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Great conversation.
First, Teo is right. Save their own and a few relatives, there are a lot of people who don't care for kids too much. Sit next to a random kid on an airplane for two hours, read some obsessed mother's Facebook newsfeed and you will realize this to be a fact. So, it's no surprise that corporations are not inclined to like your kid unless he happens to be a stockholder. A corporation is not a a touchy-feeling thing. It exists to make money for its ownership and create tax revenues - period. Any illusions of caring or generosity always come back to the bottom line. We love capitalism in this country but it can get out of control. When it does, we use our wallets, legislative pens and gavels to rein it in.
Second, there is often more garbage in school lunches than in McDonalds, which really is criminal. It is strange to me that as bad as their "food" is, that creepy clown company is always the one singled out. Face it: ALL fast food is unhealthy, and the government serves it up every day. Sooner or later, every chain and government food program (MRIs, mess halls, school lunches, senior centers) ends up in the news for something disgusting.
Third, eating healthy food is completely tied to socioeconomic class and education. I feed my kids organic whole foods because I can afford to do it or have prioritized it because of all I have read over the years about nutrition. Conversely, a single mom from Brownsville doesn't have the means, time or the the knowledge to see that the marketing of garbagefood is waging war against her family the way some of us do.
There is a reason that McDonalds became Mickey D's - just pay attention to whom those ads target. It appears predatorily racist to me. (Now, I am am the one picking on McDonalds). I don't think their is a lot of injustice out there, but when it comes to food in our society it's immoral. You can't call someone the N word but you can surgically target a race or age group for peddling your unhealthy food. Once again, the corporations are asking for it.
Fifth, there is nothing wrong with laws to protect society. We rid the nation of cigarette vending machines to protect kids and we can do the same if crapburgers are killing kids. We yell freedom, but is it freedom when the only affordable food comes to your child in the form of chemical laced mystery meat that is unlabeled? They aren't going to make great Libertarians or liberals at 55 when they are dead or sick from chemotherapy at 50. Kids' health should cross all party lines.
If people want to eat it, so be it, but there should be a sin tax put on edible garbage that would bring it to the price point of healthy food, and families who feed their children well should get insurance or even tax breaks. Sin tax revenues can go to oversight, research and education....and offering truly healthy, fresh, delicious food in schools.
Finally, we need to return to the concept of ideals in this country. Being fit and maintaining a reasonable weight should be among them. As a nation, we have let ourselves go; we need to look in the mirror and we need to put down the fork before it breaks us in health costs. Ideals are cheap, positive and they work.
First, Teo is right. Save their own and a few relatives, there are a lot of people who don't care for kids too much. Sit next to a random kid on an airplane for two hours, read some obsessed mother's Facebook newsfeed and you will realize this to be a fact. So, it's no surprise that corporations are not inclined to like your kid unless he happens to be a stockholder. A corporation is not a a touchy-feeling thing. It exists to make money for its ownership and create tax revenues - period. Any illusions of caring or generosity always come back to the bottom line. We love capitalism in this country but it can get out of control. When it does, we use our wallets, legislative pens and gavels to rein it in.
Second, there is often more garbage in school lunches than in McDonalds, which really is criminal. It is strange to me that as bad as their "food" is, that creepy clown company is always the one singled out. Face it: ALL fast food is unhealthy, and the government serves it up every day. Sooner or later, every chain and government food program (MRIs, mess halls, school lunches, senior centers) ends up in the news for something disgusting.
Third, eating healthy food is completely tied to socioeconomic class and education. I feed my kids organic whole foods because I can afford to do it or have prioritized it because of all I have read over the years about nutrition. Conversely, a single mom from Brownsville doesn't have the means, time or the the knowledge to see that the marketing of garbagefood is waging war against her family the way some of us do.
There is a reason that McDonalds became Mickey D's - just pay attention to whom those ads target. It appears predatorily racist to me. (Now, I am am the one picking on McDonalds). I don't think their is a lot of injustice out there, but when it comes to food in our society it's immoral. You can't call someone the N word but you can surgically target a race or age group for peddling your unhealthy food. Once again, the corporations are asking for it.
Fifth, there is nothing wrong with laws to protect society. We rid the nation of cigarette vending machines to protect kids and we can do the same if crapburgers are killing kids. We yell freedom, but is it freedom when the only affordable food comes to your child in the form of chemical laced mystery meat that is unlabeled? They aren't going to make great Libertarians or liberals at 55 when they are dead or sick from chemotherapy at 50. Kids' health should cross all party lines.
If people want to eat it, so be it, but there should be a sin tax put on edible garbage that would bring it to the price point of healthy food, and families who feed their children well should get insurance or even tax breaks. Sin tax revenues can go to oversight, research and education....and offering truly healthy, fresh, delicious food in schools.
Finally, we need to return to the concept of ideals in this country. Being fit and maintaining a reasonable weight should be among them. As a nation, we have let ourselves go; we need to look in the mirror and we need to put down the fork before it breaks us in health costs. Ideals are cheap, positive and they work.