Shame on you, Mississippi!
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AliceNov2011
Posts: 471 Member
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/phil-bryant-mississippi_n_2908804.html
JACKSON, Miss. -- A new law in the most obese state in the nation says Mississippi cities and counties can't ban the Big Gulp or put other local regulations on food and drink.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2687 Monday, and it became law immediately.
"It is simply not the role of government to micro-regulate citizens' dietary decisions," Bryant said in a statement accompanying the bill signing. "The responsibility for one's personal health depends on individual choices about a proper diet and appropriate exercise."
Some legislators called it an "anti-Bloomberg" bill – a jab at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tried to ban the sale of super-sized soft drinks. A New York judge blocked the city's effort last week.
Bloomberg has called the Mississippi plan "ridiculous."
The Mississippi law says local governments can't require restaurants to list calorie counts on menus or ban plastic toys in kids' meals. It was pushed by the state restaurant association and chicken growers, among others.
Mark Leggett, president of the Mississippi Poultry Association, said consumers shouldn't face a patchwork of local regulations for food labeling or portion sizes.
"Don't mess with the buffet," Leggett joked Tuesday at the Capitol.
Federal rankings show nearly 35 percent of Mississippi adults were very fat in 2011, the worst rate in the nation. Bryant said the new law won't prevent "laudable efforts by local schools to ensure that food offered in schools is healthy and nutritious."
He cited research that showed obesity rates among elementary school pupils in Mississippi declined by 13.3 percent between 2005 and 2011, as schools banned soft drinks and moved away from deep-frying chicken and other foods.
Michelle Obama talked about the same statistics Feb. 27 when she went to an elementary school in the Jackson suburb of Clinton to promote her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity.
Bryant has said he was overweight as a child. He has been a runner for years.
"Leading a healthy lifestyle is important to me, and it is a personal priority of mine to educate Mississippians on the importance of making good health decisions," Bryant said.
JACKSON, Miss. -- A new law in the most obese state in the nation says Mississippi cities and counties can't ban the Big Gulp or put other local regulations on food and drink.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2687 Monday, and it became law immediately.
"It is simply not the role of government to micro-regulate citizens' dietary decisions," Bryant said in a statement accompanying the bill signing. "The responsibility for one's personal health depends on individual choices about a proper diet and appropriate exercise."
Some legislators called it an "anti-Bloomberg" bill – a jab at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tried to ban the sale of super-sized soft drinks. A New York judge blocked the city's effort last week.
Bloomberg has called the Mississippi plan "ridiculous."
The Mississippi law says local governments can't require restaurants to list calorie counts on menus or ban plastic toys in kids' meals. It was pushed by the state restaurant association and chicken growers, among others.
Mark Leggett, president of the Mississippi Poultry Association, said consumers shouldn't face a patchwork of local regulations for food labeling or portion sizes.
"Don't mess with the buffet," Leggett joked Tuesday at the Capitol.
Federal rankings show nearly 35 percent of Mississippi adults were very fat in 2011, the worst rate in the nation. Bryant said the new law won't prevent "laudable efforts by local schools to ensure that food offered in schools is healthy and nutritious."
He cited research that showed obesity rates among elementary school pupils in Mississippi declined by 13.3 percent between 2005 and 2011, as schools banned soft drinks and moved away from deep-frying chicken and other foods.
Michelle Obama talked about the same statistics Feb. 27 when she went to an elementary school in the Jackson suburb of Clinton to promote her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity.
Bryant has said he was overweight as a child. He has been a runner for years.
"Leading a healthy lifestyle is important to me, and it is a personal priority of mine to educate Mississippians on the importance of making good health decisions," Bryant said.
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This is a tough one for me. I HATE Big Gulps. I appreciate when restaurants list their calorie counts. And I certainly am in favor of restricting "junk" food options in schools. But I do not believe it is the government's responsibility to mandate what people can and can not eat. That road is a slippery slope. How about a little personal accountability?0
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I've got mixed feelings on this topic. Not only accountability but education in laymans terms from Dr's & nutritionalist/dietician's so people can understand more than NO you can't...& what about those that don't have insurance for whatever reason & is left to their own means? Also they make the food of quality unnaffordable overall so it's easy for most to go grab the $1 32 oz. drink etc.0
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Part of the problem is that Mississippi is one of the state currently with more on government handouts rather than workers. I myself have found myself on handouts in the past so I can speak from both sides. I feel that there should be limits on the amout of the person's food stamps that can be used to purchase junk food and also what I condsider luxery items (lobster, shrimp, steaks).0
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The job of the FDA is to regulate what we can and can't put out there and call food. We would never be angry at the FDA for banning a known carcinogen, so with diabetes being the killer that it is, and refined sugar and HFCS being chemicals made by industry, why isn't it normal procedure to ban what's found to be unsafe for consumption?0
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I am all for restaurants listing calorie and fat count, as well as sodium. To me that falls uder educating the consumer. Many people hoestly do not know how much crap is in a big mac.
I live in NYC. I don't drink soda, never have. I understand what Bloomberg was trying to do - but he was going about it the wrong way. I think "added sugar" grams and calories should be listed big and bold for all to see.
Mississippi is being stupid. They are trying to make a point and the residents of the state are the ones who will suffer the consequences.
Mississippi does not have to agree with Bloomberg - but by refusing to help to educate people on nutirition they are doing more harm than good. Bryant is acting like a spoiled todler who doesn't care who he steps on to make his idiotic opinion heard. Now let me tell you what I really think of this...0 -
I think fast food restaurants should list on their menu board and the drive-thru menu board how many calories are in a given item. The local McDonald's does it now. It's shocking I think for some people, not MFPers obviously, to see how many calories there are in something as small as a kid's chicken mcnuggets. Fast food places already know how many calories there are in their items so it's not like they have to shell big money to have a nutritionist do a study for them.
I don't know if I would make mom and pop restaurants present calorie counts on their menus. I could see that being more of a hardship. Nationwide chains like Denny's, IHOP, Olive Garden...easy for them to list calorie counts.
I think people need A LOT more nutrition info on products at the store, especially processed stuff. So a label says something has this many grams of sugar per serving. But what does that mean? Is it good or bad? The average consumer has no idea of how to use that number. It's in a vacuum. The labels need to provide more context and info like how many sugar servings a person should have in a day. Same thing with fiber. You'll see a label that says the product as 2 grams of fiber. How does the average consumer know just how much fiber they should have? Most people don't bust open fitness or nutrition magazines. They need to be told on the label what the daily recommendations are.0 -
Restaurants cook by recipes. It wouldn't be any more of a hardship for them to count what they put in a batch, divided by number of portions, and posting it (give or take) so people can make informed decisions. They only have to do it once -- kinda like us creating a recipe on MFP!
The whole point is that NONE of us have known what we were consuming for decades, and for some folks, it's been a death sentence. If we CAN do something this simple and help millions of people, we certainly should.0
