Thread: Food Regulations???? A wee bit of a rant....

In light of yesterdays elections (and living in a Conservative state), I finished by saying "So it's okay for us to tell other people who they can marry. And it's okay for us to tell a 12 year old girl who gets impregnated by her father that she can't get an abortion, she's just gonna have to "tough it out"........but it's not okay for us to regulate business from becoming wealthy at the expense of our obese children?!?"
Love it !
I think there are good arguments on each side of the issue. I see obese children (seriously, 4 and 5 y.o. boys and girls with pre-diabeties and high blood pressure?!? all due to eating too much junk food!). Makes me want to smack their mammas! Since I can't do that, legislation seems like the only option to slow the epidemic.
On the other hand, I believe strongly in individual rights. This makes it tough for me to balance my passions about encouraging healthy life choices (condoms, nutrition, exercise, alcohol etc etc) with personal rights.

I hear what you're saying. I believe in individual rights too. But my point is that I live in a state where the majority of people are ALL for banning abortion completely. Now I'm not "pro abortion", but I believe there are instances it should be allowed (i.e. young girl impregnated as a result of incest). Does banning it al-together with no exceptions sound like individual rights? Or how about same sex marriage. The people around here are bound and determined it should be BANNED cause it's WRONG. Wrong in the eyes of God.........yet they scream for upholding the Constitution which clearly draws a line between government and religion. Taking away someones right to marry another human being as they so choose does not sound like individual rights to me. But take away the toys in their 500-700 calorie happy meals and watch them fury.

The hypocrisy is astonishing.

I'm with you BD. If I were in charge of the world, fast food wouldn't exist, but that's another rant. I would like to take it one step farther and enact laws that punished parents of obese children for child abuse. But the issue isn't that black and white. I think the toy ban is a step in the right direction though. Let's be honest with ourselves (no matter how unpopular it is) that the people who live on fast food are mostly poverty level. These same people are on many government programs that use tax dollars to treat health problems created by bad diet and unhealthy lifestyles. To me, that's where you give up some individual rights.

It's funny that these same people want to limit the individual rights of others because they don't agree with their lifestyle choices. But it's really easy to get on a soap box and rant against an issue that you claim is in the bible. Makes me wonder if Jesus said we should take care of our health, would they have a different viewpoint?

The flip side is that I completely understand why these people feed their kids this stuff. When you work two jobs and can barely put a roof over your head. Of course you're going to take your kid to McDonalds and spend $3 to feed all of them. $3 won't get you diddly squat in the produce section at the grocery store. I would like to think that these people want to eat healthy and want to feed their kids good, fresh, nutritious foods....but I have yet to meet one....but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

I live pretty simple, don't own anything, don't take fancy vacations, don't spend money on clothing or going out. I honestly can't live any cheaper than I am right now and I'm still just barely getting by. But one thing I absolutely will not concede is healthy food. My grocery bill is around $300/month for just me. That's crazy. I'm sure I could spend less than half that amount if I only bought fast food and frozen pizzas. There are ways to eat cheap and healthy, but it takes work and creativity. I could get a lot of meals out of $4 worth of dry beans and rice, I've done it plenty of times.

Part of me wants to chastise these people for being so ignorant and selfish by expecting me to pay their health care bills through taxes when I'm struggling to avoid health issues and going broke doing it. But the other part of me is angry that we live in a county where even fresh food is becoming something only rich people get to have.

All that being said I think the ban is great and a big WAHHHHH to those who don't like it.

My grocery bill is around $300/month for just me.

Me too girl. And it seems ridiculously high, but when you put it in perspective (that is of course if you're using that to eat your 3 meals per day + snacks) you're really only spending $10 per day on food, right? Even the cheapest of fast food rests are more expensive than that and you certainly couldn't eat 3 full meals per day + snacks for $10 a day. So when I think of it that way, I'm still convinced my $300 a month is not only a help to my pocket book, but a help to my health.

The flip side is that I completely understand why these people feed their kids this stuff.

