready for us to eat.
Not just that, she even concocted a little dessert for us – a cup of crushed graham cracker cookies, ice cream cones, nutella, strawberries, Fluff and whipped cream.
Do you need any other excuse to teach your kids to want to cook?