The Government Vs. Food

On a yearly basis 18 million dollars are spent on school lunches for schools all over America. And taxpayers, are the ones paying for part of that. Government is trying to get the United States to eat healthier, but in the end money is being wasted and people are not happy about it. Overall the government should not be regulating what we eat.

The Federal government for years has told people what they should and should not put in their bodies. Whether it’s Tran’s fat or cigarettes, sugar or alcohol, saturated or salt, legislators and regulators pick things off our table because they think they know better. For example, considering the widespread of obesity in America, it is substantiated by statistics that “the cost of obesity is currently estimated at $190 billion per year” and the bad thing about it’s coming from taxpayers. (Experts, The) I have several issues with this statement: first, the simple fact that the government is spending money on a disease that humans caused on themselves. According to the article” What Causes Obesity?” it is stated that “The risk factors that contribute to obesity can be a complex combination of genetics, socioeconomic factors, metabolic factors and lifestyle choices”. Sadly, citizens have not much choice but to pay higher taxes. And finally, the simple fact that the government is spending money on ineffective solutions. According to the article, ‘Government Intervention Will Not Solve Our Obesity Problem’, it is stated that “despite the myriad of studies showing American obesity is increasing, research does not clearly support that government can solve this complex problem’ (Marlow) For example, the government solution of adding calories counts on the menu. A recent study has shown that “27.7 percent who saw the calorie labeling” had

Why does America have an obesity problem? Do we blame it on ourselves, the government, or the supermarket? It is obviously and individual’s responsibility to keep one’s self healthy, but are there ways the government can strive for an overall healthier diet for Americans? Can we change the manipulative ways of Super Markets and persuade them to look past profit? The American government should put in effort to provide a better dietary path for American citizens by working on motivating individuals to make better choices in their diet, pushing Super markets and industries to work together to lower prices of healthier foods, and placing policies and banning unhealthy ingredients in junk foods. It may not be the governments fault, but obesity is such a big issue in American culture that we need to make some major changes and the government is the only one who can make that happen.

Remember when the tobacco industry was on trial and being held accountable for their illicit marketing and targeting tactics to further profits all the while denying any health issues associated? America has a similar issue but not as illuminated as the tobacco industry resulting in the surgeon general’s warning. This issue is free to market to children, free to market wherever profits are foreseeable, and free to label products to become more appealing. This issue is the ever growing food industry. Kind of taboo to blame food for the severe and skyrocketing obesity rate in America right? Have you ever checked your labels? Know what’s really in your food? Looked at and researched health programs controlled by politicians and bought and paid for health officials? The American food industry needs to have government regulation to prevent further obesity and malnutrition that is devastating our public health on a national scale.

After reading Balko’s essay, “What You Eat is Your Business” Balko argues that should not be government business to determine what people can eat. He argument that “all agitating for a panoply of government anti-obesity initiatives, including prohibiting junk food in school vending machines, federal funding for new bike trails and sidewalks, more demanding labels on foodstuffs, restrictive food marketing to children, and prodding for industry into more “responsible” behavior” which the author argue that is “bringing government between you and your waistline. He claims that “This is the wrong way to fight obesity. Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being. Basically, he is saying that we need less public intervention and more personal’s responsibility.

The Declaration of Independence reads, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Whether or not the government should have a say in our diets has become a controversial issue. Some people think that a controlled diet would aid all Americans because of all the processed foods, while others argue that it would negatively affect Americans. The government having a say in our diets would take away these freedoms that are stated in the Declaration of Independence, would make it difficult for the needy to buy these healthy foods because of how expensive these foods are, and since healthy foods aren’t available everywhere, would

On the date of June 2, 2011, Michelle Obama the First Lady and the Secretary of USDA Tom Vilsack displayed the image “My Plate” so that people can make better decisions on more nutritional foods from all five food groups. On this site health educators, health professionals and health consumers find great nutritional to help their clients with healthier food diets. This is all do to the fact that there are so many children and adults that are obese or overweight, which is becoming an epidemic. “My Pyramid” was the Original name before it was changed to “My Plate”. It was done to teach people about the dietary guidelines of 2005. It took place of the original food guide pyramid from 1992. These guidelines were made by two departments, which are

Every second we lose someone to a one of the most dangerous killers in America; obesity. To tackle our obsession with food, it has been proposed that our government should start to regulate the type and amount of food we eat. This has received shock waves of controversy from our US citizens to whether or not it's even constitutional to set regulations on such items. Sadly, this unnatural obsession with sugar, salt, and fat has landed us on the list of one of the fattest countries in the world. These bans and regulations might cause us to lose a very small bit of our constitutional freedom, but based on the proposals, the health of our country is well worth it.

Obesity and malnutrition threatens our American society. So much so that the government has taken it into their hands to control what we eat and how we eat.

Regulating what the government should control and what they should not was one of the main arguments our founding fathers had to deal with when creating our nation, and to this day this regulation is one of the biggest issues in society. Yet, I doubt our founding fathers thought about the idea that the food industry could one day somewhat control our government, which is what we are now facing. Marion Nestles’ arguments in the book Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health deal with how large food companies and government intertwine with one another. She uses many logical appeals and credible sources to make the audience understand the problem with this intermingling. In The Politics of Food author Geoffrey

The government wants healthier food choices. Over 50 percent of our population are overweight. The government wants that percentage to go down. Once that happens less people will be overweight. The fast food places would not be in business anymore. People will start eating more fruits and vegetables instead of junk food. The population will be 10 times healthier than it is now. The United States needs to change

Since 1992 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided the nutritional food pyramid, which has been the standard by which many have ascribed as far as recommended food intake. I’m sure this model looks familiar to most of you.

Due to the obesity epidemic, the government may need to intervene as a result of its own involvement in supporting institutions that are contributing to the problem. For example, the government supports the production of food commodities and subsidized U.S. crops, most notably sugar

The fact is that in our country, any government intrusion looks undesirable. We are so used to making free choice and to having access to everything we need and want that we have already forgotten the value and usefulness of the government control. No, that does not mean that the government must control everything and everyone. What I mean here is that the government control should be balanced with the freedom of choice. Unfortunately, plentiful foods do not lead to improved health conditions. We cannot always make a relevant choice. Our hurried lifestyles make us extremely fast, and eating is not an exception. We eat fast, but fast does not always mean useful. I believe, and in this essay I argue that the government must have a say in our

In summation, whether or not the government controls what we eat you should make the choice yourself. You know you better than anyone else. At least more than the government does. So choose wisely. Is it really worth becoming obese just because you like food. The government is trying to regulate what we eat when we already do. If you keep yourself healthy then the government won’t have