We Need To Talk about Food Addiction

In 1973, the University Department of Medicine at Dundee, Scotland, published findings on a patient who completed a 382 day fast: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../pdf/postmedj00315-0056.pdf

You didn’t misread. THREE-HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO days. Blood markers improved. Unsurprisingly, the man went from 456lbs to 180lbs. Shockingly, he was doing a pretty good job keeping off the weight at year 5 thereafter, only scooting up to 196lbs.

Gluttony is the sin Americans just don’t touch. Guaranteed, if you’ve ever heard sermons condemning any behavior, it wasn’t gluttony. If you've heard any activist get up on a pedestal and rail on about the failings of mankind, I know it wasn't about gluttony. We will happily entertain any other subject, except mismanaged eating. You’ll find plenty of books trying to square the hoarding of wealth with Christian theology. You’ll find endless posts on gun rights versus gun control. You’ll encounter a nonstop barrage of proper pronoun etiquette shares. But gluttony? ... uhhhhh... no thanks.

The leading causes of death and skyrocketing medical costs are all tied into gluttony. But we won’t touch the subject. It kills more people than every other hot topic combined. The thing is, it’s not only unpopular to discuss. It’s anathema. Even bringing it up is essentially a call to action for the thought police to shut down the idea before more than a couple people entertain it. And that’s just with SELF-imposed restriction as the talking point.

What if you had to pass a rigorous background check before you could obtain more than 300 calories of food per day for yourself? What if you needed to complete a licensing program before allowed in restaurants or grocery stores? What if online food sales were banned? What if the state levied a 10,000 dollar fine for every pound gained per year? Our intentional early deaths and outrageous medical costs don’t stop at our wallets or in our yards. Shouldn’t the government intervene in the most widespread cause of death in America?
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If we dare to mention government fines or external impositions to control gluttony, forget about it. People will burn your house down before you see the first pitchfork in the distance. They won’t suffer the discussion on SELF-imposed management. Forget about external imposition.

I just find it very interesting. In any other subject, people are just peachy with affirming the opposite of their alleged belief in some other discussion. Even the most hardcore capitalists are ok with a 100% communist/socialized military in the US. No choice or capitalist price controls. No free market. No private intervention. No problem. Even the staunchest liberals are ok with discussing imposed vaccine measures. No personal freedom. No personal choice. No identity. No inner space allowed. No problem.

And the list goes on. Except with gluttony. Even though gluttony is tied to lack of sustainability, climate impact, toxic consumerism, and leading health risks, nope. Just won’t touch it. Hell, we joke about it. The church bake sale is just fine. The hoarding of Girl Scout cookies is A-ok. The binges and endless food porn are worthy of regular social media posts. Not only aren’t they vilified, demonized, regulated, they are held up as a sort of fun braggadocio, carefree silliness, light-hearted humor.

During no prior time in history was gluttony as widespread or damaging. Sin. Total disrespect for the temple, for ones neighbor, for the Earth, for creation. The cost of our early deaths and skyrocketing medical care don’t stop in our wallets or in our yards. Yet, for some reason, it’s easier to point out the splinter in everyone else’s eye than remove the plank from our own.

​We at least need to talk about it.