New U.S. guide topples food pyramid

[Infohawk]

Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

Edit: Small govenrment fans: should the the government be spending money on this?

 

[Tommunist]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

As our understanding of our bodies changes we shoudl reevaluate these things. The gov't isn't making anyone do anything so I see no problem with it. Having nutrition info labels on food is a good thing as to protect the consumer should they choose to use that information to make good decisions.

 

[lozina]

"Should the government tell you how to eat?" Not when they have the weight of giant corporations putting their weight on the government's shoulders.

But yes I agree with you that those nutritional boxes are generally a good thing, if a bit misleading sometimes. There also needs to be a national standard for labelling GMO foods but sadly those proposals get beaten by that certain corporate weight mentioned above.

 

[ntdz]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

Edit: Small govenrment fans: should the the government be spending money on this?

I'm a small govt fan, but I think this is worthwhile b/c obesity is a problem in the USA and causes health problems, and it's part of the govt's job to keep citizens healthy and safe. I read a study a few weeks ago that showed that if you don't get enough sleep, you will start to gain weight b/c of the hormones don't get released. That, in conjunction with all the fast food and the high pace society in the USA, explains why we are getting so fat here.

 

[ReiAyanami]

People are now shaped like pyramids.

 

[joshw10]

Originally posted by: ntdz

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

Edit: Small govenrment fans: should the the government be spending money on this?

I'm a small govt fan, but I think this is worthwhile b/c obesity is a problem in the USA and causes health problems, and it's part of the govt's job to keep citizens healthy and safe. I read a study a few weeks ago that showed that if you don't get enough sleep, you will start to gain weight b/c of the hormones don't get released. That, in conjunction with all the fast food and the high pace society in the USA, explains why we are getting so fat here.

Ah, I think he's right. Americans are so fat because they work too hard and don't sleep enough!

 

[Infohawk]

Originally posted by: ntdz
I'm a small govt fan, but I think this is worthwhile b/c obesity is a problem in the USA and causes health problems, and it's part of the govt's job to keep citizens healthy and safe.

I take it you're a fan for homeless spending too? After all, homelessness has health consequences and govermnets need to keep citizens healthy and safe. The same thing could be said for universal healthcare.

 

[illustri]

the only pyramid the gubment should concern wid is made outta nekkid iraqys

 

[Infohawk]

Bump for dissipate / libertarians.

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

Edit: Small govenrment fans: should the the government be spending money on this?

No, the government should not be spending money on this. Do we really need the government telling us what we should or shouldn't eat? The government obviously doesn't take itself seriously, as I have seen a number of obese bureaucrats/cops going around. In fact, not too long after 9/11, I was in an airport, and this cop was walking around who looked about 100 pounds overweight.

While praising the new guidelines, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group, said, "We need more than hopes and prayers to move people towards a healthy diet.

"Congress is really going to have to devote some money," he said. "We really don't see any big dollars coming along."

These people think that every problem in society can be solved through having the government throw more money at it. Asinine to say the least.

 

[Infohawk]

Dissipate, what do you think about the packaging guidelines? Don't you think it's important that the government help the market by making it transparent? (In this case, making it clear what is in food?) How much would you regulate food?

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Dissipate, what do you think about the packaging guidelines? Don't you think it's important that the government help the market by making it transparent? (In this case, making it clear what is in food?) How much would you regulate food?

I think the packaging guidelines and the nutrition facts are unnecessary. I would not regulate it one iota because I know for a fact that the industry would regulate itself. In this case what the government is doing is simply redundant. The market would make itself transparent. How many foodmakers do you think would stay in business if they didn't reveal what was in their food? For instance, let's say I came out with a food called "special surprise" and I made every ingredient in that food a complete mystery. Do you think many people would buy it? Of course not. Now, let's say there were "hidden ingredients," even after I revealed mostly what was in it. Well the beauty of competition means that the other food makers are going to be watching me, and if the food I make has undesirable contents, they can make that a part of their advertising campaign. In fact, I've already seen that happen in the industry with regards to ESG and other substances.

 

[Infohawk]

Originally posted by: Dissipate

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Dissipate, what do you think about the packaging guidelines? Don't you think it's important that the government help the market by making it transparent? (In this case, making it clear what is in food?) How much would you regulate food?

I think the packaging guidelines and the nutrition facts are unnecessary. I would not regulate it one iota because I know for a fact that the industry would regulate itself. In this case what the government is doing is simply redundant.

They had years to regulate themselves. They only had incosistent info some of the time. Now consumers can check out out the boxes easily and make market better market decisions. It also helps people stay healthier.

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: Infohawk

Originally posted by: Dissipate

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Dissipate, what do you think about the packaging guidelines? Don't you think it's important that the government help the market by making it transparent? (In this case, making it clear what is in food?) How much would you regulate food?

I think the packaging guidelines and the nutrition facts are unnecessary. I would not regulate it one iota because I know for a fact that the industry would regulate itself. In this case what the government is doing is simply redundant.

