Junkfood and Criminality

In examining history, it would appear that humanity has spent a great deal of time involved in bloody orgies of criminality and depravity. In fact, some pundits and cynics would claim that the human race in toto is utterly insane and deranged. Religionists would nod their heads in gleeful agreement, claiming that man's violent history has come about because he is "born in sin," a "fallen," rotten creation of a perfect creator. But is the human species a complete waste? Or is it only a certain percentage that creates unending grief for the rest of us, who are basically good?

The human race as a whole does seem to be rather degraded, and, even though the past has been horrendous, it appears as if it is getting worse. Many scientists and experts have attempted to explain this apparent degeneration, which is taking place despite the strides in medicine, by looking at factors such as cultural, societal or familial structures and trends. Still others will claim that environmental toxicity is causing this degradation, which manifests itself in hideous acts not only by adults but, more and more, by children.

According to authorities, behavioral problems in children such as hyperactivity, learning disabilities and criminality are skyrocketing, particularly in the industrialized nations. Instead of examining the real cause of these problems and then rectifying it, the experts are pushing psychotropic drugs such as Prozac, which inevitably have horrific side effects, including lethargy and zombiedom. It is true that the schools of industrialized nations are increasingly filled with problematic children, who then become problematic adults for the entire society. It is equally true that the future filled with such "adults" is a terrifying prospect.

In addition to an increase in criminal behavior, we can expect serious problems in the very social fabric, as the competence level of workers continues to plunge. If one were to ask any number of businesspeople and employers if the quality of workers is getting better or worse, one might find the answer to be overwhelmingly worse. It seems that incompetence and error are becoming all pervasive in our societies at every level. In light of this fact, it is amazing that society holds itself together at all. Indeed, it is miraculous. But, if we are wise, we can expect our luck to last only so long, until our societal systems are on the verge of complete collapse, which - make no mistake - is where we are headed.

The Great Unexamined Issue - Diet

What is going on with the human race? Well, despite all the complex gyrations of the pedigreed and pedagogic, it is quite simple: We have destroyed nature and gone against our own nature. We have toxified our environment and ourselves in the process. Humans are named for "humus," the fertile topsoil that is not only teeming with life but provides life. But our topsoil is wrecked worldwide, and so are we. Not only have we lost vast amounts of soil through poor management and abuse, but what remains is heavily contaminated on virtually every continent. What little soil is left is, in effect, poisonous, and from it we get our food - also poisonous. Our soil is also lacking in numerous minerals that were, once upon a time, passed into the plants that grew in it and were eaten by us and animals that we ate. In this way, we humans received proper nutrition that nourished body and brain, and we were assured of reasonably good health, physically, mentally and emotionally. Such is the case no more, as multiple mineral deficiencies are rampant.

In addition to eating foods that are grown on devitalized soils, far too many people are living almost exclusively on junkfoods that have little or no nutrition, regardless of the soil. Let this be clearly stated: Junkfood causes criminality. A number of people have said this, but few have heard it. Vast numbers of kids today are not eating good, wholesome foods as nature provided them but are living off of Coke and candy, McDonald's and other fastfoods that have little or no nutrition. These foods are not treats anymore; they are constituting entire diets. And these same kids are also spending hours in front of video games, which are causing behavioral problems as well. Junkfood junkies and hypnotic video games go hand in hand.

Unfortunately, junkfood junkies are extremely untrustworthy, and we are seeing gangs of them causing chaos and mayhem worldwide. They can be helped, but it is often a battle similar to that of drug addition, because these substances are addictive. These "foods" are filled with sugar and caffeine, which are drugs. Junkfood junkies, once they are of a certain age, frequently turn to other drugs, not just mild ones like marijuana or tobacco but alcohol, crack, speed and heroin. It is not so uncommon these days to know at least one person who virtually subsists off of coffee/Coke, sugar, cigarettes, hot dogs/hamburgers and alcohol or crack. More often than not, such a person will turn out to be a tremendous risk. Such individuals are prone not only to bursts of rage but violence, as well as deviant behavior and thinking - in effect, criminality.

In a sane society, the invasion of junkfood would be fought against tooth and nail, for it is major contributing factor in societal breakdown. In such a society, criminals, who are often malnourished rather than innately evil, would be fed as nutritiously as possible, such that their behavior could be rectified and they could become contributing members of society instead of burdens. Many addictions can be lessened or overcome with the use of assimilable multi-mineral supplements, as the lack of minerals causes tremendous cravings for addictive "foods" and drugs. To truly help criminals, these supplements would be essential because the food is so denatured that even if they eat natural foods, they will not receive the amounts of nutrients they need to be evolved, peaceful and calm individuals. Therefore, we also desperately need to get our soils in shape, which constitutes a monumental effort at this point. If we do not, and if we allow junkfood to take over this earth, we will end up with the most decadent human species imaginable, as well as a complete and utter societal and environmental collapse. Fortunately, those people who eat mainly organic, whole foods, cooked properly or eaten raw, will stand a good chance of not only surviving through such chaos but of continuing the human race; but, unless humankind wakes up, they will be fewer and fewer.

