I’m going to be up front and say that I AM PISSED OFF! If that offends you, go away and come back some other day. Please. Go now. I don’t have much patience to wait.
Ok, well, hopefully the easily offended are gone now. I’ve been in a bitch ass mood all day and it’s not getting any better. Not at all. It’s been the kind of day that Mrs. Mom says makes Satan quake in his boots and say, “Oh Shit! She’s UP!” Yeah, that kind of day…
And just as I thought it was getting better, I went on Facebook. Oh, I can hear it now! Y’all are wondering why the hell I went and did something like that when I’m already in a rank mood. Because, apparently, I can’t decide if I’m sadistic or masochistic today.
Tosca Reno, a woman I admire, who has really caught the media’s eye with her Eat Clean lifestyle, has pushed me over the edge. What is it she said, you wonder? Here, I’ll directly copy and paste her quote from Facebook for you:
“I have opened a can of worms but not with ill will.
I want us to think about what we are eating. It may not be popular for me to express my opinion but if it isn’t food that is making us sick then what is? Miss Deen is in a position through her TV and books to teach people how to eat therefore she has a responsibility to the public to include some awareness about what is healthy to consume daily or not.
It makes me upset that so many of us are fooled about food. There has never before a crisis of health in our nation as there is right now regarding diabetes, particularly diabetes Type 2, a totally unnecessary disease. We can’t be casual about our approach to food.
Do you think for one second I don’t enjoy birthday cake with my kids or a glass of wine? I have even tried some of Miss Deen’s recipes. What is missing from this whole situation is the plea for common sense. This means limiting those foods that act like poisons to our body and make us sick. I’m not on a high horse about this. I just think it is a terribly sad situation that people would rather defend the delicious taste of a cookie than their own health. My compassion for people is not to profit from books or seminars but out of a genuine concern for what is happening to us. Look at us. Just look at us. I’m frightened by what I see happening.
So let me keep hearing from you because I need to know your thoughts on this whole issue. It is very important to me.”
– Tosca Reno, Facebook, 1/17/2012 @ 10:30 pm EST
And this was my response to her comment:
“I’m sick of this ‘blame someone else for our problems / let’s all find a scapegoat garbage’ going around. Look, Paula Deen never made anyone eat her cooking, or cook her recipes, or buy her books or even watch her on TV. Trust me, I’ve turned her off plenty of times. Enthusiastic southern women just kind hit a nerve (and I live in the South). Has nothing to do with them, that’s MY deal.
You want someone to blame, let’s blame the fact that we’ve had 100 years of corporate interests advertising worse and worse things for us to eat. Blame a goverment system that has completely failed the greater good of it’s citizens. Want to blame someone? Blame Monsanto. Blame General Mills. Blame everybody who voted in a politician that appointed a bureaucrat who sold out our children for the expediency of corporate funded health studies paid for by the people trying to sell Americans the crap they claim is healthy.
WE did this. Our Parents did this. Their Parents did this. Paula Deen did not do this! She is not shoving food in OUR faces making little airplane noises or loading OUR grocery carts! She does not force us to buy her cookbooks, eat at her restaurant, cook the things she makes, or force us to watch her shows.
We don’t fix this by blaming a woman who has books and a tv show about regional cooking…we fix this by addressing the REAL problem. WE need to take responsibility for OURSELVES.
-This comment brought to you by Americans sick of everybody finding a new horse to beat to death and then try to ride.”
Now, to be fair and give credit where credit is due, Bad Pants listened to my inarticulate rage and watched me storm around his office absolutely fuming, then took what I said and put it together for me. Which I deeply appreciate, because, we all know Satan and His minions were cowering in some far corner of Hades, trembling in fear of my wrath.
So, Paula Deen is a spokesman for the Danish diabetes medication company, Novo Nordisk, and apparently that also has Tosca Reno upset. Well, she’s no more directly responsible for the diabetes of America than Nell Carter or Wilfred Brimley, and they were also spokespeople for diabetes medications! Or, Patti LaBelle, because she has diabetes and wrote a cookbook for diabetics! I know! How about holding any famous person responsible that represented Firestone responsible for the death and accidents that happened before and during Firestorm? Doesn’t that make as much sense? The whole thing is utterly ridiculous!
