Heated ‘convenience foods’ debate
14 November 2008
David Strydom reports from London’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on an FDF-organised debate on the role of ‘convenience foods’ in the fight against obesity
Autumn marked the first anniversary of the publication of the Foresight report on obesity, which reframed much of the debate about the health of the nation and outlined a long-term vision of how government, industry and citizens should respond to the challenges it identified.
To mark the publication of the report, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) teamed up with Foresight to run an event at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London in November to debate the role of ‘convenience foods’ in the fight against obesity.
Professor Sandy Thomas of Foresight and Melanie Leech, director-general of FDF opened the event, and the panel was chaired by Salman Amin, president of PepsiCo Ireland and UK, Chairman FDF Health and Wellbeing Group.
The debate produced at times heated words between the guests, who included Martin Glenn, chief executive of Birds Eye Iglo; Professor Tim Lang, City University, London; Dr Susan Jebb OBE, Foresight and MRC; and Nigel Hawkes, former health editor of The Times.
It was clear matters could get contentious when Professor Lang spoke of the ‘’scale, extent, flood(ing) of convenience foods in the form of titillating the taste buds,’’ although he did note in closing that ‘’there is no fixed answer (to the question of whether convenience foods are a help or a hindrance) – but I’m an academic, I would say that, wouldn’t I!’’
In reply, Martin Glenn initially looked defensive. He was, afterall, the man in the (very) hot seat. But his arguments were pointed and persuasive. On the question posed about ‘convenience foods’ he said, ‘’It’s not a particularly rational question because it deals with huge belief systems. ‘Convenience foods’ is such a broad definition – how can it be more of a help or a hindrance than any other type of food?’’
He pointed out people are today consuming less calories than they were before ‘convenience foods’ became a fad but the reason obesity is increasing is that people today are expending significantly less calories than they used to. ‘’It is more popular to bash the food industry than to get people to change their lives,’’ he said.
Nigel Hawkes opined that Britain had lost the art of cooking. He said a pheasant and a bottle of wine for dinner was one of the ways forward, away from ‘convenience foods’ – but that left the question open as to how wine is any healthier and less caloric than some of the better ‘convenience foods’ on offer.
Dr Susan Jebb attempted, with some success, to balance the opposing viewpoints. ‘’The pace of our lives has changed unrecognisably,’’ she said. ‘’Now we send each other e-mails with blackberries and even cricket has been condensed into a 20-20 format. Yet, when it comes to food (producers doing, effectively, the same thing), we unite against them. ‘Convenience foods’ are here to stay and if we deny that, we are burying our heads in the sand.’’
But it wasn’t long before the inner nutritionist was unleashed. ‘’Too many convenience foods in the market today are not nutritious,’’ she said. ‘’And for that there is no excuse!’’
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