Another essay..., food control, what do you think?
Cheeseburger in Paradise
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Cheeseburger in Paradise
Obesity is a BIG problem in the United States. But whose problem is it? Is it the individual’s or the governments? The government thinks it is theirs, but it is not. Each citizen has the right to eat whatever they choose, not what the government dictates. America is a land of freedom. The Declaration of Independence states 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” ( Declaration of Independence 1). So if eating makes a person happy, is that not a pursuit of happiness? Every citizen has the right to pursue happiness and if eating makes them happy, then let them eat cake! The government has no business telling a person what to eat. Obesity is a growing problem, but having the government involved is totally wrong. Instead of letting the citizens work it out for themselves, the government has stepped in and taken extreme measures to stop obesity. It seems that most of the advocates against obesity are super skinny people. Do fat people make them uncomfortable? Perhaps, they want everyone to look perfect. God forbid they look ugly! People must have the right to choose their own path.
Throughout America’s history, food has been an important part of the economy. America is a land of farmers. It is the American heritage. During the American Revolution, one of the most valued things soldiers had was food. George Washington did not run around telling them to, “eat healthy” or, “don’t eat junk food”. He had more pressing business to attend to. The soldiers, of course, ate whatever they could. Farmers, too, have always eaten whatever they grow on their
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own farms. After coming home from a hard day’s work in the fields, nothing tastes better than eating a steaming, hot, homemade dinner. Steak, eggs, chicken, homemade pie… just name it, and they ate it. For hundreds of years, what did the government do to ensure that these people were eating correctly? Nothing! The government did not care and left culinary decisions to the individual citizens. And so it went through the years, until the 2000’s when the nanny state was born. Today, the government believes it is their job to manage what the citizens eat. They do not care if people are not happy. They want to control every little bit of food people put in their mouths.
One of the most avid enforcers of this cause is Mayor Bloomberg of New York. He has banned large sodas, and food donations to the poor. Large sodas are not considered beverages in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg thinks they are one of the most toxic substances to human beings! Perhaps the mayor has never read Arsenic and Lace. In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg passed a law that banned 32 oz sodas or larger from being purchased. The law also calls for people to be arrested for being in possession of this evil elixir. It is absurd that the people of New York City cannot have oversized sodas! Bloomberg feels that the citizens cannot make healthy decisions on what to drink. He thinks that the only way citizens will make a good nutritional choice is if it is forced upon them. So he has decreed that the government will regulate the size of the sodas. But does it stop there? Will they ban soda itself? And how about lemonade? Or milk? Or even iced tea? And do not forget slushies! The ironic thing is, he happened to ban the large soda size on National Donut Day. Too bad that he did not have a 32 oz soda to wash down the five or six donuts he ate to celebrate National Donut Day. The enemies of soda have won round one.
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But why, people ask, do these people want soda gone? The anti-soda/obesity crowd claims that soda is packed full of sugar, that it is really bad for a person’s health, and it makes people live a shorter lifespan. People have the right to live their lives however they choose and the government should not interfere. They feel that their viewpoint is the ONLY viewpoint that counts and people are not responsible enough to choose their own drinks. As this is totally wrong, what is their real reason? Maybe they just enjoy being in charge of people. They do not care if the citizens do not want the government meddling in soda and other health issues. The government is acting like parents who force their children to eat only healthy food even if the children do not want it. But the government forgets that their job is to represent the citizens, not be parents. It is hard to believe that the citizens of New York City will re-elect Bloomberg for another term. Why? After all, people must have large sodas for all those large parties (Bloomberg 1).
While in New York City the issue is killer sodas, in New Jersey, it is the Bake Sales of Death! In 2009, the State of New Jersey proposed a law that would not allow any fundraisers that included homemade food (bake sales) between 8:00am to 6:00pm. If citizens dared to have a bake sale (God forbid), the food would be seized and the people would be thrown in prison. Fortunately, this law was not passed, but just the fact that they even tried to, is, well, um, bad. No more bake sales! Why!?!? According to the anti-obesity people, it is the same scenario as the large sodas. People cannot be trusted to make good decisions about what they put in their bodies. The government must step in and “help” the citizens make better choices. But all people have the unalienable right to make their own choices about what to eat. The only crime the bake sales commit is selling products that supposedly have high levels of trans fat. Yup, that deadly trans
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fat. However, it is totally worth eating a few grams of trans fat when homemade cookies and brownies are involved. Yum. The anti-(trans) fat group almost won another victory in their war against fat. But never fear, the good representatives who actually represent their citizens almost unanimously voted the proposal down. They recognized the fact that people can decide for themselves what to consume. Thank God there are actually politicians who are still doing their job. Those who proposed this bill have tried over again and again to get this law passed, but have, to date, failed. These people fail to understand that citizens have the right to choose what kinds of food they want to eat. If it makes them happy to eat homemade bake sale goods, well, so be it! It seems that bakes sales are definitely a way to pursue happiness (New Jersey 1).
