> An interesting post Daniel, and one with, in general I agree with. I
> think that you can educate the students on a general level about free
> range chickens, and junk food, but there is a thin line between
> education and preaching.
> On my schools discussion forums there was recently some debate about
> religion and politics in class. The general consensus was that it was
> alright to teach the religions, the general beliefs of each (should
> you know them) and things like the name of the buildings they use
> (churches, mosques, temples etc) but to cross the line and start to
> say that people should be Christian or Buddhist or whatever was
> generally a bad idea. (actually, our contract states we shouldnt
> talk about religion or politics unless the students bring the subject
> up, but I am not that strict).
> I think that most (decently educated) people in China know that
> stuffing burgers down your neck every day isnt good for you. I dont
> think many of them do it, certainly it isnt as prevalent as in the
> west. A general: Junk food is bad for you if you eat a lot of it,
> what do you think? sort of approach is needed in these areas.
> After discussions you can state something along the lines of Many
> years of research have shown that blah blah blah. Keep the message
> short and snappy.
> If you start lecturing them on how not to eat KFC you will just
> alienate them. They arent going to stop eating chicken just because
> it was brought up in a small box. This *is* China, and the concern
> for the poor little duckies found so much in the west just isnt
> around.
> What was my point in all this? I have forgotten. Just in a rambling
> sort of mood today. Hehe.
> BTW. I have a tendency to gorge on the occasional Big Mac so I cant
> lecture on avoiding this sort of food with being called a hypocrite!
> One last thought... A lot of Chinese food could hardly be called
> 'good for your health'! Very fatty and very deep fried some of it is!

In general, the Westerner could learn a lot more about eating healthy from the Easterner then vice-versa. Please note I said in general. The first thing I notice coming back to America is how many obesely overweight Americans there are! (I am Chinese fat, but American thin I always tell my students. :)