Controlling Food Consumption: What the Government Can Do

            In having a government regulation of food supply provides for growth in other areas as well. There would be an encouragement of healthy foods to be consumed by Americans, foods found on all levels of the food pyramid. A greater demand for foods grown by farmers would be needed therefore stimulating the economy in that sense. This is a concept the UK is to implement and the need for it is seen through the evidence provided by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). David Barling explains this in further detail in his article, “Food Supply Chain Governance and Public Health Externalities: Upstream Policy Interventions and the UK State.”

Eating Is About Choices. But the Right Choices Are Not Always Made 

            Already so, government officials are lobbying for programs that promote healthy eating and exercising regularly. As stated in the article “The Politics Of Obesity: Seven Steps To Government Action” by Rogan Kersh and James Morone, government regulations are already put in place for other substances that cause health problems such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Therefore, it for the health of the nation to do the same for certain substances that are particularly high in sugar and fat.

Pepsi Special: Available in Japan. Will it come to America?

Vending Machine Altering Consumer of Calorie Count 

Recent buzz has been stirring about a new Pepsi drink, sold by Pepsi’s partner in Japan, called “Pepsi Special” that is said to fend off fat in consumers bodies. How it does this is it has dextrin in it which is a dietary fiber that helps regulate the digestive system. Dextrin also is aid to lower cholesterol and help the body fight off heart disease. Also, beginning in 2013, some companies are planning on having calorie counts displayed on vending machines in effort to sway consumer choices so that they are purchasing items with lower calories. If both of these ideas, along with the ideas mentioned in my previous blog: “Controlling Food Consumption: How It Is Being Enforced,” are implemented by not only the companies but the government, then food supply would be regulated on a more even scale. That way, results suggesting that a decrease in obesity has been taking place is more likely to be produced, which is so desperately needed in America today.

America is always the butt of the jokes when it comes to which country is the fattest. However, if the government should have less control over food consumption, obesity rates will continue to rise in children and adults alike. Problems with our country’s stability financially and defensively could become worse. This is due to more taxpayer money being spent on obesity related health problems, and our own young men and women being too overweight to fight in America’s military. Luckily, we have a government to put in regulations for us, because we cannot always control our cravings ourselves. Therefore, given the information presented throughout this blog as a whole, the government should have more control over food consumption. 

Controlling Food Consumption: How It Is Being Enforced

The need for government regulation of food supply is seen through increasing obesity rates, generations being significantly “fatter” than the generations before, and the horrifying effects of the American lifestyle, if continued. During the Industrial Revolution, America was thought of as a young, prospering nation making multiple breakthroughs in the world. People worked hard and the value of their work was seen through people recognizing these achievements. As America developed further, advancements were being made in nearly everything. Even advancements in food started to occur with the addition of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and in some cases genetically modifying food altogether. It is now seen, because of obesity rates, that perhaps there is a link to people eating these processed foods and then gaining weight. With all of these problems at hand that are only going to get worse if not dealt with, the problem can fortunately be solved by the hands of those in power, which is our government, which should have more control over food consumption, instead of less.

Michelle Obama and Disney want to help children get healthy

To help with childhood obesity, more children’s television networks should follow in Disney channel’s footsteps; “All programming meet the company's nutrition criteria for limiting calories and reducing saturated fat, sodium and sugar. Disney says its guidelines are aligned with federal standards.” First lady Michelle Obama is also a strong advocate for childhood obesity and strongly supports Disney’s new plan. Currently, many of the foods we eat are processed, meaning they have a lot of additives and artificial flavors and sugars within them. In order for our country to start being more healthy like it use to be, a more organic and natural approach should be taken into food factories, with more strict regulations on what exactly can be added to foods and in what amounts. This same concept should be applied to fast food. Food chemists add MSG’s trans-fats, artificial flavoring, and sometimes even “chemicals that are generally recognized as safe.” These additives have an effect on people, leaving them still hungry for more after eating.

Banning the sale of large drinks is needed

On May 31^st, 2012 news broke that “New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to ban the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces.” If this ban comes to be voted on and gets approved, hopefully other cities with take on this ban and soon it will become nationwide, then; maybe America will start seeing some positive results from it such as decreased obesity and type II diabetes rates.

These are just some of the possible solutions the government can and has started taking to regulate food consumption. What is needed now is for these solutions to expand nationwide for what will hopefully be positive results weighing in. 