Utah is another state that has gone to the dark side in the obesity battle. They installed a vile vending machine in an elementary school that does not take money. It has authentic looking, but fake food inside. Here is how it works. When a child selects chips for example, the machine will tell him/her to, “lay off the chips, fatso!” or, “if you eat that, you will die young”. Really? Telling this to eight year olds? This is crazy. The anti-obesity people failed with convincing adults, so they are now trying to poison children’s minds. Remember, this IS the government we are talking about. Unfortunately, some of the younger children do not understand that it is fake food that they cannot buy. Sometimes, these little kids stand in front of the vending machine for quite a while waiting for it to give them food. They stand there until someone sees them and tells them that it is not a real vending machine. The school defends their actions, by saying that the machines help children make better choices. However, if these people can only get their point across by bullying people to eat healthy, then that is really not letting the children make a choice at all. They seem to think that making fun of children or hurting their feelings will imprint upon
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their brains never to eat bad food again. Brainwashing these children and turning them into robots is just wrong! Instead of indoctrinating mature adults who can figure out what is happening, the anti-obesity people are concentrating on defenseless children who do not stand a chance against such dirty tricks. In pursuing their own happiness, people of all ages should be able to pick and choose what they want to eat without “big brother” meddling in their lives!
But where are the parents? It is their responsibility to monitor and control what their children eat. The school administrations should just butt out and focus on reading, writing, and ‘rithmitic (Utah 1)
Out on the “left” coast, San Francisco passed a law that limits all foods to a maximum of 600 calories per serving. This means that most McDonald’s Happy Meals are banned from being bought or sold. People should be able to eat happy meals if they want to. The anti-fat people use the same old tired argument that because citizens cannot make good food choices, the government must do it for them. The government overlooks the fact that they have been elected to represent the people. They should be enacting laws that reduce crime, promote prosperity, and protect citizen’s rights. They should not be spending time and money on telling people what kind of food to eat. Like a fungus, the government encroaches into areas they were not meant to be. The government believes it is their purpose to think for the people. But before the government started butting in, people had been thinking for themselves for thousands of years. Periodically, they may make mistakes. But in the long run, they are responsible for running their own lives. What is surprising is that the Mayor, Gavin Newsom, was opposed to this, but the anti-fat people had too many votes for a veto to count. Many people in San Francisco do not want this law. The government just keeps saying that it is for their own good. Many state and federal politicians
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have been in power for decades. They like the power to control people. Is the anti-Happy Meal agenda being pushed to make all San Franciscans thin and beautiful? The view of politicians in California is that everyone must look beautiful and if even one person is ugly, everyone’s life has been ruined. If a citizen does not want to manage their body properly, then the government must force them to. But what the government does not understand is that the person may have a different point of view of how his or her body looks (San Francisco 1). Council Member Dan Halloran of New York states his opinion on New York’s ban on happy meals that people “…should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happy meals” (Halloran 1).
Continuing on the “left” coast, more Californian anti-fat people are attacking sugar. A high ranking professor at UCLA, Robert Lusig, has a serious problem with sugar. He and some colleagues wrote an article in the Journal Nature that was an analysis of sugar and its health effects on people. He believes that fat people are afflicted with a disease that must be wiped out. He thinks sugar creates a “high” like other narcotics. It puts your system on an increased production mode, and when the sugar runs out, timber! They also believe people that eat sugar will grow fat. Well, duh! Of course, if people eat a lot of sugar laden food they grow fatter. These professors concluded (wrongly) that sugar should be classified as a class three narcotic. Sugar classified as a narcotic? Maybe sugar is bad, but only in large amounts. Could a person really eat that much sugar? Lusig thinks that the only way people will stop eating sugar is to force the decision upon them. If eating sugar makes people happy, that is their fundamental right. No government or official has the right to take the choice of what to eat away from the citizens. Perhaps the professor has been on one too many sugar binges?! Sugar is a fundamental food. It is
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incorporated into practically every meal people eat. Too much sugar is bad for people, but none at all is unconscionable. If people choose to eat it, well, let them eat it (Lusig 1).
