Food labeling guidelines are not enough
We may be thankful our government takes on the never-ending and thankless task of trying to get the citizens of this formerly great nation (only extremists want it great again) to do what we are supposed to do.
Green New Deals and electric cars get the bulk of the attention, but nothing evades the gimlet eye of our contemporary nannies. I refer to a conference on “hunger, nutrition and health” coming up at the White House. As part of this affair, the continuing problem with food labeling once again comes to the fore.
Faithful readers might remember, about 18 months ago, I commented on the great advances in food labeling taking place since I was a kid in the dark unenlightened days of the ’50s. As any of you who go shopping are aware, there is no end of helpful stuff printed on the sides and backs of about anything you buy not found in the fresh foods aisles. This has all been mandated, with ever increasing stringency, over the decades. We label applesauce, apple pie filling, apple juice — when do we finally mandate a label on the apple?
Alas, as the president for the delightfully yclept “Center for Science in the Public Interest points out, “…it’s clear that it’s not having the desired impact to advance the public health.” When all this labeling info was mandated, it was asserted the consumer, being health and safety conscious, would adjust his diet to conform to the latest (latest is important because they keep changing) suggestions.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. We just keep eating more and getting fatter and dying from COVID as a result, not to mention a host of other problems. Spearheaded by Democrats in Congress, legislation is proposed requiring warnings about certain ingredients, and to cause those warnings to migrate from the side of the can to the front. One suggestion is to make icons in the shape of a stop sign, and put red, yellow and green backgrounds to make apparent the severity of the risk.
Inevitably, manufacturers don’t want to clutter up their labels with stop signs. Those darn manufacturers just don’t care about “public interest” do they? They even have the temerity to suggest that since, admittedly, hardly anyone pays any attention now, why will cluttering up the carefully designed label make any difference?
They are of course, even though for selfish reasons, correct. We consumers just continue to go on our merry way, drinking sugar, eating fat, sprinkling salt and heaven knows what else in defiance of what our betters are quite sure is proper for us. Why? I, for example, LIKE sugar and fat. It tastes good. So I’m 15 pounds overweight? So what! I might live another two or three years, into my 90s, with Alzheimer's in the home. I’ll pass, thank you. The destination is always the same, so I prefer, in moderation, to enjoy the journey.
As the folks at the “Center” surely know, front of label will be as ignored as side or back.
Fortunately, years ago when I took a stab at a futuristic novel, I had come up with the solution. By 2060 (when I set the novel) every transaction will be done electronically. Cash will be banned. Therefore, every time a shopper goes to the store, everything the shopper buys will be recorded. Also, every health metric for the shopper will be in the massive data banks then, as now, routinely maintained. So, let us say you are a 40-year-old female, for which exists a profile of the proper diet. At the beginning of each month, said female will be given a list of what she may — or may not — buy. Anything not on the list, or in quantities greater than permitted, simply cannot be purchased. Rationing during World War II was a crude version of this.
Mandatory physical exams monitor results, with modifications made as necessary. See how simple this is? We give tickets for failing to wear seat belts. Why not tickets for failing to eat right?
Charles Milliken is a professor emeritus after 22 years of teaching economics and related subjects at Siena Heights University. He can be reached at milliken.charles@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Charles Milliken: Food labeling guidelines are not enough
