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Stossel Fights the "Food Police"
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2010
Modified Jan 29, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2010
Modified Jan 29, 2010
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On Fox last night, mustachioed laissez-faire fanatic John Stossel applied his "common sense" fearmongering shtick to the concept of "Food Police." You see, it's not just the local government here in NYC that is trying to influence what people eat (and smoke, and drink!)—this is going on in cities across America. Here in New York, some restaurants are required to display calorie info, and there's a ban on trans fat. Salt and soda are in the crosshairs too! In South LA, they've banned any new fast food restaurant from opening. Well, Stossel is here to defend people from the food cops; in this clip he starts with LA and finishes by busting Bloomberg for using salt and eating trans fat.
In another part of show, Stossel argues that all this food policing is especially troubling, given "the move toward gov run health care. Because if government pays for your health care, then they can say they have a stake in what you eat. Where will that end? I can hear the bureaucrats now: If we're paying for your treatment then you cannot eat that doughnut. In fact, we're going to have government exercise police come to your house and make sure you run laps and do push-ups." That's right—and if you don't comply, it's off to Obama's Death Panels!
The problem with Stossel's Ayn Randian ranting is that taxpayers already subsidize much of the health care costs connected to obesity. According to the CDC, the annual per capita increase in Medicare spending attributable to obesity at 36%. Medicaid comes in at 47%. A study cited by the Wall Street Journal notes that "if the prevalence of obesity were merely at 1987 levels, Medicare spending would be at least $40 billion a year lower."
Stossel, ever the Libertarian, would say that we should just cut those programs entirely, and let the elderly and indigent fend for themselves. Alternatively, we could use "common sense" programs to help prevent diseases like diabetes before they start, by arming consumers with facts about the calories in their food and the unhealthy impact of soda guzzling. These NYC Health Dept. initiatives aren't forcing anyone to eat healthy, just as their free condom program isn't forcing anyone to use protection, so isn't the term Food Police just a little histrionic? Let's call them Food Crossing Guards, and thank them for helping people cross the street without lapsing into a diabetic coma.
Tagged
food police
nyc
stossel
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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