HR and Living the Food Revolution
I’ve followed Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show more or less from the sidelines – I had heard about it, found it interesting, and I actually caught one of the shows last night. Jamie is a really great guy (or bloke) and you could definitely see the passion he has for making these kids grow up healthy.
Food is something I’m passionate about too (kids not so much), and I can’t say enough just how important it is that you eat healthy and encourage others to eat healthy. While Jamie is focusing on kids, I think as HR professionals we find ourselves often setting up company events that usually involve food: breakfasts, lunches, parties. We should strive to ensure that people have healthy options to choose from. If your company uses vending machines, make sure they carry water, diet drinks, and healthy snacks. Creating a strong health and wellness program that reflects a corporate philosophy of eating and living well can help and encourage employees to do the same – and it shows your company cares about its employees. Have “foodie” employees show cooking demonstrations that can teach employees how to prepare healthy lunches and meals at home quickly.
HR tends to bemoan its role all too often in organizations, and I believe promoting wellness to be one way HR can make a positive impact across an organization. Eating well isn’t a new idea anyway. Do you recall the old adage, “you are what you eat”? Yes, an actual piece of folk wisdom that’s true, I know; but if you eat junk food, you’ll end up looking like the junk food. It’s common sense to eat healthy. Most people don’t know what healthy is, or they believe healthy translates to downright starvation on a diet of salad greens. The latter is completely untrue. About two years ago, I lost about 60 (220 to 160) pounds by exercising and eating healthy, and you know how (and what) I love to eat. Healthy isn’t about deprivation; it’s about knowing what foods are and how they impact your overall health and diet.
And just to be honest, I’ve only gained back about 20 pounds in those two years. I’m happy to say I’ve already lost 5 of them.
To join the Food Revolution, check out these links:
Read Jamie’s food philosophy: http://www.jamieoliver.com/philosophy
Sign the petition: http://www.jamieoliver.com/petition
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jamie_oliver
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamieoliver
April 24th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
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April 24th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I absolutely agree! Jamie Oliver’s show is applicable to corporations having available healthy options, even when it comes to hosting company lunches and parties (especially Christmas parties). I also agree that it’s important to eat healthy because it can give someone energy. Eating fast food all the time won’t only make you fat but will also lower your energy amount and result in not as productive employees. Therefore, it really is in the company’s best interest to keep employees’ health in mind. I also feel that exercise should also be encouraged in corporations.