The Battle for Control Over Our PlatesEve Burton,Contributor When you stop and think about it for just a few seconds, it really doesnt make sense that in this day and age, in one of the most developed countries in the world, with the best medical facilities and doctors; we have the worst state of public health ever seen. How could an affluent, forward thinking country have higher rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and countless other problems that simply did not exist on this scale 50 years ago? It is no accident. Whos Responsible? The blame game could lead us down a number of avenues, all of which take us back to the same answers. Those who have money to be gained from illness and disease. Now this is not some form of twisted joke, it is a real issue, and as hard as it may be to comprehend, the illnesses that we, our friends, families, and co-workers are all getting in such high numbers are largely avoidable simply by changing our diet. It is not down to one company, or group, but a huge industry that profits from packaging up chemicals and toxins and selling it as food, and another that profits from selling the drugs that are supposed to heal you. In truth, the best way to prevent illness is to stop eating all of the processed sugars, additives, preservatives and colorants, and return to a natural diet consisting mainly of fresh fruit and vegetables. Money Matters This is not a speculative subject, the facts have been screaming out for years, yet nobody making legislation is listening. Money speaks louder than words and the giant cover up and PR operation has been backed by billions of dollars of corporate money over the last 30 years, which has been enough to keep the public buying poisonous products and calling it food. The cost of a poor diet is huge on the average American who spends large amounts on health insurance and care for preventable health issues. If they were not spending so much on health problems, could have spend it a second place to live instead of lining the pockets medical companies. The sugar industry is one example of how big spending has managed to curb public thinking back around to a point where we are blind to its damaging effects. Another issue, which is very current is the GMO and Monsanto debate. The Proposition 37 vote was won by the anti GMO labeling groups, lead by large GMO production companies such as Monsanto. By putting over $46 million into an advertising campaign they managed to convince people not to allow their foods to be labeled correctly and for companies to legally hide the true contents of our food. The Fact of the Matter There are countless facts backing up the issues raised here, and they indicate the scale of the problem. From 1980 to 2010 child obesity rates tripled. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention published figures showing that 17% of children under the age of 19 were now obese. Thats 12.5 million overweight children! When this is shown against the increase in sugar and processed food consumption, the correlation is clear to see. Another study by the CDC showed that one third of American adults were obese, and that rates of diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart disease and other illnesses were at an all time high. If you are still finding it hard to understand how this could be allowed to happen, look at the other figures from the study showing the amount of money this is making for the pharmaceutical and medical industries. The 2008 costs associated with obesity were $147 billion, with obese people costing around $1500 more than those of an average weight. So there you have it, obesity and illness are big business to certain industries, making the incentive for change very difficult for the government. Large companies will do what they have to do to ensure their profits increase year on year, and a healthy country is just not good business for these huge corporations. Eve Burton writes for WideAwakeNews.com where this article first appeared. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 