Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Q&A: Episode 2
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Q: Were you surprised at the children's lack of knowledge about the vegetables?
A: Unfortunately, no. It's the same in Britain, absolutely! Parents don't take enough responsibility for their kids. They'll complain that their kids only eat certain things, yet they aren't really trying hard enough to make sure their kids know what food is and can be. Get kids down to the farmers' market and supermarkets so they can pick something new to cook every week. Make it normal for them to try something new every week, just one thing, and you won't have a kid that can't identify basic vegetables. Without question, one of the biggest problems that we have at the moment is that in the last 40 years we've gone from happily eating hundreds of different things to only having about 10 things that we will eat: nuggets, pizza, burgers, sloppy joes, french fries, crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets. The list is very, very short. Children love routine, but in actual fact, with food what you need to do is try and avoid giving them too much of a routine because what it does is close them down to new things. Often it makes them embrace only the things that they are used to, and if those things are processed or fast foods, then from the ages of 4 to 16 they won't experiment and will stick to eating things that aren't that great for them.
Q: Was the Edwards family resistant about taking the kids to the hospital for tests?
A: Not in the slightest. They were happy to take the family to the hospital (and don't forget healthcare in the United States is not free). If I remember rightly, this was the first time that they had been to the hospital for a full checkup.
A: Unfortunately, no. It's the same in Britain, absolutely! Parents don't take enough responsibility for their kids. They'll complain that their kids only eat certain things, yet they aren't really trying hard enough to make sure their kids know what food is and can be. Get kids down to the farmers' market and supermarkets so they can pick something new to cook every week. Make it normal for them to try something new every week, just one thing, and you won't have a kid that can't identify basic vegetables. Without question, one of the biggest problems that we have at the moment is that in the last 40 years we've gone from happily eating hundreds of different things to only having about 10 things that we will eat: nuggets, pizza, burgers, sloppy joes, french fries, crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets. The list is very, very short. Children love routine, but in actual fact, with food what you need to do is try and avoid giving them too much of a routine because what it does is close them down to new things. Often it makes them embrace only the things that they are used to, and if those things are processed or fast foods, then from the ages of 4 to 16 they won't experiment and will stick to eating things that aren't that great for them.
Q: Was the Edwards family resistant about taking the kids to the hospital for tests?
A: Not in the slightest. They were happy to take the family to the hospital (and don't forget healthcare in the United States is not free). If I remember rightly, this was the first time that they had been to the hospital for a full checkup.
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