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This article is manipulation of the rankest kind. It's built out of facts that are individually true, but together constitute an outright lie. First, reread t

This article is manipulation of the rankest kind. It's built out of facts that are individually true, but together constitute an outright lie. First, reread the article and not what it actually says. It summarizes, paraphrases, and offers characterizations like: * "struggled to feed themselves adequately" * "struggled with hunger" * "predicted the 2008 numbers will show even more hunger because of the sharp economic downturn" * "increases in the number of hungry people" ...and so on. But notice that whenever actual statistics are cited, they all refer to something called "food insecurity," which is a technical term defined by the FDA. Now, consider the title of this article, published in 2003 in the Journal of Nutrition, which is an established, peer-reviewed journal run by scientists instead of politicos: Food Insecurity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Obesity in California Women here's the abstract: http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/133/4/1070 http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/133/4/1070 I'm not claiming that the US doesn't have poverty-related social problems. In fact, one of those problems is obesity, as numerous independent studies have confirmed. There's plenty of room to discuss what should be done about obesity among the poor. But they aren't getting fat because they don't have enough to eat. In closing, dear reader, I present a few unrelated facts for your amusement: * One of the federal government's largest discretionary expenditures is farm subsidies. * The most heavily subsidized crops are corn and soybeans. * The largest single donor to federal election campaigns is Archer Daniels Midland, which sells products derived from corn and soybeans. * Midwestern states (which grow corn and soybeans) are disproportionately influential in the Senate, whence farm bills often originate. * The FDA, which doles out the farm subsidies, is also responsible for measuring hunger and assessing nutritional requirements. Nutritional recommendations made by the FDA affect what you can buy with food stamps. * Food consumed disproportionately by the poor contains disproportionate amounts of corn and soybeans. This is thought to be one of the main reasons why obesity is more common among this group.

Alex3917 18y ago
So just to be clear, your belief is that poor people being able to afford only unhealthy food causes no physiological, mental, or social problems and is not something that society should be concerned about?
- mnemonicsloth 18y ago
  No. How can you think I said that? I went out of my way to reject that idea explicitly. I was afraid that if I didn't, someone would hear me saying "we should focus on the problem of obesity, which is real, instead of hunger, which is not" and accuse me of being a heartless bastard intent on screwing the poor. Here's what I said: I'm not claiming that the US doesn't have poverty-related social problems. In fact, one of those problems is obesity, as numerous independent studies have confirmed. There's plenty of room to discuss what should be done about obesity among the poor. But they aren't getting fat because they don't have enough to eat. I'm really at my wits' end here. Can you tell me what kabuki I have to perform in order to be perceived as someone interested in living in a better society than the one we have now?

Alex3917 18y ago

So just to be clear, your belief is that poor people being able to afford only unhealthy food causes no physiological, mental, or social problems and is not something that society should be concerned about?

mnemonicsloth 18y ago
No. How can you think I said that? I went out of my way to reject that idea explicitly. I was afraid that if I didn't, someone would hear me saying "we should focus on the problem of obesity, which is real, instead of hunger, which is not" and accuse me of being a heartless bastard intent on screwing the poor. Here's what I said: I'm not claiming that the US doesn't have poverty-related social problems. In fact, one of those problems is obesity, as numerous independent studies have confirmed. There's plenty of room to discuss what should be done about obesity among the poor. But they aren't getting fat because they don't have enough to eat. I'm really at my wits' end here. Can you tell me what kabuki I have to perform in order to be perceived as someone interested in living in a better society than the one we have now?