Will Eating Be the New Smoking?

It's a bit of an obscure reference for a food blog, but a recent episode of the television show "30 Rock" highlighted for me how far healthy and sustainable eating has come — but also how far it has to go.

In the episode, one of the characters (a smoker) and another character (an unhealthy eater) agree to support each other in their efforts to get healthy. The usual madness unfolds, and the storyline ends with the unhealthy eater praising her dedication while accusing the smoker of failing. But alas, the hidden camera that was set up reveals (spoiler alert!) the smoker quitting smoking, and the unhealthy eater going on a sleepwalking induced eating binge in which she consumes not only large amounts of junk food, but also ingests a few cigarettes.

Allow me to tease out some meaning that may, or may not, be there. After decades of work, smoking has become a more or less socially unacceptable behavior. Many establishments enforce an outright ban, advertising has become extremely regulated, and taxes are ever-increasing. Over the past 40 years, the smoking rate has been halved in the U.S., dropping below 20 percent for the first time. A great achievement, albeit still a serious problem. But I believe the success of the movement to make smoking a socially unacceptable practice has been in large part attributable to the reality of the second-hand risks of smoking. When someone lights up around me, I can very clearly see how their action affects my health: There is smoke and I cough. While the halving of the smoking rate is probably more a result of people better understanding the personal risks of smoking, the growing social unacceptability of smoking is probably more due to the clearly defined connections between smokers and non-smokers.

Eating, on the other hand, is quite different. The personal risks of eating unhealthily are becoming generally recognized, and the associated health problems — obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease — of a poor diet are quite significant, to say the least. The "second-hand" risks of an unhealthy diet are also becoming generally recognized, such as the connections between factory farming, pesticide use, and monoculture, and our individual and planetary health. But still, I would say it is quite socially unacceptable to comment on someone's eating habits. If I had a group of people over to my home, I would feel much more comfortable asking one of them not to smoke inside than asking one to refrain from eating a double bacon cheeseburger.

Without drawing too sharp of a distinction, I generally believe there are two types of socially conscious eaters: those who shy away from announcing their dietary preferences, and those who force others to consider their views through criticism, persuasion, or more effectively, education. I had always placed myself in the first camp, however, I've noticed a drift towards the second. As I interact with others at the counter, the table, or in the kitchen, I find myself wondering: Do I quietly accept the choices of my fellow eaters, however divergent they may be from my own beliefs? Or not? And at what point do their choices affect me?

It's not that I don't have strong beliefs. I do, and I'm happy to share them when asked. But I think most of us, myself included, harbor insecurities about our food choices: Who am I to suggest to someone how to eat when my own choices are surely open to criticism? The "30 Rock" episode seems to imply that quitting smoking is an achievable and laudable goal. You can quit, and we can make you feel bad if we don't think you're trying hard enough. Eating healthy on the other hand? Well, you'll probably just end up disappointing yourself or looking foolish. But if we can't make "bad" eating socially unacceptable, will things ever change?

Photo: PSD