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Passion or Poison?

by · March 1st, 2009
Family & Kids, Hazon, Health, Judaism, News, NYTimes, Opinion, Organic, Personal Story, Sustainability

poison

There’s been a ton of buzz about the February 25th NY Times article What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’ Foods, by Abby Ellin.

The article asserts that parents who are “vigilant about their children’s consumption of sugar, processed foods, and trans fats” and “try to stick to an organic diet” may be doing more harm than good. Specifically, Ellin suggests that parents’ “extreme obsession” with healthy food may lead to eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa and orthorexia (a term coined by Dr. Stephen Bratman to describe people fanatical about “righteous eating”).

I’ll admit I saw a slight glimmer of myself in the parents described in the article. (Big emphasis on “slight”, although you’d have to check with my kids for a truly objective opinion.) But come on, I’m a holistic nutrition coach-it’s my job!

The article got slammed on various blogs for being sensationalist and unsubstantiated in hard data. If you have a relatively high tolerance for sarcasm and sporadic cussing, check out the commentary at Gawker.com and especially the comments that follow. Good fun.

But what I’m really wondering about is this: how does the idea that we can potentially cause harm with our good habits and intentions relate to things I’m passionate about and how I convey them to others? Our lifestyle choices (how we eat, how we connect to and practice our religion, for example) say to others “this is what I think is the right way”. We stand for our choices in subtle as well as obvious ways, and can potentially inspire and educate OR alienate others through our preferences.

One of the reasons I am so drawn to Hazon and The Jew and the Carrot is they represent things I’m devoted to (Judaism, food, sustainability), and they do so impeccably. Hazon embodies their ideals through activism and making change happen organically (no pun intended) and speaks to and represents a diverse group. No one would ever accuse Hazon of giving people “enviro-rexia” or a “sustainability disorder”!!

But as individuals, when we convey our passions to others, are we crossing that line that turns passion into poison?

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3 Responses to “Passion or Poison?”

  1. Susan Bodnar Says:
    March 2nd, 2009 at 7:39 am

    Thanks, Arlyn. I also found this article biased and the psychologists a bit off in focusing on organic food’s role in eating and obsessional disorders. As a psychologist, my perspective is that eating disorders come about as a result of many factors, some of them being socio-cultural. Those parents who use healthy eating as a control mechanism may be misguided but their fears are genuine. Parents who try to stave off the onslaught of culturally induced and socially approved bad eating need support to figure out the right balance, not ridicule and criticism.
    What are parents supposed to do? Too much passivity in this context doesn’t support kids who need very strong eating muscles to fight off this culture’s downright food bullying. Too much intervention invites psychologists to pathologize parental behavior. Is it possible that my own profession is finding it easier to blame parents who are trying to protect their kids from a valid medical danger rather than to point fingers at the food industry?

  2. Liz Lawler Says:
    March 2nd, 2009 at 8:10 am

    The article is kind of sensationalist and wacky. But a good read, I mean, come on: this poor little kid worried about sodium! I guess with my own kid I’ve adopted the policy of just trying to offer the best possible choices in our home, while allowing for a little extravagence when we’re out. If grandma wants to feed him cake, fine.
    I think it’s really a lead by example situation. The shriller you get, the more they’ll push back. But then, my kid’s only ten months old, so I may change my tune when he starts talking!

  3. Anthony Silverbrow Says:
    March 3rd, 2009 at 9:24 am

    I appreciate this isn’t directly what the article is dealing with, but it’s worth noting the amount of rubbish in a lot of kosher food. E numbers, preservatives, HFCS and the lists go on. We don’t have much to crow about.

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