Food/Drink Bans, American Obesity, and the Idiocy of Politicians and Celebrities

[Cena's Little Helper]

As many of you who read or watch the news know, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently tried to ban the sale of sugary soft drinks in large portions within New York City. Furthermore, you more than likely also know that almost everyone with even the slightest hint of fame and a television audience has come to chastise the fattening of America and also the epidemic of American childhood obesity. When thinking of both the disdain American elites have for the eating habits of their country's plebs and the policy attempts of plutocrats like Michael Bloomberg to govern said habits, it never ceases to amaze how their perception of this problem is completely and utterly wrong. You see, these eating habits don't stem from the easy availability of bad food and drink but rather from a lack of choice.

Let's think about this for a moment: would you rather come home to freshly-caught Chilean Sea Bass with mango salsa, sides of wild mushroom couscous and a fresh spinach and avocado salad, a glass of vintage red, and a 20 oz. bottle of Voss, or would you rather, on your way home from work, get a Filet o Fish Combo Meal with fries and a coke from Mickie D's? I don't know how anyone, if they actually had a choice in the matter, could choose the latter. When it comes to the tastes of the rich and the tastes of the poor, there's really not that much of a difference: they're going to eat and drink what they think tastes best out of what they can afford in terms of both time and money. It just so happens that the choices available to the poor are much more restricted than those available to the wealthy.

Ultimately, policy bans and celebrity shaming are two ineffective and idiotically misinformed ways to go about getting the majority of Americans to eat healthier. It's more than likely that hell will freeze over before you find an affordable version of a Whole Foods, Wegman's, or Dean & DeLuca in the likes of Memphis, the South Side of Chicago, or the bayous of Louisiana.

 

[Alastor]

Are you seriously ranting against telling people to drink less sugary water? Are you seriously saying a child would prefer a piece of fish with salad over a piece of fried chicken or pizza?

The problem isn't a lack of choice, but people's preference of ordering out or eating out instead of cooking at home whether due to lack of time or laziness. There is an affordable version of the outlets you listed, it is making your own healthy meal at home. If that isn't a choice, some fast food outlets are already selling horrible versions of your seabass type meals to give you a 'choice' but they cost more and taste bad.
Alternatively, there are fast food sandwich shops that sell healthier version of McDs buns that are in the same price range. Just don't get the sugar water along with your meals or it will be for naught. Fast food can be 'less bad' if one choose not to take the fries and soft drinks.

I am going to ask you this, instead of a policy to restrict children access to sugar water, your preference is to have a policy to encourage healthier outlets to lower their prices? I doubt that is going to go well with tax payers to subsidise private business. Or is it to slap a tax so heavy on junk food that the likes of McDonalds have to increase their prices? I doubt that will make many happy either. The sugar water soft drink ban is a baby step to prevent unhealthy habits from developing at a small price.

I would ignore most celebrity 'causes' as they usually don't know crap about what they are talking about so I won't address their idiocy. I would rather listen to the experts who give practical advice on a healthier diet that fits your budget and not some millionaire actress that thinks organic food is the only choice.

 

[The Butcher]

This is one of those issues that won't really bother me until it happens where I live. In the meantime, it's just something I can point and laugh at. I don't drink soda or smoke cigarettes or get Happy Meal toys, so the bans that different cities have put on such items wouldn't affect me even if they did happen here. They would bother me, though. People should have the right to choose what they want to eat, drink, or inhale-- within reason, of course.

I'm as middle of the road politically as they come, because frankly, that's where all of the action is. So when I see either side infringing on people's right to choose, it irks me. This goes for gay marriage just as it goes for soft drinks. I'm not saying let's let it all hang out-- I'm all for prohibitions and stiff penalties for drugs, drunk driving, bigamy etc. When it comes to things that are harmless to me when utilized by responsible individuals, though, I can't in good conscience abide by what amounts to a group punishment.

I understand the underlying costs in dollar signs and lives that are related to people's poor health choices. This is where parenting, education, and shared- and individual responsibility come into play. I don't see why people can't handle any of those things without them being mandated by the government. So it goes with a lot of issues, but especially one as simple as keeping soda on store shelves and on restaurant menus. If parents, educators, communities, and individuals can't teach, learn, and practice better eating habits, then clearly as a society we don't want to. If we don't collectively want something, then certainly no city, state, or federal official should force it on us.

