The sad state of food knowledge

September 18, 9:50 AMDenver Low Carb ExaminerLinda Duffy

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It is obvious that many people lack basic nutrition knowledge. While a lot of it stems from conflicting and confusing stories on the news, in magazines and in newspapers, the real issue is a basic lack of knowledge about food in general.

When a majority of people get all their food pre-packaged in boxes or bags covered in flashy graphics, they fail to even recognize fresh ingredients as an actual food item.

A recent encounter with a very young grocery clerk illustrates this point. While she had no issue helping the people in front of me with their carts full of boxed cereals, pastas, frozen diners, and bottles of soda, my cart was a different issue all together. With the exception of a few cans of unsweetened coconut cream, all of my foods were from the produce section and required her to weigh them and look up the appropriate codes.

She thought my sweet potatoes were russets, the cilantro was parsley, and 6 heads of cabbage were actually heads of lettuce. Now she did get the cauliflower and the green onions right, but she also thought my poblano peppers were green bells. I could even understand the cilantro/parsley confusion if it wasn't for the overwhelming cilantro aroma wafting out of the plastic bag, but it was apparent that this poor thing had little exposure to actual fresh vegetables.

While it would be easy to cast this as a generation issue, a revelation by 60 year-old Meryl Streep, who so artfully played chef Julia Child in the movie "Julie & Julia" shows it isn't just the young with a lack of knowledge of fresh foods.

"I remember when I was 10 years old, going to a neighbour's house and she and her mother were sitting at the kitchen table with what looked like tennis balls, and I asked what they were doing, and she told me they were making mashed potatoes, and I said, 'What do you mean? Mashed potatoes come in a box!' Because in my house, they did."(more)

I have to admit that in my house, rice came in a bright red box and was cooked in only minutes. Given a bag of fresh rice as a teenager I had no idea how to cook it. I had the same problem with beans. My mom had fallen for the convenience food movement that overtook the country in the 70's, but at least there were still things we cooked from scratch and we did have a garden. I only had to learn a few new things at at time, and other than my lack of rice and bean cooking skills, I knew where food came from....mostly.

Sadly, the little bit of skill I started with is way more than most kids have now when they are at the age to strike out on their own. Too many of my son's friends think boiling ramen noodles counts as cooking and adding frozen vegetables and soy sauce brings things to the level of gourmet. On the occasions they have stayed over for diner, they looked at my vegetable side dishes like I had served them a boiled alien's head. If it wasn't a starch that came in a box with a big logo on it, they really didn't know what to do with it. They were also too afraid to break out of their familiar eating patterns to try something new. No doubt after leaving they walked over to the Wendy's nearby and grabbed a plate of chili cheese fries.

A lack of knowledge of food and nutrition is something a 18 year old really doesn't think about. But this educational deficiency will eventually bite them in the backside. Usually around 30 when they suddenly gain weight, or 40 when their blood pressure skyrockets along with their cholesterol levels.

Every parent needs to consider teaching their children about fresh real foods just as important as teaching them how to drive and do their own laundry. The foods they eat while growing up will strongly influence their taste and their health for the rest of their lives.