Just got back from a 5AM run. It occurred to me as I evaded a two foot rat, dodged the lightening, and got soaked with my morning run in Central Park that I am on the wrong side of a few health care trades.

Picked up a Passion Iced Tea at SBUX after my run. How come Stevia is not a sweetener option? It is just artificial this sweetener and artificial that sweetener. Is there even a difference between the pink, yellow and blue sweeteners with different names? Scientists really work on stuff like this?

If HFTs (high frequency traders) can match orders before I can even see them, why can’t we develop an algorithm in this country that gets me a discount on my $UNH bill for making healthy life choices? Weight, waist size, trips to the gym, blood pressure….something like that.

Why isn’t there fast food in this country that serves organic meat? (free range is close but not organic in my book $CMG lovers) I don’t have a problem with meat, I have a problem with meat that was shot up with the same chemicals Barry Bonds denied using.

How come when you leave the city and ask for tofu cream cheese at say a $PNRA (Panera Bread) the server looks at you like you are from Jupiter? And if you want to get tofu cream cheese in the burbs your only option is to drive all the way back to the city from where you came?

Why can’t I get chocolate chip cookies made with agave nectar or brown rice syrup at my local grocery?

Is this whole health care fiasco really such a mess that we needed a 2000 plus page bill and get everyone all lawyered and lobbyied up? Couldn’t we just have read more of Michael Pollan, particularly In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifestoand admitted that we all need to eat a lot more FOOD from local farmers?

Anyway I am gonna go do some sit ups now, get on the subway, grab a whole grain scooped out bagel with tofu scallion cream cheese (did I just lose any legitimacy I may have had?), a water and head to work. Let’s hope I don’t get hit by a cab crossing the street.

Mike Bellafiore
Author, One Good Trade (Wiley)