On the general topic of public health and diet, I highly recommend this
book by Farley and Cohen "Prescription for a Healthy Nation."
http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Healthy-Nation-Approach-Improving/dp/0807021172/
There is nothing here about energy balances or chemistry, but a lot of
commonsense social science and public health. Less blame, guilt, and
finger pointing, more practical solutions.
See also Jamie Oliver.
I am a big fan of public health. In my opinion, public health including
things like sewers have probably contributed more to human happiness,
longevity and health than doctors and hospitals have. Victorian England
and pre-war Japan were rife with infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis. As social conditions, education and general public health
improved, the incidence of these diseases declined markedly even in
cases where no cure had been found. That is remarkable.
In other mind-bending public health news, a new initiative in labeling
cigarette packaging is being promoted by the Foundation for Smokefree
America. Here's the amazing part: the executive director of that
organization is none other than Patrick Reynolds, grandson of R. J.
Reynolds. Wow! That man has guts. More power to him. It is as if a
member of the Rockefeller family were to champion cold fusion to replace
oil, or as if Bill Gates were to promote open source software.
- Jed
