51–60 of 144 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And people wonder why there's an anti-globalisation backlash.
Last time I've tried to argue for the French ban of unlimited soda refills, I was called a "Stalinist" so I probably won't say much on this one. I hope it will help to reduce their obesity rates.
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What other decisions would you like the government to make for you? For your own good, of course.
Seat belts, air bags, crumple zones. Fire exists, wheelchair ramps, smoke alarms, fire rated building materials. Emission targets, waste control. Air traffic, RF spectrum, earth orbit satellites. Minimum wages, social security, health care, school. Defence, police, emergence services. We are not savages. In fact, it could be argued that the system we have is a result of having anarchy in our distant past. We rather l…
In 2011, as a condition for joining, the World Trade Organization ordered Samoa to eliminate the ban within a year. Eliminate a policy designed for the betterment of the population! So that's one of the aims of the WTO, to promote corporate interests, even when it's bad for the general population.
Depends who you ask. Some people understand the risks of junk food but still want it (same as with alcohol and tobacco). Junk food also tends to be cheaper per calorie.
In 2011, as a condition for joining, the World Trade Organization ordered Samoa to eliminate the ban within a year. Eliminate a policy designed for the betterment of the population! So that's one of the aims of the WTO, to promote corporate interests, even when it's bad for the general population.
> Eliminate a policy designed for the betterment of the population! Depends who you ask. Some people understand the risks of junk food but still want it (same as with alcohol and tobacco). Junk food also tends to be cheaper per calorie.
“Can anyone seriously say that Vanuatu doesn’t have the right to exercise its health sovereignty in every way possible to protect its population from an epidemic of that scale?” I would usually say exactly that. It's up to individuals to make decisions about what they do and do not eat and live with the consequences. Foods that accurately state their nutritional content and contain only ingredients that can be safely…
It's up to individuals to make decisions about what they do and do not eat and live with the consequences. True, but when that level of individual freedom has negative repercussions on the community, the government has to step in. Else the society will cease to be. Imagine if our (USA) govt allowed us to buy gas (fuel, petrol) with lead in it, ignoring the long term impact of lead in the environment. Individual freed…
The TEL industry fought very hard against such action first by attacking the science, then fighting in courts and political arenas. Imagine if they had access to a super-national court explicitly created as a way for large corporations to punish governments for creating laws that are bad for their business?
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There's a significant distinction between polluting the environment, which harms other people directly and making unhealthy decisions in one's own life, which has only indirect effects on others.
A fat slob overflowing the seat next to me on an aeroplane has a direct effect on me and I would be perfectly happy for measures to be taken to mitigate it.
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There's an alternative opinion (espoused by some in medical research community and author Gary Taubes) describing the situation as simple and straigtforward - islanders developed obesity (and diabetes, and gout, and heart disease) after gaining access to sugar in various forms, including soft drinks. Remove sugar and its substitutes from the equation, and high obesity rates disappear. Blaming "modern" lifestyle rarel…
Take the example of Qatar, where a "modern" lifestyle is a clear and obvious contributor to the fourth-highest obesity rate in the world. A state which in just 70 years has ascended to the country with the highest per capita income, and the fourth highest GDP per capita; it has used generous oil and natural gas revenues to massively raise the country's Human Development Index and institute a welfare state. Despite in…
There are developed countries (with relaxed lifestyles) at the top of the obesity ratings, there are developed countries (with relaxed lifestyles) at the bottom of the obesity ratings, lifestyle change does not seem to correlate very heavily.
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There's the scale of economics. If only few people buy healthy food, supermarkets have no incentive to offer it at all. Even if they offer healthy food, the price is higher because they can't buy in bulk or else they waste much of it.
> If only few people buy healthy food, supermarkets have no incentive to offer it at all. Then how come most grocery stores have healthy food? If it truly was a minority group that wanted to eat healthy food, what right do they have to force the majority to buy what they want to make it more economical? Although the premise is flawed, because the real reason 'healthy food' is expensive is because the foods considered…
All over America there are many areas known as "food deserts" because stores do not stock fresh foods and produce. In those areas the only food readily available is shelf-stable, highly processed, very high caloric density junk food.
Now think about being on a Pacific island where leaving your food desert is not just a matter of a long drive or bus ride down the road to a different community.
Pacific Islanders like to eat. I think it's ingrained in their culture. Before you call me out and ask for a citation, let me just say this is based on my experience as a Fiji Islander. But maybe there's no problem with eating a lot, if what you eat is healthy. So instead of reaching for the local produce, the cheaper and more attractive "Western" product wins out. Plus, it's just a tad more cheaper.
P.S. It's very easy to buy Singles or Loosies (sp?) in Fiji.
“Can anyone seriously say that Vanuatu doesn’t have the right to exercise its health sovereignty in every way possible to protect its population from an epidemic of that scale?” I would usually say exactly that. It's up to individuals to make decisions about what they do and do not eat and live with the consequences. Foods that accurately state their nutritional content and contain only ingredients that can be safely…