Over a week ago I happened upon an article on my Yahoo homepage about Anthony Bourdain and the comments he made publicly about Paula Deen. Now before I go anywhere else with this article, Bourdain is a very outspoken man and we all know that. Like my fellow blogger said, we shouldn't expect anything less from him. In fact, it's what we expect of him. Needless to say he basically said that she was the worst and most dangerous person to America. And this is true...to an extent.
My fellow blogger pointed out to me and other readers that there are some opinions on this spat that I would not have seen. Not long after this came out, Andrew Zimmern commented on the Deen-Bourdain fight on his blog. He gave commentary up and down the board, practically praising Bourdain for his harsh criticism and down-playing Deen and other TV-chef personalities for their lack of concern in the health of the nation. In the first paragraph of his article, he points out the flaws in the nation (economic class) and yet blames "Deen & Co." (as they're coined) for continuing to make the nation more unhealthy.
But let's read the article some more. Like I said, he gives Bourdain all of the props in the world for using his voice to platform an epidemic that is sweeping the nation: obesity. He literally "shames" Deen for not using her power to help change the way average Americans eat.
And here is where my issue lies. Deen is a very influential woman and is the voice for the average American family. I don't know about some Americans but fresh ingredients can be expensive. I am a product of a well-cultured environment and I am able to afford the healthy things, but not everyone can. I hate to be repetitive, but has he seen the economy? Some people can't afford to eat like he does. I wish I had a fraction of his salary. I would be at Whole Foods all the time, but I can't afford to spend $80 for one meal for 2 people. He can. He has to take a step back and look at who Deen's audience is and what they can afford. Now, Deen clearly says that she cooks for the average family who can't afford expensive ingredients.
I understand where Deen is coming from, but I also understand where Bourdain stands as well. Because Deen is so well-known, she could use her "power" to ignite a change in her intended audience. She should not be blamed for the obesity of EVERY American. That's not her place. The 'weight' of the nation should not be on her own shoulders. It's not fair. We all know that Deen uses mayo in quite a few of her recipes. What I would suggest for Deen is possibly switch out mayo for something else. But I want to see if my theory is correct when it comes to cost. Let's just do a price comparison for a second. On walgreens.com, a jar of Hellman's Mayonnaise costs $7.49 for a 30oz. jar. A jar of Hellman's Light Mayonnaise costs the same amount but has 8oz. less. Already, a consumer is going to purchase the bigger jar for the same price. Now let's look at the calories. Regular mayo has 90 calories for 1 tablespoon and 35 calories per 1 tablespoon of the light mayo. Deen could break it to her audience that a substitute would be better for their health. In an article, Frank Bruni claims that unhealthy food is a personal choice. But as I stated earlier, it sometimes is the only way to feed the family.
Like my fellow blogger said, everything in moderation. While this is true, food items that are high in fat will ultimately hurt the people in the long run. But like she (lululovesdumpling) said, Zimmern doesn't quite fit into the skinny group himself. So how does he have the right to be so brash against Deen? He has a platform himself and yet doesn't exercise his social responsibility to educate his devoted audience. I must admit that I am a huge fan of his show (Bizarre Foods), but after reading his attack on Deen and jumping on Bourdain's bandwagon, I am looking at him in a different light. Not once does he stand up and play devil's advocate for both sides, but he beats down Deen for her place in the TV-chef realm. In fact, he spends one WHOLE paragraph on the ways we can change our health.
What good does one whole paragraph do to help change the obesity problem facing this nation? Nothing. Zimmern should practice what he preaches instead of standing on the sunken soap box of Bourdain.
*I know this entry may seem a little misguided, but my intentions were to play devil's advocate.
Sources: Zimmern's Blog
LuluLovesDumpling's Blog
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