WHO: Governments should regulate fast food to slow obesity
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Replies
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Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
They're apparently gone. Now what?
1984. Big Brother is coming.
Please tell me you're joking.
To some extent. In reality, not so much. There's a fine line between people who want to take personal responsibility for their own healthcare, finances, nutrition, etc, etc, and it's been pretty blurred recently. There are an awful lot of people who'd rather just sit on the couch and watch Honey Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty and complain about when the government is coming for their guns than get off their *kitten* and take some initiative and learn about how to manage money and nutrition and parenting.
Government regulations are not the answer. Big Brother doesn't need to watch us all and tell us how much salt and soda and red meat we can eat, but if people don't take some initiative, and educate themselves and their children about how to do these things properly for themselves, that is the direction our country is headed. All you have to do to see it is look at insurance regulations. There's a big difference in pay levels for smokers vs. non smokers and fee breaks for people who log exercise, and it's already started based on BMI and blood serum cholesterol.
Unfortunately, most people lack the ability/education to control themselves and make sensible choices and these anchors have the potential to drag everyone down. The simple truth is that someone needs to tell those people what to do and I would rather it be big government than big business.
That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.0 -
No but the food Industry has to be truthful and knowledge is power so let us know what is in what we eat. Regulate truth in ingredients yes, not hide fact. I want to know what is genetically modified. I want to know how animals are treated or mistreated in my food consumption. Government should banish animal factory farms that use animals and fur as commodities only. Look at the Chipotle Video. I am sick and tired or Government Subsidies for Corn. No government regulation but farmers want government money. Just give me the opportunity to know what I eat and the availability more prevalent of non toxic fattening, salty, sugary crap.
Watching IHOP commercials I almost throw up. Those are not pancakes they are pastries. I was so grossed out by those KFC bowls when they first came out. Yuk to Olive Garden, I ate once and was horrified at the 'meat'? I very rarely eat at fast food chains and prefer local diners. And why eat chain Pizza and TGIF etc when real local eateries exist? If you think Taco Bell is Mexican food you are a la la land.0 -
That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.
Then why do people not control themselves? And what do we do about the fact that they don't?0 -
Exactly.That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.
Then why do people not control themselves? And what do we do about the fact that they don't?0 -
'
Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
They're apparently gone. Now what?
1984. Big Brother is coming.
Please tell me you're joking.
To some extent. In reality, not so much. There's a fine line between people who want to take personal responsibility for their own healthcare, finances, nutrition, etc, etc, and it's been pretty blurred recently. There are an awful lot of people who'd rather just sit on the couch and watch Honey Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty and complain about when the government is coming for their guns than get off their *kitten* and take some initiative and learn about how to manage money and nutrition and parenting.
Government regulations are not the answer. Big Brother doesn't need to watch us all and tell us how much salt and soda and red meat we can eat, but if people don't take some initiative, and educate themselves and their children about how to do these things properly for themselves, that is the direction our country is headed. All you have to do to see it is look at insurance regulations. There's a big difference in pay levels for smokers vs. non smokers and fee breaks for people who log exercise, and it's already started based on BMI and blood serum cholesterol.
Unfortunately, most people lack the ability/education to control themselves and make sensible choices and these anchors have the potential to drag everyone down. The simple truth is that someone needs to tell those people what to do and I would rather it be big government than big business.
That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.
People make terrible choices and sometimes need to be protected from themselves. Leaving people to their own devices is sometimes the worst of all options.0 -
'
Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
They're apparently gone. Now what?
1984. Big Brother is coming.
Please tell me you're joking.
To some extent. In reality, not so much. There's a fine line between people who want to take personal responsibility for their own healthcare, finances, nutrition, etc, etc, and it's been pretty blurred recently. There are an awful lot of people who'd rather just sit on the couch and watch Honey Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty and complain about when the government is coming for their guns than get off their *kitten* and take some initiative and learn about how to manage money and nutrition and parenting.
