Angry Issues: What Health Laws Would You Like To See Passed?
We’re just a few days away from the election so today’s post has a political spin. But don’t worry – I’m not about to get all red state / blue state on you all!
As you may know, Mayor Bloomberg recently banned the sales of sugary drinks over 16 ounces in NYC – a controversial law that we’ve already discussed here on the site. But Bloomberg isn’t alone. Many months ago I wrote a post following the passing of a new junk food tax in Denmark.
So today I’m asking – What Health Laws Would You Like To See Passed?
I have to admit I’m really torn on this subject. On one hand I feel that taking care of yourself is YOUR responsibility and that regulating what and how much we eat is not the government’s job. On the other hand I KNOW that our country needs health education reform and that we do very little to help our citizens even ‘know’ what healthy is. It’s kind of a catch 22 because I don’t agree with government-imposed regulations yet I feel we have to have them.
That said there are some laws I do agree with. For instance – I don’t think I should have to smell or breath anyone’s cigarette smoke – ANYWHERE! I can’t stand walking down the street and having smoke blown in my face by another person walking by or by the droves of people who stand outside their buildings. We know it causes health issues so why allow it? In fact I’d happily vote for a law that stops parents smoking around their children or in the car. I think that’s a true crime when mothers to be smoke and I know because my mother did and I grew up with chain smoking parents. It’s no fun, it’s gross and it’s a serious health risk.
So when it comes to passing laws to protect third parties, I’m all for them. But I do the draw the line at food and drink laws. And honestly I don’t think ‘sanctions’ on food or drink will have a positive effect or teach people anything. You can’t order a 17 oz. soda in a New York restaurant but what’s stopping you buy a 6 pack from the deli next door? That’s ludicrous! While I definitely don’t agree with consuming junk food, this is a FREE county right? Imposing laws on individuals in an attempt to get them to be healthier is not the way to fight obesity or rid America of its health issues.
If laws need to be created and enforced then I say go to the sources of where food is farmed and raised. Let’s make sure that what we eat is as clean and healthy as it can possibly be. We’ve already knocked out trans fats in foods and I’d like to see more laws passed dealing with the production and manufacturing of food rather than trying to limit certain foods. I’d also like to see a law passed where people who lead healthy lifestyles and don’t abuse the healthcare system due to their own poor choices get some kind of refund or tax credit. It worked with the auto insurance industry where they reward safe drivers so why not do the same for those who prioritize their health?
But what about you? What kind of laws would you like to see? Do you agree with food size restrictions? What about so called ‘fat taxes’? Or food production laws? And what about tax incentives for being healthy? Comment away…
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Alfonso on October 28, 2012 at 11:31 am, and is filed under ANGRY ISSUES, NUTRITION. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 6 months ago
I’m not American, but one long-standing American policy practise that seriously affects public health is their gross subsidization of corn production. Instead of regulating or taxing what people buy, it would be far cheaper and make more sense to just stop subsidizing corn production, which makes products like high fructose corn syrup so cheap. All junk food is made cheaper (and thus more likely to be consumed by people with low incomes) by these subsidies, within and without the US. If the market were left to sort itself out, junk food would go up in price (and different kinds of sugar would compete naturally in the global marketplace) and people would likely choose more lower sugar, lower starch foods.
Before passing new laws, it usually makes sense to examine the deleterious affects of the ones already on the books.
about 6 months ago
TOTALLY agree. The amounts of money with which the American government subsidizes corn, soy, wheat and TOBACCO and the resulting prevalence of these ingredients (the first three) making their way into foods that are allowed to be marketed as “healthy” is utterly criminal. When’s the government going to help out farmers who grow fruit and vegetables for human consumption rather than corporate farms who grow stuff that’s used to make factory food?
about 6 months ago
Instead of giving the government more power over what we’re allowed to do perhaps we should take a look at why these industries are allowed to get away with contaminating this country’s food supply in the first place making it harder and more expensive to get real food. Could it be the money? I think it’s our jobs to support one another’s healthy choices and stop patronizing the companies that only care about profits over ethical (and moral) business practices. We need to stop depending on the government to tell us what to do, that’s how we got to this incredibly sorry point in the first place.
about 6 months ago
The law I’d like to see is requiring GMO’s to be labeled on all food they are in. And labeled in such a way to make it easy to understand.
about 6 months ago
I think that the focus needs to be on having fresh food at a cost effective price. Part of the reason that ‘fast food’ is an attractive option is the cost factor – let’s focus on making real food affordable. Education also needs to be a key piece – how easy it is to make healthy meals with minimal ingredients.
about 4 months ago
Yeah, just make junk food super expensive and subsidize real food and consumers will make the shift towards better and healthier choices. Fat tax seems very cruel, to punish further people who are already in despair. I think fat people should be educated and that real food should be more available and junk food less available and everything will sort itself out.
about 3 months ago
Invest more money in public schools and require school lunches to meet a healthy guideline. Many schools are serving fast food on a daily basis. Also, put physical education back in schools so kids have a fighting chance to know how to be healthy. Visit any elementary school where I live and they don’t have physical education anymore, it takes away too much time from testing.