1997. Acharya S.

-- Debra (thisis@it.com), July 19, 2000

Answers

The junk food defense lives! Harvey Milk and Mayor Mosconi were murdered by a victim of Twinkies. Hostess "Foods" is the great Satan. Isn't it fun to abrogate responsibility?

-- (nemesis@awol.com), July 19, 2000.

That's got to be one of the funniest articles anyone's posted here in a long time. Thanks for the laugh, Debra.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), July 19, 2000.

so its not "society thats to blame" for crime its junk food

-- richard (richard.dale@onion.com), July 19, 2000.

So now "societal ills" are caused by "junk food" and "devitalized soils"? How interesting; not one mention of "personal responsibility". Let's see if I understand this: The parents are not responsible; but who buys the "video games" and the "junk food" for these "problem" kids?

The people I find to be "burdens" are those who, instead of accepting responsibility for their own (or their children's) behavior and actions, would rather place the blame on "junk food" and "video games" and "devitalized soils".

Debra, do you have a link or a reference for this? This person has got to be kidding.

BTW, wasn't "The Junk Food Defense" actually used recently (past few years)? Something is clicking, but I can't put my finger on it.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 19, 2000.

Debra:

As much as "We are what we eat." is touted, I haven't seen a correlation between strange behavior and diet. I haven't even seen it influence decision-making ability. I think the author was stabbing in the dark.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 19, 2000.

Walked right into that one didn't I? TOTALLY forgot about the Twinkie defense! ROTFLMAO!!

HOWEVER ... let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Proper nutrition is often over-looked in physical, mental and emotional health. So many of us strive, everyday, to make sure our families receive the proper nutrients and we understand WHY we do. It makes the difference in the way we feel, think and act.

Many don't have the knowledge, the means or the desire to feed their bodies the right nutrients. The Twinkie man SHOULD have been found guilty AND sentenced to 3 GOOD meals a day PLUS supplements. Or maybe his punishment should have been a steady diet of Twinkies? Certainly he would SUFFER by feeling like crap all the time.

Do you really disagree with the above essay?

-- Debra (thisis@it.com), July 19, 2000.

Debra, for the most part, I completely disagree with this essay. Though I have seen reports of studies (sorry, no links to support) that seem to correlate malnutrition with a variety of things, including "aberrant behavior", I don't know how thorough the studies were. And I'm not sure of how "pure" the author's motives are; I find it a bit telling that one of the solutions presented is to "clean up the environment" (not that that's a bad thing, mind you). That's one of the reasons I was wondering if you had a link and/or reference for this.

Maybe my "solution" or my "take on this" is too simplistic, but I really do believe that once parents begin to practice personal responsibility and then instill it in their children, many (if not most) of "society's ills" will wither away.

There will probably always be aberrant behavior by select individuals. When you look back on history, you realize there always has been, and even during times when "nutritional value" wasn't a problem. Recent studies of the brain would seem to link aberrant behavior to specific brain patterns, or lack thereof. But then where do those patterns start? How do they occur? Is there a specific gene? Does it occur from birth? Are they environmentally caused? Or is it due to nutrition? These are just some of the unanswered questions, and at this stage of the studies, I would suspect all of these possibilities are "possible".

This is when I sometimes wish I was scientist in a lot of ways. I find the study of such subjects to be quite fascinating.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 19, 2000.

Hi Patricia,

Gotta love the WARNING given to the website this comes from:

RANTS AHEAD!

TURN BACK!

GO AWAY!

This site is not for the squeamish or devoutly pious. It is the work of a rebel against the untruths and delusions of the status quo. If you are offended by artistic rants and cutting commentary, go back now! Do not enter further. You have been warned. And please don't mindlessly flame the author, either, because she will not respond to knee-jerk reactions that have not been given thought. It is because of the human tendency to mindlessly flame and march off to war at the drop of a hat that she wrote these pages in the first place. These writings represent a fraction of the attempts she has made to aid in the ages-old quest of creating unprovokable, peaceful and enlightened people.

