As the population is quickly becoming more sick, health-conscious movements have risen to combat the problem. From documentaries to 30-day kickstart programs, there’s a ton of effort being put into the food and health industries. Although making money is a strong inspiration for these programs, the purpose is similar across the board: inform people. Give people the freedom to learn about nutrition, diet, and exercise. But what if the tools you use were designed to keep you from being successful?
Take a look at your fridge. It’s a pillar of the kitchen, the center of the home. Those refrigerator doors get more use than any shower in your house. Look inside of it. What compartments do you see? There’s a few open shelves, a draw for meats and cheeses, a huge, separate compartment for frozen items, and finally a tiny, tiny drawer for your fresh fruit and vegetables.
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How did it get like this? Short history of the refrigerator:
Before fridges, ice houses were used to keep food cool. Engineering advanced and so did the technology, and the first domestic refrigerator was created in the 1913 . A freezer/fridge in every home birthed the frozen food/chilled food industries. Special features were invented and added over time, many to support the new products that were being created by food product manufacturers.
This advanced refrigeration technology also made it possible for food to be transported long distances, across oceans, and all over the world. Which means we get to eat out-of-season produce, and all kinds of things that don’t naturally exist in your habitat.
But hey, I can have my Ethiopian coffee beans at my local coffee shop, so who cares right?
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Back to it:
If the ratio of your refrigerator matched the ratio of your diet according to food groups, you’d be in big trouble. And most Americans are.
You’ve likely heard of the Food Pyramid. Or Choose My Plate. There’s even government guidelines released every-so-often to tell unsuspecting citizens how to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. They promote large portions of meat, dairy, and grains, leaving little room for anything locally grown or good for you. Surprisingly, the dairy, meat, and grain industry dominate almost every stream of dispersion of food products to consumers. The input to your body (food) is your fuel and your nutrients. It dictates how well you perform, how well your systems run, how you’re able to meet the day. If you’re eating the wrong foods, you’re blunting your potential and making yourself ill.
But this post is not about big conspiracies about these industries, the research, or the design of the market. It’s about your refrigerator. Put simply: you should be eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Everyone knows that, and there’s no denying it.
Think about your fridge again. When you open the doors, the line of sight is met with whatever is on those shelves. Packaged yogurt cups, the meat from last night’s dinner, etc. To get to the fresh fruits and vegetables, you have to look down. Then you have to open another draw to even see what’s inside. That drawer is so cramped and cluttered that you can’t even find what’s in there.
I cannot count how many times produce has gone bad in those drawers, simply because I forgot it was there. Just last week, a pear rotted, stuffed in the corner of that sad drawer. When I finally found it, I decided I probably wouldn’t buy pears again since I wasn’t going to eat them – I didn’t want to waste food (or money). The reality is, if I saw it, I probably would’ve eaten it!
We’re simple animals. We take what’s in front of us, what is offered, especially when it comes to food. It’s understandable, especially when anyone who raises a flag is met with criticism and judgement. But your health is way more important than anyone’s opinion about your food choices.
Luckily we are conscious creatures, and can make decisions.
The first would be placing your fresh produce in more visible areas. Sure, it may go bad faster, but you’re also more likely to eat it while it’s fresh (and don’t buy so much). You can also purchase tupperware (make sure it’s clear – so you can see what’s inside), and put your vegetables in there. Put the other stuff in the back of the fridge behind everything, it’s designed to last forever anyways (because that’s healthy).
Make it so hard to get that unhealthy snack, that you’d rather just grab the fresh fruits and vegetables right in front of your hungry face.
A more expensive fix would be to buy a refrigerator with larger fruit/vegetable drawers, or with rearrangeable compartments. There’s a solution a level past this, and i’m working on it.
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What are your thoughts on this? Could changing the design of something as simple and obvious as the refrigerator change the way people eat?
I think it’s about making it easier for people to make the better choice, because everyone wants to feel good. Everyone wants to be healthy.
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11/31 #YearOfChallenge