Government regulations are not the answer. Big Brother doesn't need to watch us all and tell us how much salt and soda and red meat we can eat, but if people don't take some initiative, and educate themselves and their children about how to do these things properly for themselves, that is the direction our country is headed. All you have to do to see it is look at insurance regulations. There's a big difference in pay levels for smokers vs. non smokers and fee breaks for people who log exercise, and it's already started based on BMI and blood serum cholesterol.
Unfortunately, most people lack the ability/education to control themselves and make sensible choices and these anchors have the potential to drag everyone down. The simple truth is that someone needs to tell those people what to do and I would rather it be big government than big business.
That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.
People make terrible choices and sometimes need to be protected from themselves. Leaving people to their own devices is sometimes the worst of all options.
that's called survival of the fittest.0 -
'
Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
They're apparently gone. Now what?
1984. Big Brother is coming.
Please tell me you're joking.
To some extent. In reality, not so much. There's a fine line between people who want to take personal responsibility for their own healthcare, finances, nutrition, etc, etc, and it's been pretty blurred recently. There are an awful lot of people who'd rather just sit on the couch and watch Honey Boo-Boo and Duck Dynasty and complain about when the government is coming for their guns than get off their *kitten* and take some initiative and learn about how to manage money and nutrition and parenting.
Government regulations are not the answer. Big Brother doesn't need to watch us all and tell us how much salt and soda and red meat we can eat, but if people don't take some initiative, and educate themselves and their children about how to do these things properly for themselves, that is the direction our country is headed. All you have to do to see it is look at insurance regulations. There's a big difference in pay levels for smokers vs. non smokers and fee breaks for people who log exercise, and it's already started based on BMI and blood serum cholesterol.
Unfortunately, most people lack the ability/education to control themselves and make sensible choices and these anchors have the potential to drag everyone down. The simple truth is that someone needs to tell those people what to do and I would rather it be big government than big business.
That kind of copout pisses me off. Everyone has the ability to control themselves and make sensible choices. If the reverse were true, we'd never lock anyone up for committing crimes, we'd just say "he couldn't help it, he couldn't control himself". Please. We have the gift of higher reasoning. It's called making a choice for a reason.
People make terrible choices and sometimes need to be protected from themselves. Leaving people to their own devices is sometimes the worst of all options.
that's called survival of the fittest.
That's fine for animals in the field but humans have "the gift of higher reasoning" so pure natural selection doesn't apply. Thus the need for some kind of oversight.0 -
that's called survival of the fittest.
Except that makes zero sense in the context of a modern first-world society where the poor and obese reproduce at rates significantly higher than the rich and fit.0 -
that's called survival of the fittest.
Except that makes zero sense in the context of a modern first-world society where the poor and obese reproduce at rates significantly higher than the rich and fit.
Well, that's government-supported, because the majority of those people are the ones who are votiing for them. If you keep them uneducated and unhealthy, they'll do pretty much whatever you tell them to do.0 -
that's called survival of the fittest.
Except that makes zero sense in the context of a modern first-world society where the poor and obese reproduce at rates significantly higher than the rich and fit.
Well, that's government-supported, because the majority of those people are the ones who are votiing for them. If you keep them uneducated and unhealthy, they'll do pretty much whatever you tell them to do.
So the "fittest" in the context of our society are actually the uneducated and unhealthy.
So what do we do?0 -
that's called survival of the fittest.
Except that makes zero sense in the context of a modern first-world society where the poor and obese reproduce at rates significantly higher than the rich and fit.
Well, that's government-supported, because the majority of those people are the ones who are votiing for them. If you keep them uneducated and unhealthy, they'll do pretty much whatever you tell them to do.
So the "fittest" in the context of our society are actually the uneducated and unhealthy.
So what do we do?
I know. <sigh> I've had a lot of debates about this. I posted much earlier in this thread that I'd take money and put it into the educational system, starting at the earliest of elementary years, and building from there. Nutrition and physical fitness should be mandatory every year, and finances should be added when children can understand the basics. When they graduate into adulthood, people should understand nutrition and fitness and finances so they start their lives healthy and be able to manage their own money. Our current system allows so much ignorance. People tend to resist this very idea because they don't like the idea of being told what to do, but then the alternative is the government stepping in when they're ignorant adults and putting regulations in place telling them what they can eat and do.0 -
That's very nice in theory. In practice, governments have never shied away from infringing on individual responsibility in order to encourage, or sometimes force, their citizens to behave in a certain way.