Another target for the New York City anti-fat crusaders are the slimy soup kitchens. Yes, the kitchens of death. On the day that New York enacted legislation to eliminate soup kitchens, the headlines read, “Bloomberg Strikes Again: Starving the Poor”. Mayor Bloomberg believes that soup kitchens serve unhealthy food that cause homeless people to get fat. So, in his wisdom, he banned them entirely using his trans fat law. This is the same law that he used to ban certain foods from school cafeterias, restaurants, concession stands, and other food places. The poor and homeless people do not care if the food is bad for them. It is food! Many nights are spent in freezing conditions and they often go hungry. The people who eat at soup kitchens need extra calories to help them survive the elements. Numerous people in New York City tried to get Mayor Bloomberg to repeal this law. But what did he do? He let it stand! He thinks that it is preferable for people to starve, rather than to eat unhealthy food. The threat of trans fat is so overrated. When a mayor would willingly let the poorest of his people starve because he does not want them to be fat, something is incredibly wrong. Bloomberg is such an out of touch diva! The government should be thankful that the soup kitchens run by various charitable organizations are so generous in providing free food to people who need it (Bloomberg 2)
The last stop on the “be healthy or die” tour of assorted states and laws is Washington D.C. The school administrators recently overhauled the school lunch menus to meet new federal standards. The new standards only allow low-fat milk and soy milk. They have forbidden all fried foods and other fatty or unhealthy foods. Veggie burgers are the only food now allowed in the burgers category. Pizza is now made out of all healthy materials!? Where did this law come
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from? The answer is the Department of Agriculture with heavy input from the First Lady! No more cake, French fries, pie, or cookies?! This is a nightmare come true! Why do the anti-fat people hate these foods? They believe these foods are not healthy. But, in fact they are as long as a person controls how many they eat. The government thinks that people cannot control themselves so they ban the unhealthy foods entirely. Sound familiar? People can do whatever they want with food (Washington 1).
The United States that the Founders envisioned did not include food police. There are so many real issues and problems that the government should be concentrating on. Obesity is a personal problem that requires a personal solution. People have the right to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and how much they want. The government has no place in this discussion. If people decide to eat in an unhealthy manner, well then, they are the “Biggest Losers”. Everyone has the right to pursue their own version of happiness.
Word Count = 3112
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Works Cited:
Bernstein, Sharon. "San Francisco bans Happy Meals." http://articles.latimes.com. Ed. Sharon Bernstein. Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 June 2012. http://articles.l...s-20101103. San Francisco bans most Happy Meals. Only meals with 600 calories or less can come with a toy and that 35% or less of the calories are from fat.
Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia: Continental Congress, 1776. N. pag. Print. This declared our independence from England.
Department of Education, NYC. "COMPETITIVE FOODS." http://schools.nyc.gov. NYC Department of Education, 25 Feb. 2010. Web. 13 June 2012. http://schools.ny...2FINAL.pdf. The NYC Department of Education introduces a law that would effectively ban bake sales. Only Government issued or bought food could be used. This law was thankfully not passed by the Representatives of NYC.
Department of Health, NYC. "The Regulation to Phase Out Artificial Trans Fat In New York City Food Service Establishments." http://www.nyc.gov. Ed. NYC Department of
Health. NYC, 1 July 2007. Web. 14 June 2012. http://www.nyc.go...at-bro.pdf. The law wants all food in NYC to have less than .5 trans fat in them. It proposes to enforce in every food establishment in NYC. This law was passed in 2008 and signed by Mayor Bloomberg.
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Halloran, Dan. "Halloran Statement Regarding Proposal to." New York State. New York City. 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.google...s%2F4-12-1>1. Dan Halloran issues a press release stating his objection to Mayor Bloomberg’s opinion on happy meals.
Lepp, Chris. ChrisLepp 450x653. 2010. Web. 25 June 2012. http://www.sharen...56756.html. Chris Lepp poses for my paper!?
Lustig, Robert H., perf. Sugar: The Bitter Truth . Narr. Robert H. Lustig. UCSF, 2009. Web. 18 June 2012. http://www.youtub...Bnniua6-oM. Robert Lusig goes into great detail about the health effects of sugar during one of his lectures at UCLA.
Mayor, Bloomberg. " MAYOR BLOOMBERG, PUBLIC ADVOCATE DEBLASIO, MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT STRINGER, MONTEFIORE HOSPITAL CEO SAFYER, DEPUTY MAYOR GIBBS AND HEALTH COMMISSIONER FARLEY HIGHLIGHT HEALTH IMPACTS OF OBESITY." http://www.nyc.gov. NYC, 5 June 2012. Web. 13 June 2012. http://www.nyc.go...a%2Fpr200-
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12.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1. Mayor Bloomberg of New York City signs into law a bill that bans the purchase of party sized sodas in New York. This article lists the first and now the most recent info on this law.
