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Ray Kroc had to be convinced by the marketing dept that people would go for this

In this section of Omnivore’s Dilemma, author Michael Pollan discusses the supersize-ing and big gulp-ing of the American diet, which is one reason why 35 percent of the people in this country are obese.

One might think that people would stop eating and drinking these gargantuan portions as soon as they felt full, but it turns out hunger doesn’t work that way. Researchers have found that people presented with large portions will eat up to 30 percent more than they would otherwise. Human appetite, it turns  out, is surprisingly elastic, which makes excellent evoluntionary sense: It behooved our hunter-gatherer ancestors to feast whenever the opportunity presented itself, allowing them to build up reserves of fat against future famine.

Obesity researchers call this the “thrifty gene.” And while the gene represents a useful adaptation in an environment of food scarcity and unpredictability, it’s a disaster in an environment of fast-food abundance, when the opportunity to feast presents itself 24/7.

Our bodies are storing reserves of fat against a famine that never comes.

I love high fructose corn syrup!

Reading Omnivore’s Dilemma, which is a disturbing account of the prevalence of corn in the food supply. Corn is now a “welfare queen” because it is heavily subsidized by the government. Farmers have financial incentive to grow corn, which gets fed to cattle whose stomachs are designed for grass. When the bovines get sick because they cannot tolerate their corn diet, they are shot full of antibiotics. This follows being doped up with hormones to make them bulk up faster or produce more milk. The problem is complex, but what author Michael Pollan concludes is that a McDonald’s hamburger is only cheap because the true cost of growing that pound of beef is not accounted for.

The ninety-nine-cent price of a fast-food hamburger simply doesn’t take account of that meal’s true cost — to soil, oil, public health, the public purse, etc., costs which are never charged directly to the consumer but, indirectly and invisibly, to the taxpayer (in the form of subsidies), the health care system (in the form of food-borne ilnesses and obesity), and the environment (in the form of pollution) …. If not for this sort of blind-man’s accounting, grass would make a lot more sense than it now does.

This video says it all: “I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak.” After eight years of an inarticulate simpleton in the Oval Office, isn’t it a relief to have this man representing us?

The Sunday talk shows still lead the news cycle

BOTH MEN participated in the round table on “This Week,” George Stephanopolous’s show on the Sunday morning talk show curcuit. George Will presents the pure conservative position and Robert Reich the liberal. They were discussing what should be done about AIG specifically, and the banks in general that are being bailed out with TARP funds. Mr. Will said that AIG should submit to the discipline of the market by reorganizing under the appropriate chapter of bankruptcy. Mr. Reich said, “you’ll ge no disagreement from me there.” They both seemed surprised to find themselves in agreement.

(I KNOW I’M two weeks late getting this posted, but I work on a non-linear timeline.) My oldest friend Garth and his husband David have a terrific Academy Awards party every year. In the old days they would send out fancy invitations and it was a big affair. But the last couple of years it has distilled into a group of eight hardcore participants who confidently toss their five dollar bill into the golden orb and play to win. We exchange ballots and at the end of each category go around the room to see who got it right. Points are tallied on a whiteboard.

Cakes are my specialty

The food is always thematically consistent with the movies. This year we had Slumdog Curry, Pat Nixon Salad, Tropic Thunder Punch and The Curious “Cake” of Benjamin Button. We always sit in the same spots on the couch, Garth, Ed and I take turns winning or tying for first place.  David is in the kitchen whipping up another batch of “crack popcorn” — named because it is so addictive. Here’s the recipe: Make popcorn in heavy pan with oil, add lots of real butter, Parmesan  cheese and salt. Don’t expect to fit into your skinny jeans the next day.

Rod Serling was ahead of his time!

THE BOOK, French Women Don’t Get Fat was all the rage last year with the premise that it’s not what you eat, but how much. The French diet is loaded with buttery pastries and creamy sauces yet their population stays svelte because they opt for petite servings. Restaurants and fast food joints are usually to blame for mega portions — think Morgan Spurlock and Super Size Me.

However, an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times shows that the real culprit is much more sinister: Mom at the stove with her dogeared copy of The Joy of Cooking might as well be poisoning you.

…the report examined 18 classic recipes found in seven editions of the book from 1936 to 2006. It found that calorie counts for 14 of the recipes have ballooned by an average of 928 calories, or 44%, per recipe. And serving sizes have grown as well. Take beef stroganoff: In the 1997 edition, the recipe called for three tablespoons of sour cream. The 2006 edition calls for one cup. Then there’s waffles: In 1997, the basic recipe made 12 six-inch waffles; in 2006, the same ingredients made about six waffles. Overall, the scientists found, changes in ingredients and serving sizes led to a 63% increase in calories per serving in 17 of the recipes between 1936 and 2006.

Remember that classic episode of The Twilight Zone, ‘To Serve Man’? Remember, what it was? That’s right — a COOKBOOK! The aliens are coming to take over and they want us all to be nice and plump.