Food...
It's finally happened. The American Government has decided that it can tell us what we can and cannot eat. Sure, Wal-Mart says they've been planning it, and they're working hand-in-hand, but that's nonsense. So, now we're going to be forced to eat those artificial sweeteners (to which I am fatally allergic), and those horrible, lab-grown preservatives, and other dangerous chemicals to be put in our foods. Why? To fight "Obesity."
Some people may not know my stand point on the "Obesity Epidemic" so I'll enlighten you. Obesity is not an epidemic. An epidemic is defined as a widespread, contagious, disease that is killing a lot of people at once and cannot be controlled. Obesity is simply...being really, really fat. People blame the restaurants, they blame video games and television...but they should blame themselves. People make the choice to eat out every night. They make the choice to give their kids unhealthy foods whenever they ask. And no, because of their blatant stupidity, in five years, Coca-Cola will likely not even exist.
The government is also pushing for more genetically "cloned" food, so they can regulate what's in it. I imagine the next step is to ban people from growing their own produce.
I never thought it would go this far. Frankly, I'm sick of it. I have never been more ashamed of my country than I am today.
And I saw a report which said that we would be nagged every time we went to the check-out with our groceries, to make sure we had our five fruit and veg! Leave us alone!
I think you're trying to blot the door after the horse has bolted on this one Deyrdeyth, America has been regulating what should and should not be in food for a very long time, and it's not likely to stop. Sweetners, preservatives etc. are probably not as bad as many of the chemicals already put into packaged food and sprayed onto growing crops.
The only real way forward if you want control of your food is to either grow your own or eat on fresh organic food - but nobody does this right?
As for obesity, you say everyone has the choice and then talk about feeding kids crap food - does the kid honestly have a choice? You're also being really unfair, and pretty much wrong, people don't always have a choice just because they think they do - advertising is now exceptionally effective, especially to kids, and some people cannot afford 'real' food, the cheap manufactured corn/grain based everything is worlds cheaper than real food as it is heavily subsidized in the USA.
Cloned food - scientifically this is probably not an issue tbh, if the thing your cloning was ok to start with and you clone it right, why would it be any different? Genetically modified on the other hand... We just dont know.
To be honest Deyrdeyth I think we're probably for the most part in agreement on this issue.
I would agree, for the most part, that parents have a choice about what to feed their kids (with the exception of the cost issue we have raised affecting some families).
I live in the UK so can't really know what the growing your own food situation is in the USA, but I know it won't be banned over here - it has become a massive industry here, with most seeds being sold being 'F1' varities (i.e. will not produce viable seeds) it creates an ongoing industry - we need to get back to older varieties and foraging etc.
Advertising is far from a cop out excuse, tbh you wont be aware of 90% of the advertising, bill boards and posters are nothing, read 'Nudge' that is a nice starter in the way most advertising works (though is aimed at encouraging the 'right choice' for 'choice enablers' the same techniques are used in advertising all the time), and combined with the fact most nutritional/dietry advice comes from heavily sponsered corporate media even those who do read the packets don't always make the right choice.
By 'real food' I meant organically grown fruit, veg, and meat - nothing else is really 'real food' as far as the natural human diet is concerned - try eating a handful of wheat straight from the stalk and you'll see how 'natural' our staple food product is to us ;-)
Again, cloned and genetically modified are two totally different things.
I totally agree it is a point worth raising though, I think a lot of the problems stem from the fact most/many people just don't care what they eat.
F1 are a first generation hybrid plant made by crossing two varites of plants, this is done to make plants that have a higher yield, or have resistance against disease. Most of these hybrids are sterile, or are made sterile, as the new 'variety' is a commercial asset to the company who created the hybrid. This has been done for years with some farm crops and the like of Monsanto and when they make new hybrids that they cannot make sterile (such as legumes), they just sue the farmers if they try to keep the seeds.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Monsanto/farmerssued.cfm
So how can they enforce the only allowed to grow a small percentage of food on your land? That really is insane, is it some home owners association thing or federal law?
Yes, as someone from the UK I don't really 'get' home owners associations, I guess they are there to protect the value of peoples homes, not something you really see around the UK, though i'm sure they must exist in some areas.
Kia, you do make some good points. But I have to disagree.
Admittedly, the children don't have much of a choice. But the parents do. They feed the kids fast food every day, and either don't make or let them exercise, then complain that kids are getting too fat. Many parents don't have the backbone to tell their kids "No" because they are afraid of tantrums.
As for growing food, I've been doing that for years, though now it is more difficult because of my recent move. Sooner or later that, too will be forbidden, because the government wants to know exactly what we're eating. "For our safety," or course.
Advertising is, to be honest, a bit of a cop-out excuse. Yes, it's good. Of course it is, that's the point, and everyone knows it. But with the exception of a percentage who are illiterate, anyone can pick up a package and read. If they don't know what something is, they look it up.
In regards to people not affording healthy food, there is a point there. But the "real food" to be made cheaper in this country is not real at all. Sodium Stearoyl-2-lactylate, potassium bromate, Olestra (which is a nightmare of a product), aspartame, acesulfame K...those don't sound very real.
As for cloned/genetically modified food, neither sounds very appetizing or healthy, unless we suffer a nuclear war or move to Mars.
I just felt that this is an issue that needed to be pointed out. I've already blacklisted many grocery stores that intend to implement this new system. It's hard enough to get the nutrition my body needs.