My Take on Obesity
Here's a discussion over at Hit and Run about the government's proper role (or lack thereof) in combating obesity among its citizens.
Hearing me describe myself as a vegan nondrinker who bikes 6 miles every day and is deeply, deeply concerned that Americans (especially in the spongy middle of our country) seem to be getting fatter and fatter by the day, you might assume I oppose Jacob Sullum's logic. But you'd be wrong.
I think it's everyone's right to gorge themselves silly on food until they can't see their own tails... I mean, feet. I accept the idea that, genetics and certain neurological disorders aside, the responsibility for maintaining a proper body weight (or not doing so) rests with the body holder. Or the parent of the body holder, in the case of children. As long as everyone has access to enough information to make an informed decision about what they're consuming.
But in joining my libertarian friends in defending Americans' right to eat whatever they'd like, I wonder if they would join me in calling for an end to some government actions that increase the likelihood that our fellow countrymen and women will continue to tend toward corpulence:
Hearing me describe myself as a vegan nondrinker who bikes 6 miles every day and is deeply, deeply concerned that Americans (especially in the spongy middle of our country) seem to be getting fatter and fatter by the day, you might assume I oppose Jacob Sullum's logic. But you'd be wrong.
I think it's everyone's right to gorge themselves silly on food until they can't see their own tails... I mean, feet. I accept the idea that, genetics and certain neurological disorders aside, the responsibility for maintaining a proper body weight (or not doing so) rests with the body holder. Or the parent of the body holder, in the case of children. As long as everyone has access to enough information to make an informed decision about what they're consuming.
But in joining my libertarian friends in defending Americans' right to eat whatever they'd like, I wonder if they would join me in calling for an end to some government actions that increase the likelihood that our fellow countrymen and women will continue to tend toward corpulence:
- Mandatory dairy checkoff programs
- Massive grazing subsidies that give an advantage to beef producers
- Inclusion in the Women, Infants and Children program of high-fat, high-sugar foods at the expense of other, healthier items
- Unchecked, oil and car industry-lobbied highway funding that encourages living farther away from work and school and causes people to spend less time walking, biking or taking transit
- School lunch programs that consist of fast food and handouts to the politically-connected meat and dairy industries
- Exclusive, cash-strapped school district vending contracts with companies that make sugary snacks and beverages
- Cutting school physical education requirements to save money
posted by Liberal Weenie @ 7/15/2005
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