This is empirical science following from a reasoned theory: the stuff is just bread, tomato sauce, cheese and some toppings that could include vitamins and dietary fiber. If we made it nutritionally-balanced instead of salt- and fat-heavy, in principle it would be perfectly fine to eat as a stand-alone meal. So, let's try it and see if people like it. Empirically, people did.
The reformulated pizza is only slightly different in appearance and virtually identical in taste to the original pizza recipe, and is still prepared using traditional Italian baking methods....The pizza was rated very highly for both appearance and taste by both children and adult tasters... Among the children, 46 % rated the pizza as good as their usual one and 35 % rated it better (i.e. 81 % at least as good as), moreover 41 % would eat the pizza instead of their usual one. Most adults (57 %) rated the pizza as good as their usual one, with 20 % better (i.e. 77 % found it at least as good as their usual pizza); 69 % of the adults would buy it instead of their usual one. Most would be willing to pay an extra 50 pence for a nutritionally balanced pizza....
Our study therefore shows that, perhaps contrary to popular opinion, it is perfectly possible to have an attractive, nutritionally balanced meal as a single-item pizza meal.
"An extra 50 pence" is, if I understand correctly, about sixty-seven cents.
When we were taking Lamaze classes for our first child, the lesson on nutrition praised pizza
ReplyDeleteJust keep the fatty/salty meats to a minimum, going light on the cheese, and keeping the crust thin would likely reduce a lot of nutritional negatives.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and seems reasonable but the "health by stealth" approach sets my teeth on edge. Tell people what you're doing, offer free samples, let them decide for themselves.
ReplyDeleteFair, but the opposite is also true: unhealth by stealth, you might say. We didn't ask for all these additives and artificial colors, extra salts and fats. The industry just kind of went that way on its own. In theory you can read the label, but in practice it's hard to find an option that isn't full of junk.
DeleteThe house rule about anonymous comments is that they're fine, but you should sign at the end with a screen name so that we can tell people apart. Thus:
-Grim