The Associated Press. “ Vending machine serves health tips to Utah kids ." http://www.heraldextra.com. The Associated Press, 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 June 2012. http://www.herald...6209d.html. The Associated Press writes of the “Evil” vending machine in Utah that gives health tips. It explains the cause and motivation of his action.
US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. "USDA Unveils Historic Improvements to Meals Served in America’s Schools." http://www.fns.usda.gov. Ed. Food and Nutrition Service US Department of Agriculture. U.S.A., 16 Feb. 2012. Web.
14 June 2012. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/pressreleases/2012/0023.htm>. The USDA and the First Lady put a change into the school lunches. They want to concisely ensure the bare minimum portions for children. This law is still in effect and ever adding more to it.
Edited by ninja on 12/13/2012 14:06:41
�RG� (Renegade Gamers) Senior Admin [C�R] Veteren
ehh brick you realize this type of control extends to recreational use of cannabis as well right?
*in the fine print definition of being server active* ....{FC}[ZA]Althor, will no longer be server active
why is food control such a big deal if u wanna be a 400 pound java the hut chub chub go ahead but don't be surprised when u die of a heart attack after eating that last jumbo extra large double sized cheese burger
over 6 billion population, if people want to help the overcrowding by eating themselves to death let em. choice above all else
*in the fine print definition of being server active* ....{FC}[ZA]Althor, will no longer be server active
*sigh* I remember the time when being overweight meant that you were wealthy (i.e. Bounderby, Taft, etc.)
Of course, I'm not that old, but I don't think that the lack of self control when it comes to food should be the government's problem.
When it comes to children, perhaps maybe I can understand, when I was a child all I ever wanted to eat was chocolate, chips, etc. But now that I'm older I tend to try and obstain from those foods. Of course occasionaly I do pick up a bag of chips or a soda here and there to enjoy, but nothing out of proportion.
The Mayor of New York should really take a chill pill. I laughed when he said "evil elixir". How in the world could soda be more of an evil elixir than something like alcohol or those insane enrgy drinks with enough caffeine and sugar to make you crash and get type 2 diabetes in half of a second? If he was truly concerned, he would have focused his efforts on things like those. No joke, I've seen 5th graders at my town's local elementary school drinking Monster, Rock Star, and Five Hour Energy shots, AND coffee. All I can say to that mayor is... are you f*cking kidding me?
So no, the government should have no say in what a person can or cannot eat. It's their decision to muck up their bodies with copius amounts of junk food and other greasy commodities. I think money spent to stop this kind of lack of self control could be better well spent on other pressing matters.
ZA althor wrote:
ehh brick you realize this type of control extends to recreational use of cannabis as well right?
How so Althor? Please do explain, I'm very serious.
I use cannabis for sleep, pain, anxiety, eat, any many other reasons... If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here right now.
The Hat of Love wrote:
If you want to fuck your own body up, go ahead, as long as it doesn't effect others.
It does affect others, tax payers need to pay for all these unhealthy people's bullshit expenses. I think the government would save a lot of money not covering the unhealthy people.
RazNinjaMike wrote:
i dont make enough to be fat. so problem solve! lol
Raz if you really want to make money, use your head(;
well brick, if they control what people eat and drink they are sure as hell going to control what you smoke. lets not forget obamas plan to FORCE all us citizens to have health insurance (excluding the poor) id say we are about 3 idiotic laws away from a whole lot of people exercising that second amendment in a way the govt. wont like
*in the fine print definition of being server active* ....{FC}[ZA]Althor, will no longer be server active
I know....that's why they will tax cigarettes about $20+ per pack for useful money to add to health. Cannabis will be legalize as you can see... Lol...
Personally, i've come to the conclusion that the average person is too stupid to make their own decisons (are we really going to let a teen mom make her own "decision" she already made one. Irrelevant the current topic, but still you get what i mean) . We have obesity epidemics, and other problems resulting from the average person... or village idiot having a say in things.
Quote: "I reject any form of government in which the opinion of the village idiot is given the same weight as Aristotle."
ZA BrickSquad wrote: It's that the average person is not smart enough to make most right decisions or just goes with the flow of society.
It's just ridiculous how people are.
but they have the right to make that decision! you don't decide for them. you can properly inform them of the dangers and stuff, but to make a decioion for them would be wrong, everyone has the right to make their own decisions, and if they are not smart enough, then just educate them on food! and if they don't want to go with the flow of society? what then? its their right to not, right? isnt this a democracy? where everyone is free to do as they please as long as no injury to others? the government spends lots on helping fat or obese people. how to fix that prob, force people to stop eating more... or... dont give them money. if people want to eat, just dont give them taxpayer money. just let them figure it out them self.
�RG� (Renegade Gamers) Senior Admin [C�R] Veteren
