We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A pandemic made by capitalism

by Joe Allen (a diabetic) from Socialist Worker.
...the unhealthiest places in the United States--Logan County, West Virginia. With a population of 36,000 people in 2008, the Centers for Disease Control put the estimated rate of diabetes in Logan County at 14.8 percent, the highest in the U.S.

Here, the causes were much clearer. Among them are the 36 fast food restaurants in Logan County--one for every 1,000 residents. Obesity and diabetes go hand in hand. Some have proclaimed Logan County the "diabetes capital" of the U.S., but there are counties in Mississippi that are in nearly as bad a shape.
For more information on how industrial food is making Americans sick, I highly recommend that you read the book by Michael Pollan entitled, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. After reading this book, you will never look at food the same way again.
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