7 Widely Held Food Ideas That Are Wrong

Scientific discourse is constantly evolving and open to differences of interpretation and dialogue. In fact, this dialogue is essential to progress. However, in today’s world of social media and instant gratification headlines, the science and pragmatism often get lost. Tamar Haspel presents a refreshing perspective in a Twitter thread about 7 widely held food ideas that are wrong. Haspel is an award-winning journalist who covers food issues with a science-based pragmatic lens.

Haspel’s 7 widely held food ideas that are wrong include:

Obesity is not a function of poverty
Money won’t make people eat better
Food deserts don’t cause crappy diets, or obesity
Diet soda is just fine
Local foods aren’t better for the environment
Revamping farm subsidies won’t make junk food expensive and good food cheap
A healthy diet for people and planet isn’t vegetables

Haspel’s analysis provides a bonus truth, stating “processed foods are the root of crappy diets and obesity.” As a nutrition and food systems expert, I agree with Haspel and support that these 7 widely held ideas are wrong. It may be controversial to challenge the ideas, but each and every challenge is backed by science that shows why the idea is wrong no matter how widely it is believed. The food system and personal nutrition is much more complex and interconnected than these 7 ideas.

As a simple example for the vegetables only healthy diet idea, a vegetable only diet makes it difficult to consume essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron. In addition, people have a difficult time maintaining restrictive eating patterns because food is social as well as nutritional. The social aspect of well-being is part of a healthy diet. For the planetary aspect, there are large amounts of fertilizer inputs and plant waste that accompanies vegetable production. Without animal agriculture to provide fertilizer and consume the plant waste, sustainability of vegetable production is difficult. Now, should we eat more vegetables and fruit than we do now? Yes, resoundingly yes, but not exclusively. These few points show the complexity of the food system around such a simple wrong idea. I encourage you to read Haspel’s Twitter thread and the articles referenced for each of the 7 widely held food ideas that are wrong to gain more insight into the fallacy of the ideas.

So, what do we do? How do we make changes? Haspel offered 4 ideas for restaurants, retailers, employers, and individuals to “change our diets [by] chang[ing] our food environment, especially the everywhereness of crap food.” I would add to these the role of education, the need to learn so that we can cut through the “this, not that” mentality. When we understand how our food ecosystem interacts from farm to fork, we can begin to see and drive the change that is needed. We can embrace solutions and their multiple dimensions and apply them with knowledge that what may be good for one country or region or person, might not work or may work differently for another. We can shift the conversation to center on the science of the food system and how we all have a role in feeding the future.

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