WE are each individually responsible for what we put in our bodies and allow our children to put into their bodies. No one is forcing us to eat crap! It’s time people took responsibility for THEIR OWN ACTIONS! Quit blaming everyone else, America! It’s each our very own individual fucking fault if what we’re eating is making us unhealthy! Not some celebrity!
WAKE UP! We all have free will! We get to choose what we eat or don’t eat, what we do or don’t do! BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF!
Oh, and Ms. Reno, that agave nectar you’re so fond of in your cookbooks? Yeah, it’s about as natural and “clean” as margarine. It’s also “processed” and animals won’t touch it in the wild. What makes YOU think it’s so great for the rest of us to consume? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?
(see here, here, and here. Oh, and here.)
</rant>
Adventures of Life 
Works for me.
Very well put you two.
Off for more coffee. Then I’ll be ready to accept all the responsibilities of our day in The Asylum 😉
And OS– we love ya, Baby! 😉
Yep! Cause YOU are responsible only for YOU and YOUR CHILDREN.
Love you too!
The problem with Paula Deen is her own hypocrisy. She knew three years ago she had Type 2 (broke by National Enquirer, denied the story) and did nothing to change her eating habits or her cooking style. She is in a position where she could influence many – and the South remains the highest in obesity levels when compared to other states.
She COULD, but that is not her job nor her responsibility.
I’m like 6 generation South on both sides of my family – all food is fried and vegetables pounded into a heap of mush. When we moved my grandmother after her heart attack all she had in the fridge was a bag of PORK RINDS.
The information on nutrition is available publicly. Your grandmother made her own choices. That’s the beauty of free will. Would she have been healthier if she had ate better? Undoubtedly. But, she also grew up in a time when America industrialized food and told the people that this was “healthy”. Hey, they still do it today. Yet, it was still her choice to eat as she did. She CHOSE what she ate, just as you do today.
To be a spokesman for a company that makes medication? Totally not cool. This is sending a message that medication will fix a problem that should have begun with food changes and exercise. Taking medication means you are on a downward spiral of increasing dependence.
I disagree with you, unless you’re saying that no one should be a medication spokesman at all. Period. That I can get behind.
I understand where you are coming from and agree with most of it, but please, Paula Deen is a hypocrite, a liar, and trying to keep her empire intact and has no interest in improving her health or the nations. And yes, she is a role model for a group that does need to change.
Again, I disagree. Not coming forth about her diabetes is her right. She is entitled to privacy. If she is not, then her rights have been violated. And why should her health be any different than any other celebrity’s? Why not expose then who has an STD or had one, who has AIDS, who has had plastic surgery, etc.? Working to keep her empire intact is her right as well. I don’t blame her for it.
Perhaps I should have explained that Tosca Reno had other posts up on FB. Her followers turned Fugly-like (in reference to Fugly Horse of the Day, when Cathy still ran it). And more, she generalized that proper nutrition according to her standards would prevent or CURE diabetes completely. Um, no. Sorry. She’s wrong. It will not prevent Type I Diabetes. It may drastically reduce Type II Diabetes. But it will not “cure” all diabetes. And then there’s the little thing about her promotion of agave nectar, which reacts in the body like a steroid…
Truthfully, I feel it is not anyone’s business if Paula Deen has diabetes. It’s hers.
Well said!
Just so you are aware Agave Nectar has been removed from the clean list of sugar options that The Eat-Clean Diet® and Clean Eating Magazine use for their recipes. When the books go for reprint Agave will be removed from the recipe list. I think it is important for everyone to share their opinion. It’s how we learn, it’s how we become passionate. No need for blame, but there is always need for change.
Agreed. But, in this case, Tosca stirred a hornet’s nest and a lot of blame was being flung around. Perhaps Tosca could have tempered her words with compassion and gentled her “lesson”. Ms. Deen is still a single person and she is not solely responsible for the weight epidemic of this nation nor all cases of Type II Diabetes. And I highly doubt that she is the only cook, chef, or tc personality with it. Singling her out in the manner that she did was unnecessary.
