Nutrition
2 April 2007
Arnaud Blin, Specialist in United States Foreign Policy
Since the 1960s the size of the average American has visibly increased. This is a result of the change over the years of the relationship of the United States with food. As the time avaliable to spend on food preparation has decreased a whole new food industry has emerged, for example the appearance of fast-food restaurants and pre-prepared supermarket meals. The reliance on manufactured foods has had inevitable health consequences, which the U.S. (and other nations) now have to deal with.
7 March 2007
Can you really change the world just by buying certain foods?
[websites]
Agriculture in FranceAgriculture in play, agriculture for real! Destined for young audiences or for those who wish to practice their French while learning a bit about French agriculture at the same time. [website in French]
Artisans du Monde, a French organisation for fair tradeA French Non-governmental Organization (NGO) that works to promote fair trade, they do this through educational projects, a fair trade distribution network, and through campaigning.[website in french]
Fairtrade Labelling Organisations InternationalThe website of Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International, which is an association of 20 organizations (the list can be found on through the “20 Labeling Initiatives” link on the front page. This site contains information about fair trade labeling standards as well information on the producers in the scheme.
Fast Food NationFast Food Nation: the Dark Side of American Fast Food (2001) is a book by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry. The fast food industry, writes Schlosser, "has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture."
French government website on GMOsFrench inter-ministerial website created to answer the questions that the French public has to ask about the use of GM organisms in food and agriculture: what it is, what the rules are, its use in the market. There are also links to the relevant government ministries as well as national and European research institutes.[website in french]
IFAT (global network of fairtrade organisations)This is the website for the global network of Fairtrade Organizations, a network promoting Fairtrade and global justice. The website contains information about fair trade principles and ideas as well as more practical information about where to buy fairtrade products.
Make Trade Fair - Oxfam InternationalThis is the website of the Oxfam campaign for fairer trade rules, not only for food products, but also to allow better access to medicine. It includes information on fair trade, world trade rules and those whose lives are affected by them.
Slow Food, FranceSlow Food is an association that wants to propose alternatives to the degrading effects of fast food culture and its consequent levelling of tastes ; Slow Food encourages consumers to enjoy local foods, and organises taste education workshops for adults and children. Slow Food acts in defence of, and topwards the promotion of, a public consciousness of food traditions. [website in French]
Slow Food, USASlow Food, USA envisions a future food system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice – in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair.
Super Size Me: Explained on WikipediaThis Wikipedia article gives additional information about Super Size Me, an Academy Award-nominated 2004 documentary film, directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. It follows a 30-day time period (February 2003) during which Spurlock subsists exclusively on McDonald’s fast food and stops exercising regularly. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effects on Spurlock’s physical and psychological well-being and explores the fast food industry’s corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.
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