F is for (Shocking) Food Facts

The Sprouts are constantly asking ourselves questions like…

America’s obese, Africa is malnourished, why?

If I eat fish, am I contributing to extinction?

Can vitamins really make a difference?

Well, you know how the Sprout brain works.

And then come along movies like Food, Inc., and TV shows like Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, packed with the reality of the who, what, where, when and how of our food, and things start to become a little more clear for us.

Adding to our clarity is a new book called The Little Book of Shocking Food Facts, (which we were lucky enough to get a first hand peak of the layouts before it was finalized for production). The book’s crucial facts, figures and tidbits about the food we eat and the process it takes to make it and get it to our mouths (all of which are gleamed from the world’s most admired and trustworthy authorities on food and food production), at times even had us uttering a “WHOA!” under our breath.

The core idea of ‘shock value’ resonates not only in the startling facts, but also in the graphic design and photography, making each page turn an adventure in facial expressions to be sure.

And all of this can’t help but make us wonder…it’s interesting that so many are turning to shock in order to get our attention when it comes to eating and producing food in a healthy and humane manner. What’s more shocking is that despite all these efforts is thousands of McDonald’s Big Macs are still be scarfed down by some of the largest and most unhealthy people in American and at the same time those in India, Bangledesh and Ethiopia (just to name a few) continue to fight for the chance to eat a decent meal and drink a clean cup of water.

Our question: Can shock work to change people’s ingrained behaviors and make us, and the world, healthy?

What do you think? Is shock the answer or is there a better approach?

While you, and the Sprouts, ponder that interesting question, we’d like to thank Craig Holden Feinberg, a friend of Sprout, for his beautiful graphic art design of the book and for an awe-inspiring, and quick, lesson on global food politics, fast food culture and healthy nutrition. The book is available for pre-order at Amazon and will ship in November. For those of you who can’t wait, we’ll try to get our hands on some pre-released copies to give away to clients, or maybe we’ll do a Sprout Strategy Facebook trivia contest in the coming weeks and give you the chance to win a copy.

Here’s to living your best possible life!