Tyranny of the Home Cooked Meal
On September 3, the online journal Slate published a story about the tyranny of the home cooked family dinner. In this commentary piece, writer Amanda Marcotte discussed how the expectation of cooking at home was placing an undue burden on women, especially those in the lower-income brackets. Between the time commitment, the cost and the picky eaters, many women just don’t have it in them to make a meal at home, especially when it is faster, and sometimes more cost-effective to eat out, at least in the short-term, according to Marcotte.
While Marcotte does point out why home cooked is better and healthier than the nightly run through Mickey D’s, she offsets this with the, “it just isn’t fair!” line of reasoning. She uses such extreme examples as the woman who lives with her daughter and grandchildren in a hotel room with nothing more than a microwave in which to cook to prove her point. Understanding these cases do exist, and there are probably far more than most want to admit, does little to refute the fact that what has become the standard diet in many American homes is doing serious damage to this nation’s children.
Everyone is well aware of the physical implications of such a diet on children. The rates of obesity have skyrocketed among the younger generations, as well as diagnoses of Type II Diabetes which, according to HealthDay Magazine, now accounts for nearly 20% of all new diabetes cases in those under the age of 20.
There is also the psychological damage to obese children. Along with the social stigma, obese children have a far lower level of self-worth, according to a report from New York University’s Child Study Center. There are also some studies now suggesting that diet may play a factor in a child’s IQ, although the question still remains whether it is just the diet, or parental practices in general. Either way, a diet full of processed foods simply is not healthy.
There are some good points to Marcotte’s commentary. She rightly points out that eating a healthy diet is sometimes cost prohibitive. Thanks to governmental subsidies, ingredients found in many popular junk foods are cheap and easy to come by. According to a July 2012 story by Business Insider, $1.28 billion goes to subsidize corn crops annually. Between 1995 and 2012, $81.7 billion has been spent on corn subsidies, and $26.3 billion has gone to soybean subsidies. Both crops are main components in the manufacture of processed foods. The cheap acquisition costs means cheaper prices in the store, which often makes processed foods far more attractive to those on a limited budget.
By comparison, subsidies for fruits and vegetables in the same time period totaled a whopping $637 million, or roughly $37.5 million a year, which works out to 2.9% percent of the annual expenditure on corn. There is something seriously wrong with this equation.
That being said, while eating healthy on a tight budget is difficult, it is not impossible. A quick Google search reveals a plethora of sites, including choosemyplate.gov, which offer tips for doing just that. There are menu planning devices, budgeting tips, and quick and easy meals. It does take time to research and plan, and that can be difficult on a tight schedule. However, many of these sites are kid friendly, so there is no reason that a child cannot find and copy a recipe or a meal idea.
This brings up the next point of Marcotte’s diatribe, that the burden of meal planning and meal preparation falls mainly to the women and, when a woman is working odd hours, or has put in a long day, then coming home and cooking dinner becomes a serious challenge. Unfortunately, in many households, even today, this is true. However, that’s where planning comes into play. Not every meal has to be a gourmet creation. Skillet meals, casseroles, and the good old kitchen tool known as the crockpot can make preparing healthy dinners so much easier and faster, without the stress.
Marcotte laments that women stick to the “tried and true” dishes, even when they want to try something else, but during a busy week, tried and true is probably the safer bet. So, what if Monday is chicken and noodles, Tuesday is chili, Wednesday is meatloaf, and so on until Sunday, which can be leftover surprise night? Furthermore, if Moms gets kids involved in the meal planning by having them pick out recipes, help plan meals, etc., then the fighting and balking over some strange creation is put to a minimum. Besides, there are far more men who like to cook than are given credit; there is nothing wrong with turning the kitchen over to him a few nights out of the week, and letting him know ordering pizza doesn’t quite count as “cooking.”
As for the whiny family members, whether it be the kids or the husband/boyfriend, who just doesn’t like what’s on the plate in front of them, so what? She’s a parent or spouse, not a slave, and it is not her job to cater to every little prejudice and whim of her family. In fact, it is absolutely ridiculous to expect that of someone who has taken the time to prepare a good, healthy meal for her (or his) family. Don’t like it? Eat it anyway, or go fix a sandwich.
Marcotte’s ideals are in the right place. As someone with an average 55-hour work week and six kids, it is easy to empathize with the point she is trying to make. However, when four of those six kids in this blended family now have to follow strict dietary standards because of their non-stop consumption of fast and processed foods, that empathy fades. These are children who are now struggling with obesity, type II diabetes, high cholesterol, potential thyroid issues, and heart murmurs. The struggle these children now face requires them to radically modify their diets, with the potato chips and the ice cream no longer available, and their favorite fast food joint is now just a view outside the car window on the way home, instead of a regular stopping point. One school has to constantly monitor one child to make sure she doesn’t buy candy, chips or soda on campus. Another cannot have breads of any kind and has to have all her starches monitored.
By the time a week’s worth of meals, meaning breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks, have been planned, and fats, sugars and calories have been calculated based on each child’s requirement, and all of the shopping has been done based on a very strict menu, that empathy is long gone. Fortunately the two of the six who have been used to having a parent who cooks regularly have made the transition to the more regulated diet without an issue, which has helped the others.
This isn’t to knock parents, especially single parents, who are truly struggling to make a good life for their kids. Sometimes a run through the drive-thru is really the best that parent can muster, especially after a long, exhausting day. Even the most dedicated stay-at-home parent is going to have the occasional “CALL…DOMINO’S…!” night.
However, to say that cooking at home is tyrannical is looking at the problem the wrong way and, while it may save a parent some time and money in the short term, the long term price to children, as well as to the tax payer, is simply too great to not find a better solution. According to an article by Science Daily, obesity accounts for 21% of health care costs in the United States, and this does not account for lost productivity at work or school because of obesity related issues. The trade-off of a few pennies and some time now for the risk and complications related to obesity in the future simply aren’t worth it.
Commentary By Heather Pilkinton
This is the first in a continuing series about my efforts to renovate the health of my own family with diet. Stay tuned. Your input would be appreciated. Do you have similar stories to tell, insights, criticism? Let’s hear it.