I understand this too........to an extent. I hear people frequently say "I can't afford to go to the grocery...it's cheaper to go to McDonalds". That's the "Credit card mentality" which is it might be cheaper RIGHT NOW, but it's not cheaper down the road. And the same woman at work that will tell me she doesn't have enough money to go to the grocery, just also told me earlier this week she spent $65 (plus shipping) on a 2 mth supply of this crazy magic pill for weight loss. The same woman that smokes at least a pack a day (well over $100 a month), and visits the vending machine daily for a coke and snack. (at least $60 a month). She also takes numerous prescription medications for various medical conditions.......most of which I believe are brought on by her eating and smoking habits. Go figure. Great gal....but tremendously poor decision making. And yes...she was one that disagreed with taking toys out of happy meals that don't meet certain guidelines. She's just one example.

As for the bible, I'm a proud believer in God. But I'm not a believer in judgement and hypocrisy which seems to dominate my conservative state.

All that being said I think the ban is great and a big WAHHHHH to those who don't like it

I agree, 100%!!!!!

Originally Posted by Beautiful Disaster

I understand this too........to an extent. I hear people frequently say "I can't afford to go to the grocery...it's cheaper to go to McDonalds". That's the "Credit card mentality" which is it might be cheaper RIGHT NOW, but it's not cheaper down the road. And the same woman at work that will tell me she doesn't have enough money to go to the grocery, just also told me earlier this week she spent $65 (plus shipping) on a 2 mth supply of this crazy magic pill for weight loss. The same woman that smokes at least a pack a day (well over $100 a month), and visits the vending machine daily for a coke and snack. (at least $60 a month). She also takes numerous prescription medications for various medical conditions.......most of which I believe are brought on by her eating and smoking habits. Go figure. Great gal....but tremendously poor decision making. And yes...she was one that disagreed with taking toys out of happy meals that don't meet certain guidelines. She's just one example.

I believe this to be the majority, sadly.

I'm late but I totally agree and some of the happy meals used to be way higher in calories than they are now. I am not sure if it's everywhere, but we've been a test market for a much smaller fries and then apple dippers in every meal. Regardless though, I totally agree. It's bad to encourage kids to get bad food simply because they get a toy. Sadly...the children that get these on a regular basis are going to be fed these meals toy or no toy. One of my coworkers and I talk about this all the time. I don't eat healthy every single day, but I think I am still fighting things that were instilled in me when I was growing up. You need to start with these kids when they are young. Of course they won't eat veggies if you give them the option of a french fry... They go with what they think tastes best, and if they've not been trained to eat good foods, why try them...

(I am also with you on abortion )

I think you're totally right KY. Since I posted this, I've seen much more publicity over this and many more people screaming that it should be parents choice what their kids eat, not the governments. And while I agree with THAT statement, I think the we HAVE to hold our businesses responsible for what they sell. If they were selling cigs to minors it would be illegal. Why? Because cigs are addictive and can cause cancer. But it's okay to sell ridiculously unhealthy foods and not only cheap prices but including an enticing toy, when this food IS addictive and DOES contribute to obesity? Why, because it's OUR right? Then shouldn't it also be a parents right to let their kiddo smoke if they want? Gimme a break folks.

I've thought about it many times, about when I have kids how I will avoid incorporating unhealthy things into their diets so that I can help them acquire tastes for healthy things. What you said is spot on. As children, if we are fed the unhealthy crapola, then we crave it, not just as kids, but for the rest of our lives. I always think, "why do parents let their kids have coke and other sodas?"..........I mean......why incorporate something into your childs diet that you KNOW is unhealthy, addicting, etc.

I agree, it's gonna take way more than regulation of toys in happy meals to cure childhood obesity. But maybe, just MAYBE it will help even a little. And if it helps a little, it will be worth it. Not only for the happiness and wellbeing of the children, but think about our country when this generation of obese children are the workers and providers. Many of them will be on disability for obesity, or for other weight related health issues. I'd also venture to guess their quality of life, and the quality of life of their children will be lowered. It's high time people get off their high horses and look at the big picture.