Food Police

Hi.

I had parts two and three to the Fairfax debacle, but they're locked away on a computer I won't see for several days. I got all frustrated about this fact and stopped writing. So be it.

Right now I am part-time at what should be my last temp job for a while. I start a full-time position in July, but more on that later. In the meantime I am working in the legal affairs department at the nonprofit organization that serves as a watchdog to the food and drink industry. These are the folks who publish statistics yearly about some food that turns out to have like, 70 grams of fat and 3,000 calories per serving. They did it with fettuccini Alfredo once, and movie popcorn. I am helping research the effects of drinking soda (on tooth erosion, kidney function, and bone density) for a campaign they are waging against soft drink companies. I agree with most of what they do, though the ideology and tactics they use are pretty intense even for a healthy-veggie-believe-in-government-involvement-to-help-the-well-being-of-our-citizens-type like me. I definitely agree with the work they are doing to improve what is offered in our schools and to regulate how food and drink is marketed to young people. Because childhood obesity? Definitely a problem. But I am not allowed to have "junk food" at my desk, and that's freaking me out a bit. I tend to think I'm pretty healthy. But I am well aware that some of my staples would get a thumbs down from these folks.

Vitamin water? Lots of sugar. Fructose. Citric Acid. Bad.
And a power bar? Fructose. Pretty processed stuff. Not so good.

In my perusing today I found this article.

In college I had a movement teacher from Russia who sometimes talked about the health benefits of drinking your own urine. At least I think that's what he was talking about. Felix wasn't always so easy to understand.

And here's the thing. Diet Coke? I'm a fan. And I have always said that if artificial sweeteners turn out to be as bad as some people think, I'll be SOL. And it starts to feel like everything, EVERYTHING is suspected of doing something bad to you. Throw in food safety issues, and even super-healthy-good-for-you things like tomatoes and spinach become death traps of e.coli and other bacteria. Eventually you get to the point where it's like "Ahh! Food! Scary!"

In other news, we've started rehearsals for our Fringe show, which right now exists as a great big wild card in my mind. But I like the people we've amassed to work with us. So that's a good start.

And the next three months are shaping up to be wedding-o-rama. Starting tonight when I drive with Skids to a wedding in NJ, which actually sounds like it will be an exceedingly chill one. Which is wonderful.