They had years to regulate themselves. They only had incosistent info some of the time. Now consumers can check out out the boxes easily and make market better market decisions. It also helps people stay healthier.

They will regulate themselves as much as consumers demand it. If consumers want nutrition labels then I guarantee you that foodmakers will set up their own board for nutrition labels. Quality is always determined by the buyer depending on how much they are willing to pay, and what kind of products they want to buy.

Take the underwriter's laboratories for instance. This is an industry created organization to make sure that electrical appliances are safe for consumers. There is nothing to say that this would not be created in the food industry, and if it wasn't then that just means that there isn't enough demand from consumers for such an agency to exist. Having the government create this with the FDA is simply an aritificial and subjective evaluation of what bureaucrats believe should be imposed. You can check out Underwriter's Laboratories to see for yourself.

 

[Infohawk]

Dissipate, do you think governments should regulate which side of the road people drive on?

Edit: I'm not trying to be obnoxious here.

 

[ReiAyanami]

How many foodmakers do you think would stay in business if they didn't reveal what was in their food? For instance, let's say I came out with a food called "special surprise" and I made every ingredient in that food a complete mystery. Do you think many people would buy it?

LMAO, you seriously think the cattle industry would go around telling everybody how they feed cow brains to cows? or or how they used to grind up cats and dogs and feed to cows before 1996?

I think the packaging guidelines and the nutrition facts are unnecessary. I would not regulate it one iota because I know for a fact that the industry would regulate itself.

no regulation = Nabisco Soylent Green

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Dissipate, do you think governments should regulate which side of the road people drive on?

Edit: I'm not trying to be obnoxious here.

Well, that is a tough question. The government has no legitimate authority over anyone, so they have no obligation to obey the government in terms of what side of the road to drive on, but I think that while the government is still in control of important parts of society, there are instances in which people ought to obey it. But on the other hand, I don't think the government should be in the road building business at all.

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami

How many foodmakers do you think would stay in business if they didn't reveal what was in their food? For instance, let's say I came out with a food called "special surprise" and I made every ingredient in that food a complete mystery. Do you think many people would buy it?

LMAO, you seriously think the cattle industry would go around telling everybody how they feed cow brains to cows? or or how they used to grind up cats and dogs and feed to cows before 1996?

I think the packaging guidelines and the nutrition facts are unnecessary. I would not regulate it one iota because I know for a fact that the industry would regulate itself.

no regulation = Nabisco Soylent Green

I am not saying the free market is perfect. I think that there are instances in which regulation would be beneficial to society, but the problem is how do you create a political institution that regulates just the right amount? I would say it is impossible. It is impossible for a couple of reasons. People in government are self-interested. They want money and they want power, just like everyone else. Therefore, they will always tend to over-regulate. Also, since the free market is constantly in motion, by the time the bureaucratic regulatory agency has discovered a problem, the problem has already changed or gone away.

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Via Yahoo News

Not exactly the same thing, but I think a great example of a government program was those nutrition boxes they added onto food a while back. I'd imagine some libertarian extremists thought that was a bad thing. I think it added transparency to the food market.

I don't think food guidelines are bad either, though I don't think it's quite as useful. I'd be interesting to see what others think about it.

Edit: Small govenrment fans: should the the government be spending money on this?

We can thank the Center for Science in the Public Interest for those boxes. This is the group that indicted Chinese food a few years back as being full of fat and salt. The best thing they did was to alert the public to the dangers of hydrogenated oils (trans). Partially as a result of their pressure McDonalds has stopped using this kind of oils in their fries, and recently Frito-Lay stopped using them in (most of) their snacks. Interestingly, the CSPI was started by Ralph Nader.

 

[Infohawk]

Originally posted by: daveshel
We can thank the Center for Science in the Public Interest for those boxes. This is the group that indicted Chinese food a few years back as being full of fat and salt. The best thing they did was to alert the public to the dangers of hydrogenated oils (trans). Partially as a result of their pressure McDonalds has stopped using this kind of oils in their fries, and recently Frito-Lay stopped using them in (most of) their snacks. Interestingly, the CSPI was started by Ralph Nader.

Cool. So did the Center lobby the FDA to implement the system? I wonder what the administrative / legislative history of this was with the response by both parties...

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: Infohawk

Originally posted by: daveshel
We can thank the Center for Science in the Public Interest for those boxes. This is the group that indicted Chinese food a few years back as being full of fat and salt. The best thing they did was to alert the public to the dangers of hydrogenated oils (trans). Partially as a result of their pressure McDonalds has stopped using this kind of oils in their fries, and recently Frito-Lay stopped using them in (most of) their snacks. Interestingly, the CSPI was started by Ralph Nader.

Cool. So did the Center lobby the FDA to implement the system? I wonder what the administrative / legislative history of this was with the response by both parties...

I believe so. I used to subscribe to a CSPI Healthletter - a monthly publication about food and nutrition. Here is an archive in which you might find out more.

 

[Grunt03]

all they can do is suggest.........