Controlling Food Consumption: A New Perspective

Habits form when an individual is young. This rings true for eating habits as well. It is the parent’s responsibility to instill healthy eating habits into their child’s mind so that when the child grows older and starts thinking for themselves, good habits will continue on as second nature. Considering this, it is essential to remember that not all parents are the same, and some do not think of, have time for, or whatever the case may be, for feeding their child or children healthy foods. This is where schools come into play. From having schools provide healthy lunches for their students, this provides for at least one guaranteed healthy meal per day for a child.

In continuation of using the state of Illinois as an example, in Illinois there is a program called CATCH, or Coordinated Approach To Child Health, which is embedded within 152 schools so far, to help bring healthier food options to schools. Also in Illinois, the IAPO, or Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity, recently established the Illinois Fresh Food Fund which provides harder to reach areas access to fresh foods by renovating or creating grocery stores to fill them with healthy foods. Both of these programs are beneficial to the state of Illinois’ fight to combat obesity.

Peaches & Greens, Detroit's healthy food truck

Illinois is not the only state acting to fight America’s obesity endemic. In Detroit, Michigan, a fresh and healthy food truck, called Peaches & Greens, has been making its’ rounds since 2009. It serves neighborhoods that have upwards of about thirty liquor stores but only one grocery store. This is why experts refer to Detroit as a food desert. However, the city has been getting better at trying to shed its’ image of being the fattest city in the country, as it was at the time of Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film, Super-Size Me (2004). In addition to the fresh and healthy food truck, Detroit has also started turning some of its’ abandoned land into farms. One farm in particular was established by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in effort to provide healthy and fresh food for local restaurants and the soup kitchen itself. The farm is called Earthworks Urban Farm and it is funded through donations.

Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit, MI

Although some states are making an effort to reduce obesity rates within their state, sometimes these enforcements are too loose and not enough work is being done to solve the problem before it is too late. If America wants to continue being the powerful world leader that it has the ability to maintain being, government regulation of food supply needs to be instilled nationwide. Nothing in life is easy. That being the case, in order for America to rid its’ “fat” image, citizens need to work at it, shedding lazy habits. 

Controlling Food Consumption: Why It Hits Home

Morgan Spurlock in Super-Size Me

            Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film, Super-Size Me (2004), showed Americans nationwide the effects of eating only McDonald’s for three meals per day for thirty days. Spurlock created this film to help show people the detrimental backlashes eating fast food on a regular basis does to ones’ body. His efforts paid off as the documentary was popular both nationally and internationally, earning $11,536,423 in total gross income. However, something more strict and permanent than a movie needs to be implemented in order to strike change in people’s eating habits.

            It is known that obesity is a nation-wide problem, therefore to take a more in-depth look at the situation, it is important to view it at a state level. Let’s take Illinois for an example: It is estimated that if the citizens of Illinois actively try to reduce their obesity rate which is currently at twenty seven percent, then Illinois alone can save more than nine billion dollars in ten years and $28 billion in twenty years. This being the case, along with many other states nationally, it is in our nation’s best interests to regulate the food supply in order to provoke not only healthiness within our nation but also to hinder the costs of money associated with health problems caused by obesity some of which being high cholesterol, type two diabetes, and heart disease.

            In comparison to other nations, it is apparent that America is the most obese country in the world. This often comes at no surprise due to America’s use of artificial flavorings being so prevalent in the food marketplace. These artificial flavorings are often filled with high fructose corn syrup and other substances that cause one to gain weight. This combined with the daily lifestyle of some Americans having jobs in which they are stationed at a desk, not moving around a whole lot, and not exercising has no positive effects on ones’ health. On the contrary, citizens in other counties that are perhaps less developed have the duty of manual labor that is often times strenuous on one’s body because it causes one to be moving day after day. The fact that these citizens are getting daily exercise in addition to them not being exposed to artificial flavorings found in modified foods can cause for one to never gain additional weight.

            Tying the knots of this problem together, it is important for America to shed its’ image of being the fattest country in the world in order for it to still be a powerful country. The current “lazy” image of our nation is not doing any good, therefore it is essential for the government to act now, and start regulating the food supply, rather than later so that America does not become even more “fat.”

Controlling Food Consumption: Why Now?