Studies of agave nectar going back to 2008 show that it is not “clean”. Tosca would have known this probably even before had she looked into how it is manufactured. Sorry, same difference. The information is out there and has been out there. She CHOSE not to investigate farther and used it. Instead of dumping on Ms. Deen, maybe she should have used that time and space to make a public statement and warn others about agave nectar.
http://www.celebitchy.com/203180/_anthony_bourdain_on_paula_deens_diabetes_thinking_of_getting_into_leg-breaking_so_i_can_sell_crutches/
Oh! But you have to take Anthony Bourdain’s snark with a grain of salt! When he got out of rehab, he probably looked at Paula’s log of Velveeta for her fudge and it reminded him of his brick of heroin, so it left him cranky. 😉
I think the thing you are missing here is that Paula Deen has power as a celebrity. She has a following that she could educate – or not – and yes that is her choice. However, do you think she has no responsibility at ALL to discuss eating habits when she is a celebrity CHEF and when she is now a spokesperson for a diabetes medication?
I understand she’s a celebrity. However, I do not think it’s upon her to educate America, nor solely her responsibility. And, she is not a chef. She very clearly stated some years ago, that she is not a chef.
The Food Network pushes a lot of unhealthy eating programming – Rachel Ray (garbage food), and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives just to mention a few. Paula Deen has been pushing for a talk show for 10 years – still hasn’t got it – and was considering Kate Gosselin (who pimped out her kids to reality television) as her co-host (Kate went in for screen test which failed miserably since she is an idiot).
My grandmother was 90 years old when she had her heart attack. She was born in 1914. Do you really want to get into an arguement about how she could change her ways? She is now deceased BTW after a 10 year bout of multiple heart attacks.
I’m not trying to argue. I am not sure why you’re getting so heated up here. Perhaps you are the one looking for the argument because you need someone to blame? My grandfather died of a heart attack at the age of 86. He was born in 1901. His fatal heart attack was caused by taking a 5 mile hike in the woods after being ill. The doctors advised him to take a walk daily. They meant to the mailbox and back, not hiking around the back 40. Was it their fault he had a heart attack? No. Was it their fault he died? No. I’m simply saying that we all have free will ad the ability to make choices. Your grandmother made hers just as you make yours. There is no judgement from me there.
I am watching elder members of my family have to take medication – adn here is the reality of it. Once you get on you can’t get off. Doctors promote you staying on and the medications keep increasing. Medication A is used, then Medication B is used to balance the side effects of Medication A, then add Medicaiton C because Medication B has side effects etc… My mother, at last count was on 8 different meds because of one med.
Changing diet, exercising more etc… has to be part of the problem and I would have NO problem with Paula Deen if she stated that when she did her diabetest commercial. For example, “When my doctor told me I had Type 2 diabetes, I knew I would have to change lifelong habits in order to keep my health. With a combination of dietary changes, exercise and medication I’ve been able to halt the progress of this serious disease that is affecting millions of Americans….”
First, I don’t have tv so I haven’t seen the commercial. Secondly, there is enough ads out there that say diet and exercise are a part of the solution for diabetes. It’s even in the fine print in magazines. And I mean medications in general. Americans for generations now have known the importance of exercise, or P.E. would not have been part of the curriculum of schools for generations. And truthfully, most doctors aren’t worried about patients losing weight when they have diabetes. They’re concerned with stabilizing their blood sugars. Some patients even GAIN weight on the medications. It’s not as though I don’t have friends and family with diabetes or that I don’t care. I’m just saying that picking on ONE woman specifically is wrong.
But don’t hold your breath to heart THAT from the woman who eats fried butter.
Honestly, once the cameras are off, we don’t know what she does or doesn’t do in the privacy of her own home. So, I’m not going to be so quick to judge.
Hahah, I’ve gotten G to ghostwrite for me when I’m too mad to form words, too!
I dunno, I think it’s personally hypocritical of PD to keep pushing her jank-ass sugary “cooking” when she has diabetes. You’re right, her health is her personal business, but… me, I couldn’t do it. I think it would be immoral.
