Fifty percent more twentysomethings live with their parents, half as many have a family of their own, twice as many are studying, fifty percent more hold post-school qualifications, and a greater percentage are participating in the workforce (with a significant gain by women and a decrease by men).

According to a study by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001)

In 1976

• 21% of twentysomethings lived with their parents. In 2001 that figure rose to 30%.
• 41% of twentysomethings had their own family and children, compared to 20% in 2001 – more than a 50% decline.
• 12% of twentysomethings were studying and 31% held post-school qualifications compared to 23% studying and 45% holding post-school qualifications in 2001.
• 75% participated in the labour force compared to 81% in 2001, women’s participation is up from 57 per cent in 1976 to 75 per cent in 2001 and men’s participation has decreased slightly decrease from 92 per cent to 87 per cent.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001 

What a dreadful thought for any parent, but it’s a reality with the current increase in childhood obesity, fast foods, processed foods and the extent to which electronic devices have replaced physical activity.

In 2005 I watched Jamie Oliver’s show about changing the eating habits of UK schoolchildren. He made an interesting statement: The current generation of school children in the UK is the first generation in history that is predicted to die before their parents. This does not mean dying at a younger age than their parents. It means dying before their parents die. The reason? The food they eat and lack of exercise. Kids are overweight, having strokes, having heart attacks, contracting cancer because of the rubbish they eat – often, I regret to say, because of their parents’ choices.

Similar trends are found in Australia and the USA. If the human side of that equation does not disturb you, consider what would happen to our social and economic structures if we regressed to accepting an average life of 40 years or less for the current generation of children, while their parents reach old age?

Maybe cloning organs is an option in that case, but somehow I feel that eating better and producing better quality food is a more sensible and sustainable way.

Jamie Oliver was able to demonstrate that with a few pence extra spent on government subsidised school lunches, and some common sense, the quality of children’s diet can be improved dramatically, with a corresponding rise in energy, concentration, learning ability and quality of behaviour over a period of only a couple of months.

With childhood obesity and early health problems (diabetes, cancer, cardio-vascular disease) rapidly on the rise in many countries, let’s hope that the food companies take note and act on it. This is a case for corporate social responsibility, and not simply slick PR.  It’s not simply the junk food and fast food industries that need to consider how they can assist in changing the quality of food they provide – some are already responding to the public’s wishes – but also the food growers and processors. The latter are a particularly important link in the health chain as the large food production and food processing companies dominate the food supplies for the major supermarkets.

In the meantime, I can make a difference to my 11 year old daughter’s life by steering her (and me) towards better food choices and buying wisely when shopping.

One food producer that is innovating and making a positive difference is Twynham’s, one of Australia’s biggest primary producers. Twynams is willing to invest in better, healthier ways of growing food that will inevitably impact positively on our health – and make a better profit. Read about Twynham’s innovative farming an business practices using biological soil enhancing products instead of synthetic products. They’re looking for improved soil biology and structure, better trash cycling with more nutrients available to crops, more efficient water use, root growth, fewer pests and improved nutrition, and that means more money in the bank. Initial tests show higher yields than with synthetic products. Read about Twynham’s here.

By Christo Norden-Powers          Copyright 2007 Spandah Pty Ltd