Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Charlatan
Here's the real question...
If farm subsidy didn't exist, and processed foods were not cheaper would the poor be able to afford to eat? If we had to pay the "real" cost of food, would the American way of life collapse?
|
Yeah, I've heard that if they were to remove the subsidies doled out to meat producers, the cost of meat would at least double. And what sort of disparity do you think there is between the subsidies available to mass-producing meat/dairy farms vs. small sustainable organic legume/vegetable producers?
Also, I too believe that this whole issue isn't just about poor people. I think your risk of being overweight or obese is increased by a number of factors. Here's one example; below is an interesting list of stats:
Quote:
The Ubiquity of Modern TV and Other Facts to Ponder in a Mediated World
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co. (1998), the average American watches 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV each day (more than 52 days of non-stop TV-watching per year). By age 65, the average American will have spent nearly 9 years glued to the tube.
Lying Around the House
1. Percentage of U.S. homes with at least one television: 98
2. Hours per day that TV is on in the average American home: 7 hours and 12 minutes
3. Percentage of Americans that regularly watch TV while eating dinner: 66
4. Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49
5. Number of videos rented daily in the United States: 6 million
6. Number of library items checked out daily: 3 million
Child's Play
1. Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900
2. Hours per year the average American Youth watches TV: 1500
3. Minutes per week that the average American child ages 2-11 watches TV: 1,197
4. Minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
5. Percentage of children ages 5-17 who have a TV in their bedroom: 52
6. Percentage of children ages 4-6 who, when asked to choose between watching TV or spending time with their fathers, preferred TV: 54
If It Bleeds, It Leads
1. Number of violent acts an average American child sees on TV by age 18: 200,000
2. Number of murders witnessed by children on TV by age 18: 16,000
3. Percentage of children polled who said they felt "upset" or "scared" by TV violence: 91
4. Percentage increase in network news coverage of homicide between 1990 and 1995: 336
5. Percent reduction in the American homicide rate between 1990 and 1995: 13
6. Percentage of all violent scenes in which the perpetrators go unpunished: 73
Where's the Beef?
1. Number of TV commercials seen each year by an average child: 30,000
2. Number of TV commercials seen by the average American by age 65: 2,000,000
3. Percent of Americans who believe "most of us buy and consume far more than we need": 82
4. Number of ads aired for "junk-food" during four hours of Saturday morning cartoons: 202
5. Percentage of American children ages 6-11 who were seriously overweight in 1963: 4.5
6. Percentage of American children ages 6-11 who were seriously overweight in 1993: 14
These facts are gathered from a variety of sources. Source citations are available on request. For an expanded version of this material please visit the TV Free America Web site.
|
Nearly four hours of TV a day?! No wonder there are so many problems. Everything is connected.