A McDonald's billboard

       The American culture is constantly changing. The typical ways of life the elderly lived are different in many aspects to the way life is now. Nowadays a typical Saturday morning for an American child generally may consist of watching cartoons. During those cartoons, commercials are played throughout the duration of the program. Food is the most commonly advertised product during children’s television shows. Therefore the rest is economics; the child then considers these foods wants and will nag at parents until they get what they want. It is important to recognize that advertisements of food are seen everywhere though, not just on the television. Dr. T. Boyce of the Cardiff School of Journalism states in his article, “The Media and Obesity,” that “Removing advertising from television might onlydisplace it to other areas such as radio, magazines, supermarkets, billboards,direct-to consumer and the Internet – all of which are more difficult toregulate than television.” To further go off of that statement, all of those realms of media, along with television, is too difficult for the government to regulate Therefore, instead of trying to regulate the advertisement of food products, it is essential for the government to go directly to the source and regulate food supply.

There are weight standards in order to be in the U.S. armed forces

In considering this issue, it affects not only the individual’s life, but other lives as well. 75% of young adults do not meet the requirements to joined our country’s armed forces, one of the biggest reasons being that some young adults ages 17 to 24 are too overweight. This being the case is detrimental to our country as a whole, and its future.

Another main reason why we need the government to start regulating food consumption is because we as citizens sometimes just can’t help ourselves and get carried away. Think of the last time you went out to get food to satisfy your craving, and then you felt like you wanted more so you just kept eating? It probably wasn’t too long ago since we all have these cravings. However, these cravings can lead to health problems, if indulged in too often, causing for one to have to go to the doctor for treatments and prescriptions more often. In fact, obesity accounts for about 147 billion dollars annually in just the United states alone.

These are problems not only affecting the individual, but the American population as a whole. In order for our country to continue being a strong force that it is known to be, this problem needs to be dealt with by the government, so it does not get even further out of control. 

Controlling Food Consumption: Why Waste Our Time?

Here is a scenario to consider: a person is scrolling through channels while watching television, and they come across a food cooking show called The Chew. They have never seen the show before, so they curiously watch it. The chef and the host of the show were chatting about children eating healthy and how one in three kids in America will grow up to be obese if food consumption patterns do not start changing now. It is not until ironically after the show breaks for commercial that the first one that comes on is one for Pringles. With advertisements like this one consistently being thrown in Americans faces, it is no wonder that some Americans have no sense of what kinds of foods they should be eating, and how much. This being the case, it is necessary for the American government to have more control over food consumption. In understanding this claim it is important to first look at how obesity, type two diabetes, and other health related conditions are on the rise in America. Next, to solve these problems, it is necessary to take a look at what kinds of actions our government can take to help control food consumption.

Obesity rates increasing throughout the years

Obesity rates and a rise in type II diabetes in this country is a problem that has been going on for decades. There has been a 214% increase in overweight and obese people in America since 1950, and currently one in three kids in America is obese. But why is there such an increase in obesity in America? One answer might be because children and adults alike are eating more and exercising less, causing leftover calories to be stored as fat. A lot of children do not play outside like they use to, due to indoor technology, causing them to want to eat more snacks after school while they are playing a video game or watching TV. This is even more of a problem because during the day, when children are at school, lunch options for them are often times consisting of processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt. Also in that same article, Cory Schreiber, Culinary Instructor at The Art Institute of Portland says that “healthier changes in school lunches should be put in place by our government with a federal Nutrition Program.”

Food companies that regulate food supply in America

The American government has put in place numerous programs to help regulate food supply. However, the methods the government and schools use to appeal to their audience; the American people as a whole but more specifically mothers of young children, are not being used as effectively as they should be. Also, proper labeling of all food and beverage sources, research done to reveal the effects of advertising in one’s decision making process regarding food and beverages, and the programs put in place to help hinder children from becoming overweight and obese, all need to be funded for properly. The money is available for these programs, it just needs to be put to good use which will happen if it is managed correctly so that it is put in the right areas.

The urgency of this issue is seen through the statistics presented. Daily, advertisements present Americans with beverages and food options that are unhealthy. Whether it is recognized and realized or not, the food industry has a hold on the American population as a whole, therefore government regulations are needed so that the government can have more control over food consumption.

Welcome

           Hello all.

There is no time to waste on attacking the issue of obesity in America. With more children becoming obese at an ever-increasing rate, it is essential to address all aspects of why the government should regulate the food supply as a possible, and potentially the only, real solution to this problem.

Read further as investigation of this issue continues further.

Thanks and enjoy,

Ashley