Coke Zero: The Dawn of Institutionalized Cibophobia
I was in Spar with Abbey and Tshepi on Sunday. We were in the refrigerated section, looking for drinks with which to wash our waiting pizza down. As we perused the dazzling array of products on display, Abbey grabbed a can of Fanta Zero and expressed surprise. The three of us were familiar with Coke Zero, Pepsi Zero, and Sprite Zero, but this was the first time any of us had seen Fanta Zero. We wondered what it tasted like (Abbey ended up getting it), and admired the bold colors that adorned the can.
I blinked at the whole thing, and said in an exasperated manner that this was just another example of how people were becoming afraid of food. Tshepi then laughed and said that next we could expect to see "beef zero, chicken zero" and more as technology became better at sucking the calories out of stuff that should actually have calories.
We laughed, grabbed our drinks, and went to pay, but the incident stuck in my head. What if "beef zero" is around the corner? There are already tons of products that are "reduced fat", "reduced sodium", reduced whatever. Weight Watchers, Jillian Michaels, and dozens of other programs and individuals have already been pushing the benefits of their modified food.
What has happened to real food? Are we really becoming afraid of food? To want to consume something without the consequences is odd, don't you think? Or has that always been the human dream - to be able to do (consume) whatever we want without ramification?
The NY Times had an article on children becoming afraid of foods, and there are already plenty of extremists who believe they have the answer to gustatory salvation. The diet industry is still booming, people are getting diagnosed with various health and eating disorders left and right, and family farming has all but vanished from the North American landscape.
No wonder we're afraid of food.
I blinked at the whole thing, and said in an exasperated manner that this was just another example of how people were becoming afraid of food. Tshepi then laughed and said that next we could expect to see "beef zero, chicken zero" and more as technology became better at sucking the calories out of stuff that should actually have calories.
We laughed, grabbed our drinks, and went to pay, but the incident stuck in my head. What if "beef zero" is around the corner? There are already tons of products that are "reduced fat", "reduced sodium", reduced whatever. Weight Watchers, Jillian Michaels, and dozens of other programs and individuals have already been pushing the benefits of their modified food.
What has happened to real food? Are we really becoming afraid of food? To want to consume something without the consequences is odd, don't you think? Or has that always been the human dream - to be able to do (consume) whatever we want without ramification?
The NY Times had an article on children becoming afraid of foods, and there are already plenty of extremists who believe they have the answer to gustatory salvation. The diet industry is still booming, people are getting diagnosed with various health and eating disorders left and right, and family farming has all but vanished from the North American landscape.
No wonder we're afraid of food.