or is it that the players don’t want to eat stuff they have never heard of?

In Defense of Food
The Omnivore’s Dilemma

As with all “cost” issues, it depends what costs you are measuring. There are the obvious ones, such as the over the counter price. But there are hidden costs that often amount to a lot more but are more indirect and so harder to see, but real nonetheless.

By the way, try pastured chicken. It taste far better than the stuff you get in supermarkets as is true with naturally grown food generally. The real thing is not the least bit exotic.

and if a player doesn’t meet the standards, the team should have the option of fining or if it becomes a pattern, voiding the contract. It’s absolutely asinine for a player to be able to get fat without consequences.

Absolutely forward thinking on the part of the teams trying to push for better diets. I’ve always been surprised how much effort is put into the output side of the equation (physical training), and how little has traditionally gone into the input side (food). Intuitively, the two are equally important. Though players may resist—and no one can force them to eat what they don’t want—there’s no reason you can’t give financial incentives to those who participate…since teams will presumably saving medical costs in the long run.

By the way, there’s nothing scary about spelt or quinoa, which are pretty much everyday products in a lot of stores out here in California (and elsewhere). Really just a tasty variation on rice, quinoa makes a great option for a stir fry, and spelt is more or less interchangeable with wheat—makes great bread. Most important part: they taste good.

Of course, so does steak. So have a steak from time to time. Then a nice spinach salad, with red peppers, garbanzos, green onions and roma tomatoes, with a good blackberry balsalmic, olive oil and parmesan cheese dressing. It’s just a question of balance…now I’m hungry…

Another good book to read, along the lines of Pollan’s—“The End of Food” by Paul Roberts.