"Federal Food Nannies"
The term "Federal Food Nannies" sounds like something you would read in a letter to the editor of a small town newspaper, not in an editorial from the largest newspaper in America's #3 market.
The Chicago Tribune leans so Republican that it falls down a lot, so "government interference" is trying to get people to eat better.
"Our take is that government campaigns won't get many people to eat healthy. The current arsenal, heavy on hectoring Americans, isn't working. P.S. It's not just Americans who are snubbing the eat-less eat-smart call: Global obesity rates have doubled worldwide in the last three decades."
In the last three decades, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has come to dominate the sweetener category. And we all know how the Chicago Tribune feels about HFCS. Thanks to NAFTA, the U.S. exports HFCS to Canada and Mexico.
Food safety and regulation standards have fallen. And having a misleading label in the front of a food package is now the established norm.
"Health advocates, accept the bitter truth: Americans — people — like to eat tasty stuff that is not good for them."
This is true. The Tribune editorial accepts this as undeniable fact, as if little can be done about this. But keep in mind that the "tasty stuff" — even when unhealthy — is less healthy than it was 30 years ago.
Government, on both sides of the aisle, has played multiple key roles in this slide. But the Chicago Tribune editorial board isn't crazy about government playing a role in people eating better. And doesn't seem concerned about government making things worse for people who are trying to do better.
Zina Murray runs the Logan Square Kitchen in Chicago. Food entrepreneurs rent kitchen space by the hour, helping them save costs by not operating a bricks-and-mortar site. But the City of Chicago's Health Department has inspected the Logan Square Kitchen 11 times in the last 9 months, and 19 times in the last 2 years. Restaurants in Chicago typically get inspected twice a year.
Where did we learn all of this about the Logan Square Kitchen? The Chicago Tribune.
"The Federal Food Nannies covet a world without Hardee's 1,320-calorie Monster Thickburger to tempt people. We disagree."
The Trib editorial paints a murky picture of calorie-counting bureaucrats. You can sleep soundly knowing that this monster is imaginary. Barack Obama eats Five Guys. Michelle Obama eats ribs and Shake Shack. If most Americans managed the challenge of the temptations of the Thickburger as well as the Obamas do, our health care costs would be a lot lower.
As for BalanceofFood.com, we have always welcomed the most obnoxious of participants into unhealthy food. Because only when faced with the worst food makers have to offer, and if we survive those temptations to do mostly well most of the time, then we have overcome the largest challenge.
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