The Economics of Food — for health, wellbeing and pleasure
You are what you eat — Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1826.
The phrases “eat to live” and “live to eat” are as old as English language itself, have become all too real in the past decades. People who tend to ‘eat to live’ view food as a source of nourishment and not as their main source of ‘buccal’ pleasure, whilst those who ‘live to eat’ can never see food as just mere body fuel. For them, food may mean something akin to comfort, lifestyle, happiness or stress relief.
But what is the right viewpoint?
Eating has to been done in moderation, or then it ceases to be just eating. Beyond that, it has evolved into something more sinister. Eating to Live prevents one from eating too much, a common thing, which in turn helps reduce the risk of health risks that are associated with obesity -a common result of overeating.
Health challenges that many develop such as cardiovascular disease, weight-related complication and stroke can be easily avoided. The body is saved a ton of stress; leaving you feeling and looking fresh all the time.
The problem however is that, in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, the more food you seem to be able to afford, the wealthier you are perceived. People will gladly and shamelessly be seen tearing away at a bucket of fast-food chicken but will be impatient if they have to sit down to eat a proper home-cooked meal. This is alarming, and deeply unfortunate because most people live sedentary lifestyles and hardly burn any significant calories in their day.
They stand the risk of heat-related disease and stroke.
Even though pampering yourself to eating out occasionally with friends and family isn’t really a bother to the body, care must be taken not to make a habit of it, and ultimately hurt yourself.
Your body is desperately sacred to your existence on earth and must be treated as such. One slice of pizza may seem harmless but imagine what the effects may be on your waistline in a month or two.