 

[ABMorales787]

Lack of choice? Salads are sold in those fast foods first of all. Not to mention a plate of white rice and pinto beans is much healthier than any Big Mac or Whopper. Not to mention more filling and just 20 minutes to make. I may not be a part of the "American middle class" but I do distribute fast food. It seriously makes me makes me sick to see some clearly unhealthy slob come in and ask for a Double Quarter Pounder with bacon and a large fries rather than the Ranch salad with extra grilled chicken.

People certainly do have a choice. But they go with their urges. Not their heads.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

As others have alluded to, it's a problem of choice. Most people will choose the easy way. And facts are, if you cook your own meals, it's generally cheaper than eating fast food. Look at what Killjoy mentioned. Do you know how cheap a plate of rice and beans is? I can buy a can of pinto beans for less than a dollar. Rice is extremely cheap and if you add enough rice to the dish, you could get 2 meals out of the can of beans if you really wanted to. Cheaper to get fast food? BS. It's easier, and that's why so many Americans have obesity issues.

You want to call most politicians and celebrities idiots? I'll generally agree with you. But this is not related.

 

[HBsam31]

I have to agree that say the problem is what is easy for people. I am a chef so cooking comes a little easier for me, and what I will do is on Monday (my night off) cook meals for my wife and daughter for them to have throughout the week. That way it is easy for my wife to come home and heat those meals up. If I didn't do that I could easily see her going and getting fast food. She just doesn't have the time to cook with a 15 month old girl running around. THe fact is cooking at home is much much much cheaper than going out and getting fast food. I really don't think government should be banning things like soft drink and such, but I don't want to hear that it is cheaper to eat crap. I don't think this is a rich poor promblem. It's more like a smart dumb problem. I don't want my kid eating slop so I take the time to prepare food for her when I am not going to be there. You can eat pretty healthy for a resonable price. Not everyone has to go to whole foods to get good stuff to eat. Since i had my daughter we no longer have a lot of disposable income, and we still manage to eat pretty well. I also garden in the summer so that yields me a ton of vegetables for like 1 dollar a pack of seeds. Food happens to be my area of expertise as a chef so I do have an advantage in that area, but it isn't that hard to put together a healthy meal. I think like everything else it comes down to laziness, and not caring about ones health. As killjoy mentioned you can get a salad at mcdonalds,, and people don't take advantage of it. My point is fast food is not the only solution for people that lack money or don't have the time. I can cook 3 days worth of meals in two hours. I went on a bit of a rant here, but this is something that hits home because with one day off a week and very little free time, and not a lot of money on top of that I still find time to make sure my family eats somewhat healthy.

 

[Shocky]

I love how this is slowly turning into the inevitable, "It isn't my fault" argument. Typical of what this country is becoming. Instead of saying, "Hey, maybe that 36 oz 400 calorie bottle of sugar water isn't the best idea" the tone of this thread is, I just can't help myself. It's called self control. You know what's easy and more cheap than a bottle of soda, how about water from the faucet? Spare me the money argument. The problem is laziness, and a lack of self control, not the cost of product.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm a bit overweight and have a history of diabetes on both sides of my family. Earlier this year I had my doctor look into it and was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. the solution was to lose weight, plain and simple. Here's what I did: stopped eating sweets and cookies and ate more vegetables while exercising more. My method for doing this? I just stopped. It's common sense: stop eating chocolate and start eating vegetables and get on the treadmill every night and you'll lose weight. On top of that, eat better at restaurants. Instead of a big greasy burger, get grilled chicken which tastes good as well. I don't need some celebrity or law to fix my health problems. I need self control. This really isn't that hard.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

"Control! Control! You must learn control"- **in Yoda voice**

I've had my history of bad eating habits, and had problems with high blood pressure as a kid. Been overweight as an adult a handful of times..... but that was all my fault. Over the years there have been times, when I would eat a whole pizza (medium) from Dominos, cheesy bread, and then turn around four or five hours later, and eat half a key lime pie. And if I would feel like it, smoke a Black & Mild or two. I've lost a lot of weight and stopped eating bad and smoking (again) since then.

My point is, if you want to go out there and do damage to yourself by eating garbage and drinking lots of sugary shit, then you're going to do it, and nobody can really stop you. So what if someone can't get a drink in a certain size? What's going to stop them from going somewhere else, and getting what they want? People need to learn self-discipline, and now when to stop. It's that simple.