Government vs. Nutrition
In the November 6, 2010 New York Times there is an article that reveals the conflicting roles of government in nutrition. This article, by Michael Moss, is well-written and worth reading. Titled “While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales”, it tells an Orwellian story of how one government agency offered free consultation to Domino’s and helped them to improve the popularity of their pizza by adding more cheese.
This aid to Domino’s was provided by Dairy Management, a branch of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Pizza is high in calories and low in nutrients, just the kind of fast food the USDA is supposed to discourage. Other fast food companies have also been helped by USDA’s Dairy Management group.
The USDA has a group charged with encouraging healthy eating—the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Unfortunately the center has a tiny budget, much smaller than Dairy Management’s, and is no threat to the fast food companies. The food environment in America has been described as “toxic”. All would agree, I think, that we can and must do better. Unfortunately, as this article illustrates, our government is much less helpful than it could be. We are on our own here, I fear.
As a point of full disclosure, I enjoy pizza but eat it less than once a month. If a healthier pizza were available—perhaps with a thinner, whole-grain crust, or more tomato sauce—I would enjoy it more often. Wouldn’t you?
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 4:34PM | by Skip Hellewell | 11 Comments | 59 References | Share Article | in news articles, nutrition | Email Article 
Reader Comments (11)
i love pizza too, but i make it at home. its very easy and you can monitor your extra sauce-light on cheese (the way i like it). best crust recipe is from giada delaurentis from food network.
You might like this recipe for homemade pizza.
http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1055
It is from the Hungry Girl Cookbook by Lisa Lillien. I have made it and love it but there are marketed items such as Fibre 1 cereal which I'm not sure about.
We have homemade pizza every Friday night. I like to think our combination of whole grain crust, more veggies, and less cheese is healthier, but it is hard to cut back on the cheese. We always include a salad with the meal as well.
Wendy, Rachel, and Olga--thanks for sharing your healthful pizza ideas and recipes. It's refreshing to find people like all of you making healthy food for their families. Pizza made with whole grain dough and good tomato sauce and cheese sounds really great. We'll try your recipes. A future post will talk about making unhealthy food recipes more healthy. Please keep sharing your ideas. Skip
As severely lactose intolerant I always order my pizza without chese, and that has never been a problem anywhere in the world (after all since I pay the same for my pizza, their profit rises, so why would they complain?). I don't think that pizza per se is unhealthy (as long as eaten in moderation), especially if you make it yourself, but then, I also prefer the thinner Italian pizza to the thick american pizza so I guess that helps.
Mims, thanks for your comment. I agree on both counts: pizza is good and it can be healthy. A whole grain crust, tomato sauce, good cheese, seasonings: what's not to like? Skip
There is a healtheir pizza where I am from called the WICKED WEDGE (http://www.thewickedwedge.com/) - it has been a huge hit and I think it should be all over the US as a healthy fast food option!
BUt I totally agree with the American Food situation being "Toxic". Your website is so awesome! Thank you!
Found your blog via www.inchmark.squarespace.com, and I'm eagerly catching up on your posts so far. We make pizza using the recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. A great book on how her family grows (or locally buys) and eats all their own food for a year. As a mom of 3 trying to make good food for the family, I'm always interested in tips for how to get kids on board with what they're eating. Thanks for great work!
IMHO- There is a great chain that I think has decently healthy pizza. Papa Murphy's - as long as you get the thin crust and avoid the massive amounts of meat. Their veggie pizza is super tasty and they have quite a few different options when it comes to healthy toppings.
Whole Foods in Dallas Texas has an in house pizza oven. They make all their pizza on 100% whole wheat crusts. I am a vegan. So I ask for no meat or cheese. They are more than happy to pile on kale, collard greens, broccoli, purple cabbage, arugula, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and or whatever vegetable you like. Top it off with yummy tomato sauce and you have a healthy tasty pizza that most people enjoy.
I don't know if all whole foods make 100% whole wheat crusts. But the pizza man behind the counter told me that customers can purchase the frozen whole foods 100% whole wheat or gluten free pizza crusts and they will top it with any veggie you like.
New to your blog! It's great THANKS! Z pizza provides a great wheat crust option and you can get pizza with lots of veggies. It's delis!