Why Johnny Can’t Eat
How Eco-illiteracy is Affecting America’s Children
By: Erin Rosas CHCC
But Johnny can’t read. Summer is over and he’s gone to seed
You know that Johnny can’t read. He never learned nothin’ that he’ll ever need.
- Don Henley
Years ago a study titled “Why Johnny Can’t Read” raised public awareness of illiteracy. Every day I educate families and companies on the dangers of what is in their food, how their actions are affecting their health, their future and the planet.
And every day, I’m shocked by just how bad it is. Why can’t Johnny eat? I see 20, 30, 40 year old men staring in disbelief as they learn the specifics of what they’ve been doing to not only their bodies but the planet. Many, but not all, come back to me and exclaim “Look at me! I’ve lost weight, and I feel great.” Then, like a child who has been given the key to learning, they say “Did you know…?” And the discovery begins, just as it does when a child starts school and becomes aware of what education is all about.
It’s the best part of what I do, educate. The question is, what ca we do about this epidemic facing us today? Why can’t Johnny Eat? Why aren’t we educating our children about the dangers facing them in the foods they eat every day? Eco-illiteracy is destroying not only the planet but the health of America’s children. As the years slip by with only meager attempts to stop the pandemic of diabetes, premature maturation and obesity, when will America respond appropriately to the fact that Johnny can’t eat? Johnny doesn’t know how, he has no access to the tools, the education, the food or the facts.
As Don Henley said, he’ll never learn nothin’ that he’ll ever need. Johnny learned how to use the fast food drive through, he learned how to suck down sports drinks and order “fries with that.” Johnny learned to get value for his dollar, the cheaper the better. What Johnny didn’t learn is that value doesn’t come in the form of 1000 calorie meals, that value is nutrition. Most children have no idea today how many calories they should eat and how many calories are in their food. They are ignorant of terms like protein, trans-fat and most outrageous to me of all have no idea what high-fructose corn syrup does to their bodies.
The absurdity is that the educators that have the responsibility for teaching them about food, their parents and doctors, are just as ignorant as they are. So it stands to reason that the reason Johnny can’t eat is because mommy can’t eat, daddy can’t eat, and their doctor can’t eat. When American families take a stand and force drastic steps at improving nutrition and education, when we stop this ridiculous cheapening of the American diet and this more is more mentality, until we finally learn that less is truly more, fewer chemicals, fewer calories, fewer additives, no one can eat.