While on a personal level I agree, I also know that we cannot expect people to live by our own personal morals and ethics. And quite simply, the info is already out there. The horses have already been led to the water and have chosen not to drink it, Ms. Deen included. But, that’s their choice.
I think it kind of sucks that we have to do so much digging and thinking and researching to figure out what’s truly healthy for us to eat. But at the same time, it’s awesome – our parents/grandparents just didn’t have the resources available to rebut whatever Hormel and Coca-Cola were telling them. We do.
I guess I don’t really relate to the whole “grandparents” thing in the same way as my peers. My grandparents were homesteaders and grew most of what they ate. They were also a generation previous to most grandparents of my friends and associates.
Me, I like the research I’ve read on primal. I like the emphasis on unprocessed food. And I really like the way I *feel* on it. (I don’t like the overwhelmingly smug crossfit hipsters, but that’s life…)
Everybody is different. What works for some may not work for others. It all goes back to free will though. Personally, I’m not sure that is healthy when so many of them (obvious there are exceptions) are writing menus that include margarine (one molecule from plastic- it doesn’t go rancid and even bugs won’t touch it) or promote things like Splenda and other toxic chemicals as sugar replacements. Michael Pollan said it best in Food Rules when he said we should eat as our great-grandparents did. But, that’s my opinion.
Wanted to add –
I don’t think PD has any obligation to teach her viewers about healthy eating. If you cannot figure out that NOTHING she makes is remotely good for you, you’re beyond help. There’s no rule (nor should there be) that all media should be educational. I’m just saying I don’t think *I* could continue to promote that kind of food if I’d gotten a serious disease because of eating it.
Agreed!
@funder I totally agree. We can only take so much of the stuff people say or do seriously anyway. Plus it’s media! Who knows what either party is trying to get at. Most things need to be taken into our own hands, we need to do our own research and meditate with our own morals/feelings/thoughts. I feel more responsible for my choices if I do. There is power in accepting those opinions that influence us and forming our own. LOL crossfit hipsters…
Exactly! We all have brains in our heads!
When you’ve made millions by being in the public eye, and when you’ve earned most of it cooking on TV, you shouldn’t be too surprised at occasional criticisms.
Exactly! And such is also my criticism of Tosca’s handling of this. She is not immune herself. But the Golden Rule doesn’t apply in society any more, does it?
My current taste in food is somewhere between Clean Diet and Paula Deen. I wish I was all the way over to eating clean. My main problem isn’t even her use of butter and cream, but her association with Smithfield, which is one of the most disgusting, polluting, factory farmers in the world. Even the Chinese think Smithfield is dirty, and don’t want their pork.
Agreed, although I don’t think Ms. Deen can personally be held responsible for this either. No more than the spokespeople for other things that go wrong, ie, Firestorm, Phen-fen, other medications and products that have been recalled or have had serious implications on health.
My current taste is similar to yours, leaning more towards eating clean. But, that’s my choice. And as I’ve stated already, I admire Tosca Reno. I own most of her books. I do not approve of her handling of the situation though.
PD has the right to continue to do the things she does, even if it kills her, but I also think the rest of us have the right to express an opinion about it.
Oh, I agree about having an opinion and your right to express it. But, even though I know I cannot expect others to live up to my morals, I do not think you should express it in a way that inflames the masses into an ugly mob, ala FHOTD. That was my main point. Also, she was educating less and bashing more, when there was opportunity to educate more AND show people how to be compassionate. God forbid anything ever happen to Tosca in any sort of health related way! In which case, she should openly disclose it so others can scrutinize her lifestyle and tear it to shreds.
The masses are always hungry for blood. Why feed it with the particular phrasing of her statement?
OS said:
“I guess I don’t really relate to the whole “grandparents” thing in the same way as my peers. My grandparents were homesteaders and grew most of what they ate. They were also a generation previous to most grandparents of my friends and associates.”
See, my great-grandparents (all of them) were po white trash sharecroppers. They ate what they grew cause they didn’t have money to buy anything else, and their kids ran away from that lifestyle as fast as possible. Can’t really blame them for that. And when you’ve suddenly got a grocery store and cash to spend, how do you figure out what to eat? Especially when people weren’t as conscious of media bias as they are today.