Further Warning: Even though these essays debunk a great deal of foolishness contained within the human psyche, some of them are also highly mystical, so if you are a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic/cynic who cannot perceive anything beyond the mundane, you will also be stressed out by what is contained herein. Extremist believers and nonbelievers alike will probably become agitated by the paradoxes expressed, paradoxes that nonetheless exist in creation itself.

The essays on this site are written by Acharya S. These include commentaries on life in general, but they are specifically designed to dispense with popular delusions that cripple and bind humanity. These writings are copyrighted in the sense that we don't want anyone to take them and claim authorship or make money off of them, but they may be printed and freely distributed for purposes of enlightenment. If you experience difficulties printing any of these documents off the Net (because of the white text), trying changing your browser settings.

Hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again and again! Bookmark TruthBeKnown.com. Friendly responses can be sent to acharya_s@yahoo.com. And remember, the Divine needs no childish cheerleaders, inane spokespeople, or simpleminded defenders of the faith.

_____________

You can link to this essay from THIS PAGE but check the whole website out. Interesting reading.

-- Debra (thisis@it.com), July 19, 2000.

THE TWINKIE DEFENSE

-- (nemesis@awol.com), July 19, 2000.

Thanks for the link, Debra. Yeah, that *is* quite a warning, isn't it??

Thanks for the "Twinkie Defense" link nemesis. That's the one I was thinking of.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 19, 2000.

Thanks for the link Debra:

I read a number of the "rants". Without reading the references, it would be difficult to judge the value of the site. It is clearly full of bias and error. As someone who, as a hobby, has looked at things like the "historical Jesus" for 40 years, it lacks a lot of recent references. The evalution of the Dead Sea Scrolls is not the same as many scholars [you can't in a bias argument discard them as being biased]. It lacks information about the recent finds in Egypt. This could reflect the fact that the site is not updated; it could reflect the need to over-simplify what goes on a web site; or it could reflect bias [ie, selling a product]. Can't tell with the information provided. Some statements agree with what I have learned; others don't.

Read elsewhere and make your own decision. Not my job to convince you; just to

-- DB (Debunker@nomore.xxx), July 19, 2000.

Debra:

I thank you for the link, as well. This woman has developed quite a sense of humor, as noticed in her essay on sex: "(By the way, why does the Bible continuously exhort, as if it were a great problem among the "chosen" men, that they are not to have sex with sheep or some other nonhuman animal? Hmm . . . )"

Several of her essays were quite enjoyable. I haven't yet read them all. This one linking food to criminality seems out of touch with her philosophies on life in general. Did you see her picture? [Do some women actually wear high-heels with jean shorts?]

I think my major objection to the essay you presented was: "Let this be clearly stated: Junkfood causes criminality. A number of people have said this, but few have heard it." This is OPINION, not FACT. It's one theory amongst countless others, and I'm getting a bit tired of various studies, etc. that state things like "Eating more fibre will reduce your chances of acquiring colon cancer." or even "Women in Israel have reduced rates of cervical cancer, therefore male circumcision reduces rates of cervical cancer." Where's the control group?

I don't think that eating junk-food [in and of itself] is indicative of much besides an inability or lack of desire to eat healthier food. I don't eat it myself, simply because I like fresh foods more. My daughters don't eat it, simply because they like vegetables more, and they're not too lazy to cook. My son could care less what he eats as long as HE doesn't have to prepare it. If there's a ho-ho in the house, he'll eat it for breakfast. It's filler, and he knows it. He may not have energy to leap tall buildings in a single bound from such a "meal", but he certainly exhibits no rage or deviant behavior symptoms. In fact, his concentration is far superior to most.

I also object to the video-game association. I think folks who berate some of these games have never tried them. I HAVE, and they require a great deal of hand-eye coordination.

If life were so simple that we could point our finger at ONE element and find a cure for all ailments, we would have done it a long time ago. It's NOT simple. We're very complex organisms, and all folks don't respond to the same elements in the same way. I get keyed up if I drink coffee. Some folks can't think straight without it.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Debra,by reading some of the "answers"given by our Junk Food Victims,I must agree with much of Your Observations.Does a retarded Ape know,he is retarded or even know he is an Ape?

-- Ronald M. (McDonald@home.too), July 20, 2000.

There's more to this than meets the eye. Hyperactive kids can often be helped by a diet that eliminates artificial coloring, is low on sugar, and high in essential fatty acids. The opposite of this likely would aggravate their symptoms. A lot of people have food intolerances that they are unaware of, which affect them in many different ways. Headaches, depression, fatigue and a host of other symptoms can often be traced to food intolerance or a dietary imbalance.

-- Dr. Diet (DD@lets.all.eat.better), July 22, 2000.