The obesity issue is a direct result of the lack of home cooking.

Jennifer Rubell: I have a very, I would say, alternative view of the causes of the obesity epidemic.  I think a lack of home cooking is just absolutely killing America.  I think it’s killing the fabric of American society, and I think it is killing people through the obesity epidemic.  People just aren’t eating real food anymore.  And even when they’re eating at home, they’re not eating real food because they’re eating some kind of frozen food, or processed food, or pre-prepared food.  And all of that is poison.  I mean it’s all really, really bad for you.  It has so much more oil, and salt, and fat, and stuff you would never, never, never put into food if you were cooking it yourself.  And everyone in every culture – and an American culture until more recently – understood this.  You know everybody understood that when you eat in a restaurant you do it once in a while, but they’re always using more fat and more salt.  It’s not as healthy as eating at home.  And if you’re cooking real meals at home and people are eating real food, some people are going to get obese because some people have some issues.  But that’s gonna be the same percentage that it used to be back in the day.  As opposed to now when it’s like people are getting obese who have no reason to be obese.  And it’s really . . .   You know I can . . . I personally can eat a whole bag of Doritos, right?  But how much fresh corn can I eat?  Can I eat six cobs of corn?  Seven cobs of corn?  You know it’s like I can eat maybe two cobs of corn.  So when . . .  Processed food is engineered to make you eat it in an addictive way.

Recorded on 12/13/07