(NOTE: usually my posts here are written originally for Dad-o-matic.  That said, I recently wrote on my personal blog about Chef Jamie Oliver’s impassioned and impactful speech about childhood obesity at the recent TED conference.  I realize that Chef Oliver’s speech would likely be of great interest to the Dad-o-matic crowd, so with permission from myself, I am reposting it here.)

My infatuation with TED continues.  I have yet to watch a TED Talk that I haven’t found thought provoking and inspiring.  It is really some of the best content you can find, and it is free!  I have written before about Natasha Tsakos and Philippe Starck‘s amazing presentations.  If you want a deeper understanding of the TED conference, Robert Scoble has written an insightful overview.  This year’s TED just took place and according to reports, one of the highlights was Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver‘s passionate talk on obesity in America.  He shares some shocking and revealing statistics about how our fast food nation is literally eating ourselves to death. As someone who can certainly afford to lose a few pounds I need only to look in the mirror and at many of the people I see day in and day out to recognize that Jamie speaks the truth, and how far we have lost our way when it comes to diet and food.  What do you think?  Do you and your family cook fresh food on a regular basis?  Do your kids know how to prepare a meal using “real” ingredients?  Are these basic skills our fast-paced, over processed society has left undone?  Food for thought…

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes!and Social Networking Rehab.