Health, Medicine and Society's screening of the documentary 'Feeding Frenzy' in Whitaker Thursday night provided students a glaring insight to the growing obesity epidemic.
Aug 20, 2015 A feeding frenzy of griffon vultures is interrupted mid-communion by the grand appearance of the Eurasian black vulture. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoWIL. Feeding Frenzy: The Food Industry, Marketing & the Creation of a Health Crisis (2013) Filmmaker Kate Geis exposes the role of the processed food industry has in growing obesity rates. Release Date.
“Feeding Frenzy,” created in 2013 by the Media Education Foundation chronicles how obesity rates have risen dramatically in the past three decades. According to the film, obesity rates have more than doubled in children and tripled for adolescents. A growing epidemic of obesity related health problems like coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke etc. are putting an economic strain on the country.
“This economic strain changes obesity from being a personal problem to a societal problem,” according to the film.
The majority of discussions about this rising health epidemic have focused on the need for more exercise and individual responsibility. “Feeding Frenzy” takes a pivotal stance in suggesting that this crisis is the responsibility of the processed food industry and a general lack of government regulation. The problem with arguments favoring individual responsibility, according to the film, is that the only value of health in many cases becomes the number on the scale.
'I think it is a social justice issue to make food healthy,' said Rosalie Cawley, '15. 'The fact that the health epidemic is so large makes it the government's responsibility to regulate these corporations.'
'We treat those [obese and overweight] people as a shameful 'other' when we place all the responsibility on the individual,' said Timothy Lomauro, professor of psychology. 'It would help if everyone was more educated in how food is actually made, then maybe we can discuss the Health Crisis in terms of individual responsibility.'
“Feeding Frenzy” attributes much of the health crisis to the role of the food industry and it's use of marketing in creating a health crisis. The documentary outlined the way large food conglomerations want to sell as much of their product as possible regardless of health consequences. Marketing strategies are designed to further consumption and ultimately make it unconscious.
The documentary said that these corporations consider profit to be significantly more important than the consumers needs to eat healthily.
“Feeding Frenzy” talked about the evolution of the food industry following the Great Depression, and how taxpayer subsidies have enabled the industry to create a market dominated by cheap, addictive and unhealthy products. The documentary said that we, as a society, have normalized these convenience foods which are a direct link toward the obesity epidemic.
The discussion following the film, led by Lomauro, raised important questions about healthy options on campus. Because these large food corporations dominate so much of the industry, it's often hard to find healthy options.
Imani Brown, '16, talked about the availability of healthy choices at Lehigh.
“There are some healthy options on campus, but they are very expensive compared to unhealthy processed foods,' she said. 'It kind of creates a healthy barrier.”
In the discussion, several students, pointed out that while the documentary was informative, it didn't provide a good basis for what we as consumers can do next. Some students reacted by claiming it was no different than documentaries like “Supersize Me,” and “Food Inc.”
Lomauro discussed what we can do next in the discussion and what he believed the documentary “Feeding Frenzy” was ultimately trying to say to its audience.
“At a certain moment, a message is enough to create a lasting change in a persons lifestyle.”
Story by Brown and White news writer Shannon Welty, '13.
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