Human evolution vs the fast food revolution: nature is losing!

PICTURE: Back in the day the grocery choice was limited to what could fit behind the counter. (We're not this old, but the grocery stores in Morawa looked just like this. Picture a couple of kids in mini skirts and levis).

“Ten thousand years ago there was no obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Just getting enough to eat was a struggle. Humans had to forage most of the day to get enough food just to survive to the next day. Each little bit of food – a root, some seeds or a bush full of ripe berries – was hard won and you ate it straight away. Who knew when the next food was coming?”

That’s a quote from a Dr Wayne Scott Anderson in his book Dr A’s Habits of Health and it neatly sums up the big problem for humans in the 21st century.

We evolved to be super-efficient at using energy (the food we eat) but the problem is that we’re still programmed that way. We get more than enough calories but our bodies still try to hold on to as much as we can – just in case!

Just to make sure we always have “supplies” on hand, we’ve got around 40 million fat cells (called adipose cells) just hanging around ready to capture and store the excess energy.

Instead of letting evolution catch up, which would have taken around 8 million years or so, we smart humans invented foodstuffs that our body was even more hungry for. The first prepacked “fast food” was a TV Dinner, invented the mid 50s, quickly followed by the advent of drive in fast food and take away food. Then processed foods were invented and became industry (next to armaments) in the world.

Even when I was a kid in the 60s a trip to the grocery store meant standing in front of a counter being served by one of a number of staff who would gather the foodstuffs for my mother by reaching to the shelves behind them.

There were three grocery shops in Morawa: Deasons, Coynes and (Judges??) was not a large shop. On the floor every afternoon were boxes and boxes of food, packed by the numerous staff of the grocery shop after the list had been phoned through to the shop. Once a week or so, the farmer came to town to get the groceries. Most of the purchases were canned vegetables and the staples of a farm kitchen. Even our biscuits (on the very rare occasion that a “store-bought” biscuit was purchased came out of large 12 gallon drums of Arnotts biscuits – bought by the pound.

Meat that wasn’t killed at the farm was purchased from Mr Burton the butcher.

I remember the bemused amazement when “self serve” eventually made its way to Morawa. The wonderment as we walked the rows and rows of foodstuffs.

Processed foods had come to Morawa.

Mum had an easier life now. Sunday lunch was tinned Campbells tomato soup, or Heinz spaghetti or a Fray Bentos pies contained cooked its own metal pie-dish, and horrid red hot dog sausages.

But the rest of the week was pure, whole food: mutton in various ways accompanied by cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, Brussel sprouts, peas, sweet potatoes and potatoes; chard (silverbeet) and the ubiquitous iceberg, tomato and cucumber salad vegetables. Cauliflower was a luxury and we’d never heard of broccoli.

Mum was an adventurous purchaser (she’d lived a much more exciting life than many farmer’s wives!) and every time there was something exotic in the grocers, it came home with her. I remember vividly my first taste of both pineapple and mango.

Food was cooked at home and eaten at the table. Portion sizes were much smaller than today. A roast for the family (Mum, Dad and three kids) was cooked in one roasting pan! Two pieces of potato, a piece each of sweet potato and pumpkin and greens.

The closest we came to junk food was fish and chips on a Friday night from Van der Berg’s Café and the occasional Polly Waffle or Violet Crumble, or a packet of chips and a soft drink on the rare occasions that Mum and Dad went out. Snacks at home were fruit. Take it, or leave it. Drinks were water. Take it or leave it. Food was cooked by Mum. Take it or leave it.

And no one was overweight. And the world epidemic of heart diseases, diabetes, kidney disease and fatty liver weren't the biggest killers in the western world.

The 60s: Famous for more than just mini skirts and rock 'n' roll

It was in the late 60s that fast food came to Australia. Kentucky Fried Chicken was launched in 1968, followed by Burger King and Pizza Hut in 1970. Prior to this, the Australian fast food market consisted primarily of privately owned take-away shops. Even WA had a fast food contender - Red Rooster, which opened in 1972.

The 60s was a decade of furious competition in the launching of new forms of fast and convenient (and fun) food: the Drumstick, Tim Tams and Bertie Beetles were all launched in 1963. The first Chinese heat-at-home frozen meal came out in 1965.

More worryingly - though we didn't know it at the time - the first canned soft drinks were launched in 1961. This high sugar beverage was now able to be transported and stored easily.

There's a brilliant website that details Australia's food journey australianfoodtimeline.com,