Certain things have significance beyond the obvious. One of these is the kitchen table. In a hectic world where many eat in front of screens and eat food, which lacks in nutrition, the kitchen table stands as a sentinel, where people stop the other things they may be doing and focus their attention on the meal.
It also is usually the case that meals eaten at the kitchen table have been prepared in the kitchen. Thus the meal will have more real food and less preservatives, additives and processed carbohydrates. IN other words a meal eaten at the kitchen table is likely to be better for us.
There is evidence to back this up. Research has shown that children who eat at the table with the family are less likely to be overweight. The figure is as much as 40% lower. There is also much evidence, which shows that the kitchen table is where families communicate. This is the forum where parents can learn about when and what went on in school that day. It is where couples can sit and discuss their respective days and how they are going.
There is also much evidence showing the mental health of children and teens are better where there is regular communication and interaction.
When the children were growing up, a parent, I have always insisted that at least six dinners out of seven were eaten at the table. Yes one night (and this was not always the case) we could eat at the bench or in the lounge room. There has to be some flexibility in everything we do.
Phones were banned. Conversation was the key. Here is where the most important things, topics could be discussed openly.
So, as regular readers would expect, I was absolutely livid to see the head of the Orwellian Human Rights Commission (HRC) Gillian Triggs tell a gathering in Hobart; “Sadly you can say what you like around the kitchen table at home”.
Pause and think about this for a moment. A person who is paid over $400k per year to supposedly protect “human rights” wants to take us back to the days of the Spanish inquisition, Stalinist Russia or even Nazi Germany where people were encouraged to spy on friends, family and neighbors and report suspicious speech.
There is an old, very un-PC adage that a man’s home is his castle. Regardless of the gender of the accommodation owner, the critical point is that in your won home you, whilst subject to the laws of the land, are in charge. Naturally you are not free to murder someone just because it is your home, but you are free to live your life as you see fit. This includes your right to free speech and the ability to discuss topics with your family and guests.
The very notion that a highly paid bureaucrat sees a problem with this is a classic sign of the PC madness that has engulfed the world. Seeking to stop families’ having discussions at the kitchen table unless that conversation conforms to some PC mandated newspeak protocol is appalling.
Fortunately there is no plan to introduce listening devices in every home like Winston had to endure in 1984. There is no plan to reward children for spying on parents who say, utter non PC words nor are there plans for HRC goons to come door knocking at 3am to take you away to a re-education camp.
However, that a person whose salary the taxpayers pay and who technically is a “public servant” can be so against the people who pay her salary and whom she is employed to serve is astounding. It should also be a wake up call to those who have not seen the dangers to freedom in the creeping power grab by unelected unaccountable government agencies.
The comment reflects the attitude of the agency. Their actions in the Bill Leak and QUT case bear this out.
On the plus side, that she can be so blatant in her disregard for the importance of the kitchen table tells us that the totalitarians think the game is over and they have won.
It is not and they have not.
Gary Fettke refuses to be silenced (by AHPRA- another unaccountable agency) about the benefits of low carb diets. Chef Pete Evans continues to promote healthy eating despite critics wanting to shut him down. Mark Latham has found a new vehicle for his views on the world.
And I will continue to be a “deplorable” outsider when it comes to commenting on anything to do with our health and life.
Power to all the “deplorables” having conversations at their kitchen tables. We will not be silenced.
Medical Doctor, author, speaker, media presenter and health industry consultant, Dr Joe Kosterich wants you to be healthy and get the most out of life.
Joe writes for numerous medical and mainstream publications, is clinical editor at Medical Forum Magazine, and is also a regular on radio and television.
Joe is Medical Advisor to Medicinal Cannabis Company Little Green Pharma, Chairman of Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association and sits on the board of Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA. He is often called to give opinions in medico legal cases.
He has self-published two books: Dr Joe’s DIY Health and 60 Minutes To Better Health.
In 2024 due to public demand he commenced a podcast, Dr Joe Unplugged, which can be accessed via Spotify, Apple or YouTube.
Through all this he continues to see patients as a GP each week.
