Nothing is better than rejuvenating your interest in blogging than feeling the need for a rant. So, here it goes.
Just a few minutes ago, I was checking my Facebook news feed (yes, I hate myself) and noticed an article that had been shared by some of my high school friends. The article linked to a conservative website (definitely not somewhere I will be frequently), but I had to check out the content because of my interest in the subject.
You see, the Mars candy company has recently decided to stop making King Size candy bars and to reduce the caloric content in all of their candies to 250 calories or less per serving. This will involve reducing the size and not by altering the delicious candy taste, of course. This seems like a marvelous idea to me, and I can't imagine that anyone would be opposed to this. But, of course, this article blasted the candy company and its decision.
The reaming was two-fold. Many conservatives (shock! awe!) do not like Michelle Obama, who spearheads a campaign to promote health (I think she's awesome, by the way). Additionally (and more imperative to this rant), many posts on this website felt that the government should not regulate your candy choices, even if they are ridiculously bad ones.
Firstly, America has an obesity epidemic and we are clearly not very good at managing it ourselves. There has been an increase in the number of obese American adults, and more sadly, children and we simply cannot fight this problem alone. This is where the government needs to intervene, because we can't help ourselves. The children of people struggling with this problem end up becoming victims themselves when they become overweight as children and become obese as adults. I can't remember the exact statistic, but a child with two overweight/obese parents has something like a 90% chance of being overweight or obese as an adult themselves. Again, we are not managing this alone.
A primary reason we can't manage this alone is because the problem wasn't created by individuals alone. Our entire environment has been stacked against us. Although we all like to think of ourselves as autonomous beings, it's not as easy as that. Assuredly, McDonald's and any other quick serve restaurant has a strategy to predict where the next location should be built that will attract the most business. Government subsidies offer incentives for growing certain crops like corn, while healthy foods remain more expensive than their high-fructose-corn-syrup-laden competitors. The corporate culture means that you have to allot more time driving to work and being in the car than you will devote to walking around the neighborhood.
One argument bemoaned, "Now I have to buy two candy bars at a more expensive price than the King-Sized one!" A modern day tragedy, really. All of these unhealthy traps are built in the environment around us, and people are getting mad about not being able to get a King-Sized Twix bar? You have to be kidding me! No one needs that much candy. If you do want that much candy (hey, it's Fat Tuesday, I'm not judging), then maybe an extra price is what you need. Maybe that extra $0.25 is what you need to convince you not to buy the candy bar, not the extra 200 calories.
Whatever the case, I don't want to hear the argument that the government has too much power over our lives with this as the primary example. No, no no. Instead of getting angry at this sphere of influence, be glad that something is being done to help the obesity crisis. Reducing the sodium in Olive Garden meals or limiting the availability of massive candy bars may not seem like a huge deal, but these are real solutions that may collectively have an influence. And, if you need a good book to read about public health, check out this one instead of reading conservative website bullshit:
http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Healthy-Nation-Approach-Improving/dp/0807021164
