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JulyDiaz

Episode 37 — Why the Food Industry Is Evil

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Did you know it's easier to quit heroin than it is to quit being obese? Whether you try Weight Watchers, Atkins, or whatever fad diet is popular this week, they all have the same efficacy five years down the line. We love blaming fat people for their weight problems, but the truth is that one of the largest industries in this country has spent decades figuring out how to turn wood (yes, wood) and chemicals into perfectly addictive foods you just can't give up.

 

On today's podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien and David Wong talk about how our nation's diet got this bad (hint: the USDA spends more money pushing cheese than healthy habits), and how the same corporations who hacked our waistlines into obesity are working to export the same bad habits across the developing world.

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I was talking to a friend one time and paraphrased a Michael Pollan question, "Do you want your food prepared for you by a person or a corporation?" One of the student workers nearby in my office chimed in to say that people work at those food factories, so that should count...

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You know what, even though it was only mentioned in passing I think people are too quick to dismiss sexual addiction as a real thing. Anything that releases endorphins has potential to be addictive. And personally, I think that if I had the opportunity to have sex with beautiful women any time I want, then got used to having sex with beautiful women any time I want, I don't think I would be able to just stop any time I want to.

 

I also don't understand why people are acting like acknowledging it is an addiction would exonerate the person of all wrongdoing. If someone steals money or commits violent acts because of a cocaine addiction, we don't look the other way, right? Because addiction doesn't mean you have no responsibility for your actions. So it's not like we should let people off the hook for lying to their spouses, or spreading STDs, or anything else. But I think it might not be so crazy to say, OK, the things Tiger Woods did are wrong and his wife is totally right to divorce him. However in order to change himself he will need outside help at this point. It is his fault for not coming clean and possibly getting help before it destroyed their marriage, but it's not reasonable to think he can just up and stop doing it by himself.

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