I think the real issue facing today didn’t really start with our grandparents. I think it has to do with how people make choices TODAY. The basic food pyramid has made a lot of changes over the years since it’s inception in 1894. However, I do remember seeing it and learning about it in school. And I remember a lot of kids saying “Yuck!” when it came to the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings. I’m sure several of those children grew up and decided to not eat their fruits and vegetables. But, that was a CHOICE. Until more recent years, generations of Americans grew up being told to eat their fruits and vegetables by their parents, and their parents before them, etc. Something in America changed with our generation. Children were told less and less to eat that green thing on their plate that they didn’t like, so our nutrition quality went down. Around the same time, HFCS made an appearance, along with chemical sugar substitutes- because no one wanted to eat what they didn’t like, even if it was good for them. And our generation is adding to this problem even more. If little Sally doesn’t want to eat anything but PB&J, parents are letting her, without fight, because they don’t want her to “experience one moment of unhappiness”. But, that’s not the point of this post. And that’s a whole ‘nother topic. 🙂
There really isn’t an excuse in our gen, Funder. The info is around. It was taught in schools. It’s all over tv and in the media. Honestly, you can’t escape the info. So my point of holding ONE person responsible for a nation today as ridiculous still stands.
@redhorse – totally agree re: Smithfield. And Tyson! Nasty stuff.
They’re not the only brands. I’m sure these brands also produce under other labels as well. In school, Bad Pants worked for Rhodes bakery. You know, the Rhodes frozen rolls people. They’d produce X amount under one label, then switch out the bags and put THE SAME product in the bags for a different label.
But, honestly, this is why the locavore movement is gaining popularity. And why I’m happy knowing I’ll be able to raise my own food in the near future. 🙂
YEAH! You said it! Wahoo! STOP WITH THE BLAME GAME.
I will take it even a step further and not lay blame on corporate america either. We all freely choose what we put in our bodies. It’s NO ONE’S fault but our own that we got this way with our food. I tell everyone now – don’t like that nasty crap McDonalds uses? Don’t like the preservatives, colors, GMO corn, and HF corn syrup General Mills uses????
Then. Don’t. Eat it.
Awesome Post.
Thanks Steph! While I agree with you whole-heartedly, some responsibility lays at the feet of the USDA and Corporate America of the past. PAST because they did tell Americans what was good for them back in the day, when the internet didn’t exist and it was harder to find good info on nutrition. You know, back when food was first industrialized. But, that’s my only real exception. We’ve come so very, very far since the invention of tv. The difference is I say responsibility, not blame. They didn’t know better at the time either.
Sorry…I am stuck giggle at the thought of you ranting and storming around, while your hubby tries to (and was successful at) creating a sensible response.
Oh, I was coherent, only my brain was spinning a million miles an hour. My fingers couldn’t have kept up. 🙂
Oh, and BEC, go ahead and giggle away! My drivers did when I was wound up and still a dispatcher. They used to tell each other not to make me angry or my hair might catch on fire.
This is the stance and info I wish had been taken over this whole debacle. I applaud SparkPeople for their thorough research and education of the public.
http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=is_everyone_being_too_hard_on_paula_deen
I never watched any Paula Deen show, Rachel Ray, Dr. Oz, Oprah or any other show that talks about health/food, etc… with the exceptioin of Anthony Bourdain, Man Vs. Food, and Bizzare Foods. lol.
So I can’t comment about such shows/people. But, as someone who lost 45 pounds (still have THIRTY more to go) in 2011, I have learned so much about my own health and responsibility to myself.
Losing the weight exposed a tumor in my thigh that was cancerous and would have killed me. So losing the weight literally and quite directly saved my life and helped me get more healthy than I ever imagined.
As I dieted, I learned what my body needed and how I needed to live to lose the weight. One thing I learned through my self-education is how many foods contain HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Oh MY GOD, nearly everything has it. When I cut this processed, unnatural, industrial manufacturered scourge upon your health, out of my life, it spurred on my weight loss.