Actually, the United States is based on individual responsibility. Do as you will, as long as you don't violate anyone else's rights to do as they will. (...)
Maybe I should give a somewhat less flippant answer.
I think they're in Avalon. I know Self Control crashed on Fae Vivian's couch for awhile.
They're apparently gone. Now what?
Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
Should people be responsible for their diets? Absolutely. Should people refrain from committing crimes? Again, absolutely... but any government which would base its policy towards crime on moral platitudes would be irresponsible.
Does this mean governments should try to regulate their citizen's diet to a certain extent? I don't know. I've never cared enough about politics to have a precise definition of what the government's role in society should be, and I can see plenty of valid arguments both for and against. However, "It's up to individual responsibility" isn't one of them.
Like I said, the question isn't "Is this in the domain of personal responsibility?" but rather "Is obesity serious enough, and controllable enough, for the government to intrude on personal responsibility?". I'd actually be tempted to say no, but I haven't thought at length about it.0 -
So here is an interesting article.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/2/who-tighter-economicregulationneededtoreverseobesityepidemic.html"Unless governments take steps to regulate their economies, the invisible hand of the market will continue to promote obesity worldwide with disastrous consequences for future public health and economic productivity," said Roberto De Vogli of the University of California, Davis, who led the study.
Thoughts??
Yes that's exactly what we need, more government intervention. Hey how'd the centrally planned green energy pushg go in europe?
^^ This
Government needs to stay OUT!!! My body, my choice!0 -
Cigarettes have put the risks on the pack for years. People still smoke. Hell, I just quit and I'm fit and eat 100% whole food diet.
People do what they want. Blaming advertising is a joke. Blaming fast food is a scapegoat for fat lazy ****s.
/thread
Not as much as they used to. Years and years of taxes, campaigning, and demonization have paid off to some degree.
Preventative education has made the difference, NOT regulation.0 -
Well we have seen how well out-lawing drugs has worked.....
We don't have any on the streets here in the USA.
RIP Phillip Seymour Hoffman
To be fair, I've never heard the argument that legalizing hard drugs would decrease their use.
It's called the "Adam and Eve Effect." Forbidden fruit is tastier and sexier.0 -
Cigarettes have put the risks on the pack for years. People still smoke. Hell, I just quit and I'm fit and eat 100% whole food diet.
People do what they want. Blaming advertising is a joke. Blaming fast food is a scapegoat for fat lazy ****s.
/thread
Not as much as they used to. Years and years of taxes, campaigning, and demonization have paid off to some degree.
Preventative education has made the difference, NOT regulation.
What do you think was the impetus for the "preventative education?" If the tobacco industry wasn't regulated then they'd still be out there today talking about T-Zones and how their products are "safe" and the easily led still wouldn't know any better. It takes the power of big government to fight corrupt industry.0 -
What do you think was the impetus for the "preventative education?" If the tobacco industry wasn't regulated then they'd still be out there today talking about T-Zones and how their products are "safe" and the easily led still wouldn't know any better. It takes the power of big government to fight corrupt industry.
You're wasting your effort. WendyTerry420 is basically against government in general.0 -
The foundations of fascism.
You just can't argue with a statist who "knows better."
Yup, and you can't advertise to them either!
Jesus, this thread took a turn for the dumb.0 -
How is our government doing with the War on Drugs
Or the War on Poverty?
And how much money has that cost us??
^^^ BINGO! Every time the US government declares war on a *thing* we end up with more of it.
People should be left to pursuit happiness, even if they are failing at it. It is natural right that was once considered self-evident.
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Bingo.What happened to individual responsibility and self control?
They're apparently gone. Now what?
1984. Big Brother is coming.
Nope. Big Brother is here.
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