A Fool at Forty Is a Fool Indeed

From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Sat, 2007-01-20 08:02

A quote from James Harding in The Times, 19 January 2007

The Conservative Party’s Working Group on Responsible Business is likely to revive the debate about David Cameron’s [40] youthful use of illicit drugs. For it raises one question: what has he been smoking?

The paper proposes, for example, that the problem of obesity might be dealt with like the problem of climate change. Carbon emissions are a kind of environmental pollution; obesity, it says, is a type of “social pollution”. Given that emissions trading and quotas work for the environment (an unproven thesis, incidentally), why not introduce a scheme of alcohol quotas for the beverage industry and a set of “emissions limits” in fats, sugars and salts for food manufacturers in order to rein in the expanding national girth.

[...] [I]t is an idea that is both meddlesome and crunchy, as if dreamed up by a Norland Nanny in a tie-dyed T-shirt. The Conservative Party may well believe that it can score points in the polls by posing as a party that has shed its cosy relationship with business, but surely it can distinguish between areas of personal responsibility and the realms of corporate obligation.

Comments

Submitted by Kapitein Andre on Sat, 2007-01-20 19:50.

Firstly, apparently fat is "fabulous" these days so terming it "social pollution" would merely alienate the majority of the British electorate who are overweight. Secondly, government regulation should be directed towards individuals and provide them disincentives for unhealthy lifestyles. As insurance companies will refuse to insure certain individuals and have increased rates for others, so too should the healthcare system. When an obese person who smokes and drinks gets a heart attack, guess what? They're paying for it, not the taxpayer. I guarantee you that people would rein themselves in overnight when faced with the potential burden of massive hospital bills, etc.

 

Thirdly, corporations are responsible to properly label their products and not to produce new ones which are unhealthy. However, people seem to still want refined sugar and alcohol, and one can overindulge on even the healthiest food, so only an economic carrot-and-stick approach tailored to the individual will bring about moderation and balance in diet and lifestyle.