Insert butter here.
I have never been a fan of Paula Deen. I have seen her show more times than I’d even like to admit, as I am a food network addict that is occasionally too lazy to change the channel if I am busy doing something else. I’ve always found her accent a bit grating and over-the-top; I know people from the South and none of them talk like that. That is probably more my problem than hers, though. Apparently being the sweet southern granny type gets her fans and that’s fine. (However, the word on the street is that she is not at all sweet ‘in real life’- and her accent is predominantly fake. But whatever, she’s selling a brand, that’s her deal.)
No, her silly and annoying drawl isn’t the issue. I do, however, have an issue with her backing of Smithfield pork products. Smithfield is a company known for unethical treatment of both its animals and its employees. (The documentary Food, Inc. is worth a watch. In fact, I highly recommend it.) I assume she’s still a spokesperson for their products, I saw one of her Smithfield ham commercials recently. When called out on the unsafe working conditions at Smithfield, in one interview, she said that she said something like “that’s not my area of expertise.” Because, you know, apparently you have to be an expert to have values and stand behind them.
But even beyond that, the main problem I have is with her food. Now I’m not gonna act all uppity-health-food-goddess here and claim that I have never let anything deep fried cross my lips. You hand me a plate of French fries and I’m a happy gal. And bacon? Don’t get me started. Nacho cheese? Oh, baby. It’s my weakness. And I’m also not gonna say that one should never, ever eat things like she makes. Every now and then, a portion of fried chicken and country gravy over buttery mashed potatoes is perfectly fine and delicious and isn’t going to kill ya- as long as it’s not a regular thing.
Mmmm…. gravy.
Where was I? Oh, yeah.
Some of the things Paula makes on her shows has even me gagging a bit at the mere thought of the amount of grease sliding down her throat with each bite. Deep fried cheesecake? Deep fried stuffing? Peanut butter cheese fudge? Gooey butter cake? Deep fried butter balls? Seriously. A dough made primarily of butter with a little flour, egg, and cream cheese thrown in, rolled in bread crumbs, and deep fried.
Butter is mighty tasty, but… just no. I care a bit too much about my arteries and the size of my behind to do that to myself.
I’m pretty sure you know where I’m going next, if you’re up on current events. Now Paula Deen has come forth that she’s had type 2 diabetes for three years. Did she come forth with that information to show the general public that, hey, perhaps eating a hamburger served on a doughnut instead of a bun was just maaaaaaybe not in anyone’s best interest, healthwise?
No.
Paula Deen came forth with her diabetes because she was hired to endorse a diabetes medication by a company called Novo Nordisk.
So, for these last three years, Paula has had diabetes while promoting her high-sugar, high-fat recipes to an audience in a country where one third of adults are obese. Do I know for a fact if she’s eating how she cooks? Duh, no. I don’t hang out with her. I’ve seen her on tv here and there for the last few years though, and her waist size hasn’t appeared to change so it’s probably pretty safe to say that she isn’t making much of an attempt – if she is at all.
And then instead of deciding to change her program’s focus to try and help combat the obesity epidemic, she partners with a drug to control diabetes instead. Why solve the problem when you can just bypass it? A quote directly from Ms. Deen herself:
“I was determined to share my positive approach and not let diabetes stand in the way of enjoying my life. I’m excited to team up with Novo Nordisk on this initiative to show others that managing diabetes does not have to stop you from enjoying the things you love.”
WHAT?! Yes, actually, if the thing you love is butter and you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you probably should stop enjoying mass amounts of it.
Oh, or you could just keep on keepin’ on, have that deep fried butter – heck, why not dip it in mayo?! - and get on medicine. Hey, the upside (?) to this solution (term used loosely) is that the users of this medicine, Victoza, may lose weight anyway as the side effects so far (remember, this is a brand new drug on the market) are nausea and loss of appetite. Sounds fun!
I’m just baffled. And angered. Take an active role in your health, Paula! And everyone else! Diabetes is, in many, many cases, preventable. Type 2 diabetes is largely caused by obesity, a high-fat diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. It can also be genetic and the chances of being diagnosed with it increase with age- in that instance, that’s even more reason to work hard to live a healthy lifestyle. Diabetes is serious business! People do die from complications of diabetes. I would think it preferable to at least attempt to not have diabetes at all than to just medicate it.
Am I saying that Paula Deen is forcing people to cook how she does? Obviously not. Free choice, blah blah. However, Paula Deen is a public figure, with a show that has a lot of airtime. Her face pops up on magazines, on talk shows, on morning shows, and on boxes in the cookware department of stores. She’s a public figure with a large fan base in a country where 1/3 of the people are obese. There IS a such thing as a food addiction. Please explain to me how all the things she’s doing are not forms of enabling: here is this tempting, delicious, decadent food, I’ll show you how to make it and then I will tell you what medicine to take so that you can eat it and not get sick. Go ahead, it’s your choice! Probably, no one would have thought to eat a deep-fried ball of butter til she made one on TV. Celebrities are influential and to say they have no bearing on choices of the general public.. that is just ignorant.
Apparently Paula and her sons are working to make some of her favorite dishes in lower-calorie versions but she has already stated that having diabetes won’t change the way she cooks, unfortunately. This could be such a chance for her to earn respect from a lot of people who think she’s full of crap.
This all just leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. (See what I did there? Har har.)
Oh, and just for an FYI, I didn’t link to any recipes of hers on principle. I don’t think people should be eating that way and I’m not going to have links to her fattening, artery-clogging recipes associated with my blog. If you want to look any of this stuff up for the laugh factor, be my guest. If you want to look it up so you can make and consume it yourself, fine- it’s your health you’re messing with. If you want to look it up and make it for your fat project…. well, you’re devious and I like you. Have at it, it’s pretty much guaranteed to work.
