Food for thought

-- Lining up for NZ's Food Insecurity Card

Des O'Dea
Health Economist
Otago University

Dear Des

I must say your food insecurity card is a tasty idea.

Especially for a fat guy like me, who struggles to resist calorie dense options, like mince and cheese pies and butter chicken.

Mmmmm. You see, I’m salivating already.

Anyway, I see that it’s only available to “low and middle-income families” which puts it out of my reach (by global health and government standards I’m fat and rich).

You say the starved of cash tend to high-energy foods.

Frankly, though, in my high-income experience I’ve never consumed so many calories. When you’ve got money to spend you go for the good (bad) stuff.

I figure the assumption is that my high-income status makes me smarter and less prone to fast-food temptation than low-income types. Yes?

So, putting the food insecurity card into my soft sweaty hand would be a waste. I should know better.

But then I think back to my University days (not so long ago) when I really was starved of cash (and, strangely, much skinnier than I am today), and reflect on the satisfaction that came from making rice, chuck steak and peas so darn tasty.

Which I guess poses the question:

Is effectively lowering the price of “healthy foods”, by using things like your insecurity card, going to change anything for low-income earners, who it seems are much like high-income earners and don’t really care about healthy eating options or obesity?

Food for thought.

On a different track, have you thought about subsidizing bicycle ownership?

Get more of us on to bikes, which is known to melt lard from saggy behinds.

Might also help with easing congestion and reducing CO2 emissions.

A much healthier carrot in my mind.

Yours in insecurity

Lester

Cycling Sauce: Chopper Guard Bicycle Lovelies

-- September Sauce – The Klein Bicycles Girl

Klein Bikes founder Gary Klein pioneered the oversized tube aluminium bicycle . In 1995 his company was purchased by Trek, who, according to industry gossip, plans to discontinue supporting Klein.

In the meantime, Gary’s shifted his focus to manufacturing an altogether different kind of oversized tube – the telescope.

This Klein enthusiast (above), enjoying a nice day at the beach, subtly evinces the joy of oversized tubing.

Boonen cocaine positive demystified

-- Just who can you trust?

Boonen’s third cocaine positive tested his lawyers’ powers of spin.

There was talk of suspect handshaking and spiked drinks.

But no mention of Tom’s spiked ball.

Sky TV tunes in to cycling

-- Tour of Britain coverage on the schedule

News just in - Sky TV has published its September schedule, showing rather chunky coverage of The Tour of Britain.

This is rather good news for New Zealand's 1.3 million cyclists, who aren't satisfied with a TV diet restricted to July's Tour de France and a 1-hour Paris-Roubaix highlights package.

I'd point you to the schedule, but Sky's website is so poxy I'm unable to find it. Their two monkeys on the lose at Sky's Mt Wellington call centre couldn't much help, either.

Thankfully there are other ways.

Fingers crossed tour coverage will bump off air at least a few episodes of rugby league's past golden moments. Arrghh!

Stage 1 Highlights 9/13/09 Noon Sport 3 1
Stage 2 Highlights 9/14/09 13:00 Sport 3 2
Stage 2 Highlights 9/15/09 03:00 Sport 1 2
Stage 3 Highlights 9/15/09 12:30 Sport 3 3
Stage 3 Highlights 9/15/09 18:30 Sport 2 3
Stage 3 Highlights 9/15/09 22:30 Sport 3 3
Stage 4 Highlights 9/16/09 13:00 Sport 3 4
Stage 4 Highlights 9/16/09 20:30 Sport 3 4
Stage 5 Highlights 9/17/09 13:00 Sport 3 5
Stage 5 Highlights 9/17/09 17:30 Sport 1 5
Stage 5 Highlights 9/17/09 23:30 Sport 3 5
Stage 6 Highlights 9/18/09 13:00 Sport 1 6
Stage 6 Highlights 9/18/09 23:30 Sport 3 6
Stage 7 Highlights 9/19/09 10:30 Sport 1 7
Stage 7 Highlights 9/19/09 14:30 Sport 3 7
Stage 7 Highlights 9/19/09 21:30 Sport 3 7
Stage 8 Highlights 9/20/09 14:00 Sport 3 8
Stage 8 Highlights 9/20/09 22:00 Sport 3 8

Another good reason to cycle

-- Running out of petrol won’t cost you a thing

Cycling will seem even better with the rubber stamping of a Transport Agency bylaw fining motorists for running out of steam anywhere on Auckland’s 72.7km motorway network.

Not that cyclists are big users of Auckland motorways. Or are they?

Anyway, that’s not to say cyclists don’t run out of fuel. And when they do, the results can be hideous and, frankly, deserving of financial penalty. The guy below, a professional road cyclist, forgot to eat and within minutes found himself pulling this stunt.

Riders with more panache are able to adapt and rise above fuel depravation. With the right kind of eye, roadsides offer a veritable treasure trove of sustenance.

Heineken – abundantly available on New Zealand roadsides and ocean bottoms

For the better prepared, there are a range of stronger chemical enhancers – like testosterone – popular with South African trans-gender athletes. Some advice – female cyclists: be sure to practice speaking like Cadel Evans and you won't give yourselves away.

Cadel speaks like a girl. Could it be drugs?

Quite possibly, if this photo of Cadel, taken at Silence Lotto's 2008 end-of-season karaoke competition, is anything to go by.

Another magic moment in sport

-- Somewhere near Auckland’s waterfront

Earlier today, Chopper Guard attended a top-secret waterfront photo shoot for the launch of a new fixie range.

Here I was expecting a despairing encounter with anxious creatives herding tattooed rabble more interested in bike bingo.

But, no. Hell no.

Finally, a manufacturer who gets it.

The secret to increasing bicycle sales is getting more chicks on bikes.

Chicks want to look hot (like this one) when they ride.

They won’t if they don’t.

And when hot chicks ride past pavement lubbers they'll want to ride bikes, too.

Simple.

Tell me the name of the manufacturer and be in to win Chopper Guard’s Cycle Sauce 2010 calendar.

You can beat an egg

-- But you can't beet-a-root

Chopper Guard readers were first to learn about the performance enhancing effects of Heineken. Now here’s something else for your nutrition regime. Beetroot. That’s right. Nitrates contained in beetroot juice boost stamina by reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. Get into it.