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I agree. Nutritional science is in its infancy but it's impact could be huge in a few years if it's properly funded. Unfortunately there are lots of vested inte

I agree. Nutritional science is in its infancy but it's impact could be huge in a few years if it's properly funded. Unfortunately there are lots of vested interests in nutritional science not advancing and remaining a gray area. The main contenders are fast food companies, companies that produce unhealthy foods for the supermarket and big pharma who can't patent a food or food supplement. To be blunt it's just not a profitable business to sell good nutrition, much more profitable to get people hooked on junk food and pain pills.

eitland 6y ago
To make it even worse: A major improvement for a lot of people would be to eat way less. Add to this that it would probably be better to replace a lot of what is left by some of the cheapest items we find - plain vegetables, not any kind of "superfood" and I can see why big companies don't line up behind this.
- elric 6y ago
  Sadly, vending machines are filled with mars bars and not celery stalks. Cities are overflowing with McDonalds' and Pizza Huts. You can stuff 2000kcal worth of fast food down your gob for under a tenner of whatever currency. But if you want a healthy salad, you'll be paying a premium. I feel like there's a business opportunity in healthy fast food, but as far as I can tell there's no such thing, at least not in any of the cities I've lived in.
  - ses1984 6y ago
    Healthy fast food is not that appealing (to current consumer preferences).
    - elric 6y ago
      Tetraethyllead was added to gasoline to reduce knocking. Unleaded gasoline wasn't appealing to consumers at all, but the market for that is now dead and consumers continue to fill up their tanks. The evidence for its harm was overwhelming. The evidence for fast food being harmful is a lot less overwhelming at the moment. Maybe once that becomes clearer, consumer demand will shift, hopefully without requiring legislation?
      - ses1984 6y ago
        I don't see the analogy. Evidence for fast food being less healthy than a salad is pretty overwhelming, consumers don't care and choose fries anyway. Lead pollution harms everyone, not just the person who burns it. And, lead isn't really needed to avoid knocking. If you want consumer preference to change you need to make a salad that is as delicious and cheap as fries.

eitland 6y ago

To make it even worse: A major improvement for a lot of people would be to eat way less. Add to this that it would probably be better to replace a lot of what is left by some of the cheapest items we find - plain vegetables, not any kind of "superfood" and I can see why big companies don't line up behind this.

elric 6y ago
Sadly, vending machines are filled with mars bars and not celery stalks. Cities are overflowing with McDonalds' and Pizza Huts. You can stuff 2000kcal worth of fast food down your gob for under a tenner of whatever currency. But if you want a healthy salad, you'll be paying a premium. I feel like there's a business opportunity in healthy fast food, but as far as I can tell there's no such thing, at least not in any of the cities I've lived in.
- ses1984 6y ago
  Healthy fast food is not that appealing (to current consumer preferences).
  - elric 6y ago
    Tetraethyllead was added to gasoline to reduce knocking. Unleaded gasoline wasn't appealing to consumers at all, but the market for that is now dead and consumers continue to fill up their tanks. The evidence for its harm was overwhelming. The evidence for fast food being harmful is a lot less overwhelming at the moment. Maybe once that becomes clearer, consumer demand will shift, hopefully without requiring legislation?
    - ses1984 6y ago
      I don't see the analogy. Evidence for fast food being less healthy than a salad is pretty overwhelming, consumers don't care and choose fries anyway. Lead pollution harms everyone, not just the person who burns it. And, lead isn't really needed to avoid knocking. If you want consumer preference to change you need to make a salad that is as delicious and cheap as fries.