Colton Warner- Persuasive speech

Today is a somber day, you know why? Because you just died of diabetes. I know you may be wondering why you just died. And it’s because every seven seconds someone dies of diabetes complications across the world. This means that everyone of us will have died before my speech is over. So cheers to that!  

I know you’re thinking, “Great, another food speech. We get it Michelle, we're all fat little monsters.”  But I am not here to tell you what you should eat- that’s your personal right. I am detailing a problem in the world today, and informing you what we need to do.

To start, it's always important to identify the problem. There are two types of sugars in food: naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. Naturally occurring sugars are found in food naturally. Think fruits, milk, vegetables, some grains, generally unprocessed food. Added sugar are the chemical sugars in our food. They are the problem. And it all hinders around one truth: All calories are not equal. Added sugar calories are called “empty calories”- they have none of the nutritional benefits of a normal calorie and don’t fill you up.

To best understand the problem, let’s look where it originated. The McGovern Report in 1977. It issued the first dietary goals for America due to over nourishment. In response, egg, beef, and sugar corporations united and rejected the report. The dietary goals were revised taking the phrase “reduced intake” off of report; subsequently,  the new 80s consensus was to buy foods with less fat. Low fat, reduced fat, zero calorie etc. sprung up in the marketplace all across America. This sounds beneficial; however, when fat is taken out of food, food tastes like Nickelback, so the companies replaced the fats largely with sugars. Between 1977 and 2000, Americans doubled their daily intake of sugar.  

Why is this a problem?  

Without a doubt, sugar consumption has led to the increase of obesity in America and the world, and it’s not been in the national spotlight. Over a third of adults in America are considered obese. And it’s easy to say, “Oh that’s their fault. They should be working out and eating less.” But, this is simply not true. Before 1953 exercising was not a social norm; in fact, it was even taboo. In that year, professor Jean Mayer studied mice and concluded that lack in exercise correlated to obesity. These findings triggered a health revolution. Think horrid workout videos with disco music. Between 1980 and 2000 in America, fitness club memberships more than doubled, at the same time obesity doubled. This proves that simply working out is not the answer. It would take 1 hour and 12 minutes of swimming to burn off a medium fry. (Fed Up)And this oh-so-familiar mantra to eat less and exercise more that’s been shoved down our throats simply is not backed by science. So if we know that working out and eating less is not the answer, we need to examine what we are eating and our habits that go along with that food. You cannot say that an obese 6 month old baby needs to workout, or even eat that much less. Instead, we must look at the habits kids are adopting from birth on. Some baby formulas, especially lactose-free ones have added sugars. And kids are exposed to added sugars more than ever before. Added sugar is engrained in our society (Monkey Business Images).  Just look at the grocery store; Dora and Scooby-Doo promote unhealthy snacks at eye-level, playpens are built at McDonalds, and in almost every store imaginable, candy is sold at the checkout line (like Staples and Hallmark). This is horrifying when Mayo Clinic came out with a study showing that sugar is the number 1 driver of diabetes and obesity.

Why has no one noticed this sooner?

Because of Washington. Since the 1960’s Big Sugar has paid different universities to do studies on sugar. In 22 years, sugar companies paid $57 million in Florida elections. Large Corporations have economic incentives to make money for their owners and stockholders- they do not have responsibilities to the public unless they are legally bound to them. Because of this, 80% of foods in the grocery store have added sugars. Also, when the American Academy of Family Physicians teamed up with Coca Cola, 20 physicians on the board of the academy resigned (Ferdman). In other words, It is clear that Food corporations have control of our kitchen.  

So, what now?

Educate, Educate, Educate. The more we know about sugar and processed foods the better prepared we are to fight. The American Heart Association suggests we have 6-9 teaspoons or around 24-36 grams of added sugars a day. We are up to 22 teaspoons. One 12oz. Coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar. And for all of the past, there has been no distinction of which sugars in foods are added or natural. Thankfully, against striking opposition from sugar lobbyists, the FDA just passed a new dietary label that includes added sugars in 2018. Until 2018, the only way of knowing your food has added sugar is looking at the sugar then look for one of the 56 names for it on the tiny ingredients sign. Yep, the leading cause for diabetes and obesity can only be found through a search through 56 names. What’s funny about it all too, is that while researching for this project, I ate one of those Chobani flips. Mine was peanut butter and chocolate chip and it contained 23 grams of sugar. It does not say how much was from added sugars either, and it just goes to show how surrounded we are.

And it makes me ask the question. Are we free?

We are being taught the false mantra to exercise more and eat less, 80% of our food has added sugars, and Big Sugar has play in politics. We are free in general, but not free enough in our kitchens.

And this brings us to the question- okay how do we get “freer” then?

The answer is complex. The food industry would like to do the right thing, but they will not lower sugars if they go alone or if they lose money. Some say to tax sugary drinks like the U.K. In fact, Credit Suisse, an investment bank, calls for a taxation on sugary food because they think it would save money long term with the billions of dollars devoted to health problems (Walker). And whether you think taxes on sugary drinks is the right move or not, we must all recognize the clear fact that the obesity and diabetes directly correlated to the rise in Added Sugar has become a National Health Crisis, and we’ve got to do something, I think this analogy really sums it up. Added sugar is kind of like your alcoholic ex-spouse: fake, manipulative, and harmful to the kids. Thank you.

Work Cited

Fed Up. Dir. Stephanie Soechtig. Atlas Films, 2014. DVD.

Ferdman, Roberto A. "The Untold Story of How the Sugar Industry Shaped Key Government Research about Your Teeth." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2015. Web. 27 June 2016.

Monkey Business Images. Coca Cola Tattoo on abdominal fat. Digital image. Salon. N.p., 4 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 June 2016.

WALKER, GAELLE. "Government Urged To Restrict Promotions On High-Sugar Lines."