We are all responsible for our own actions, whether it be what we eat, how we act, or how we train our Pit Bulls….. the blame lies with each individual person for our own inadequacies, and it is up to each person to realize that, and grasp it well enough to *want* to make a change.
I had so many scapegoats for my 200# of weight. It was because of this or that and I chose for years to ignore my weight gain, deny the effects it had on me, and do nothing to improve my life. Until I finally got the motivation and eye opening I needed.
It is a sad, sad truth, that it is far easier (not to mention cheaper) to go to the store and grab a processed meal, a bag of chips, and a soda, than it is to put together a fresh salad with fresh produce, prepare salmon, and pay attention to all the sugars in your drinks & meals.
I still have cake, too sometimes. I still eat chicken wings (once a week, actually). I haven’t given up the things I love, but I’ve learned how to eat them, and how to manage my lifestyle to continue to lose weight.
Most people, looking to place blame on everyone and every thing, don’t take those steps.
Well said!
I agree 100% with your call for personal responsibility. I literally live in the most obese urban area in America. When the article reporting that fact (per Gallup) was published in our local paper, there were a bazillion comments placing blame everywhere but the real culprit– our own bad decisions. Just because we have a Krispy Creme doesn’t mean we have to eat a donut every morning(, noon, and night). As my former neighbor Rob used to say, we all make choices.
I like cookies more than the next person. When I eat too many of them, it’s my fault– not Paula’s or Blue Bonnets fault.
Oh please tell me you aren’t using Blue Bonnet!
And I thought I lived in the most obese area in America- aka the South?
Guilty *sheepish look*.
Oh, Allison! Don’t you know that it’s not “food” if bugs won’t even touch it? Margarine is just one molecule away from plastic! Bad, bad, BAD! Butter at least is FOOD.
The South may win as a region, but we’ve got you beat as a city.
I’m sorry to hear that. It makes me sad. I’m already sad for the South in general. I walk out of restaurants here because of things on the menu I wouldn’t consider eating unless there were no other options and I would literally die without nourishment. But, that’s my CHOICE, right?
When Jacques Pepin and Julia Childs has a cooking show together, they would talk about how butter was better, that the body needs a certain amount of fat. Really, finding a balance is the best way.
As for Mz. Deen, while she has the right to not disclose her health issues it is very disingenous to only reveal one’s health issues as they are promoting a drug for that health issue. I have not been a fan of her show but I will probably watching her less than I did before.
I’m very much a “personal responsibility” kind of person. I believe it’s the key to whatever ails us as a society. I’m also very much a live and let live kind of person so I don’t think others need to agree with me or live their lives based on my standards.
Exactly!
I have heard this whole firestorm about Paula Dean and it very much reminds me of the tactics of Fugly. I haven’t been there since the change but I know the original blogger justified her behavior by claiming no one “listened” when she was “nice” so the only way she could help horses was by being snarky. Personally, I think it’s unfortunate that journalism is used to destroy people instead of building them up and helping make them better. The truth is she was being a bully and no bully has every really helped a horse. I could write volumes about how that kind of behavior actually affects the welfare of horses in the long run.and it’s not pretty. Behavior like this a sad commentary on the state of the world.
Sadly, I know Fugly personally…
That being said, I think open discussion like this without snarkiness and finger pointing with people giving their honest opinions is useful. Intelligent discussion allows people to see other perspectives and may even expose others to points of view they hadn’t considered. That can actually lead to change and hopefully change in a “healthier” direction.
If I was in Paula Dean’s position, I would not do things the way she has either for the same reason’s as expressed by funder. But then I can be easily motivated by guilt of the fear of it.
The sad thing is, despite the fact Paula has been told her style of cooking is unhealthy, she is still eating that way herself. I don’t think her continuing to cook that way on her show is motivated by greed. It’s what she knows how to do. She’s stuck in her comfort zone like many of the rest of us.
Actually, it was said not long after this that she is changing her diet and changing her show. I do believe she’s under contract and must finish out that contract doing what she’s doing. But apparently, people jumped all over her without knowing the whole story, which seems to be human nature nowadays. I’m not sure we can judge her and say she is still eating that way as we do not know what she actually eats at meals as none of us are breaking bread with her on a regular basis or shopping with her.