KEY POINTS:
I'm a mum with two kids, not very much time and a budget to stick to. I want to feed my family the best I can but organic food is too expensive. Do you have any suggestions?
Linda W, by email
Organic fruit and vegetables are often about the same price as conventional produce when they are in season, and they taste delicious and are nutrient-rich. If you want to feed your family well, it's better to have as much home-cooked food as possible. It only takes a few minutes to prepare pasta and rice and stir-fried vegetables, and your kids can help with the cooking.
Have you ever fed your own children McDonald's or fast food?
M. White, Waitakere
A few times I have, when my child was young. I welcome the fact that McDonald's is making an effort to introduce some healthy foods such as sliced fruit, water and pasta for kids, and hope that other fast-food outlets will follow suit.
No matter what is advertised or not, parents will still feed their kids fast food because it's fast.
B. Power, South Auckland
We are trying to make it easier for parents to feed their children well. Parents want the best for their children and ensure they are healthy, but many find their efforts are undermined by the constant commercial pressures on kids to eat unhealthy high sugar, high salt, or high fat foods.
It's up to parents to say no, isn't it? Why will just banning ads make a difference?
Mrs J. Jones, by email
Numerous studies have found that children's food preferences are strongly influenced by the advertisements they see on television. Seventy per cent of the food advertisements on New Zealand television promote unhealthy foods and many advertisers deliberately target children at ever-younger ages. We want to stop advertisements for unhealthy food and drink that are targeted at children. We have no problem with advertisers promoting healthy food options.
Surely it's a matter of teaching parents moderation, not the kids.
L. Walker, Northland
It's certainly true that parents buy most of the food children eat, and serve as role models who reinforce healthy or unhealthy eating habits. It's also true that lifelong eating habits are formed in early childhood, and that bad food habits set at an early age can condemn a child to a lifetime of ill health. Since poor diet is the leading cause of premature death and disease in New Zealand, it makes sense that we do everything we can to educate parents and children about the link between food and health, and to create an environment which encourages healthy eating choices.
Do we truly need to fear genetically modified food? Surely our energy should be put into making sure all kids get at least a few fresh fruit and vegetable servings a day, no matter where they come from?
M. Chan, Avondale
Genetically modified foods haven't been tested for their safety, so we simply don't know whether they are safe to eat or not. There are no benefits for consumers from eating genetically modified foods, only risks, so it's better to avoid them. Besides, there's nothing wrong with ordinary whole foods. Like most people, I would rather eat an ordinary potato than one that has had toad genes inserted into it!
NEXT WEEK: David Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed Q.C
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