It seems in an effort to "transform the food system," your benign friends at the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (which set guidelines as the basis for government food assistance programs, nutrition education efforts, and for making "decisions about national health objectives") want to track your every move and every calorie.
Specifically the opening paragraph reads: "The federal committee responsible for nutrition guidelines is calling for the adoption of “plant-based” diets, taxes on dessert, trained obesity “interventionists” at worksites, and electronic monitoring of how long Americans sit in front of the television."
In case you're in the mood for a little light reading, the Committee Report is here -- all 571 pages of it.
All together now: BIG BROTHER IS BACK.
Due to the "urgent" levels of obesity in America, the DGAC is calling for diet and weight management interventions by “trained interventionists” in "healthcare settings, community locations, and worksites."
Great... now your boss gets to weight you in every week.
If that's not bad enough, the DGAC also calls for "policy interventions to 'reduce unhealthy options,' limit access to high calorie foods in public buildings, 'limit the exposure' of advertisements for junk food, a soda tax, and taxing high sugar and salt items and dessert."
And they're going to do this by "the use of economic and taxing policies to encourage the production and consumption of healthy foods and to reduce unhealthy foods."
The Committee acknowledges the increase in screen time as a contributing factor toward obesity. And what's their solution? Is it to ban personal electronics or television? Of course not. There would be riots in the streets. Instead, they recommend “coaching or counseling sessions,” “peer-based social support,” and “electronic tracking and monitoring of the use of screen-based technologies” as a way to limit screen time.
This is getting creepy.
And of course we all need to eat less meat to “maximize environmental sustainability” out of concerns for climate change. Oh, and "'altering individual and population dietary choices and patterns' would be necessary to meet its sustainability goals."
All together now: BIG BROTHER IS BACK.
I wonder how many people understand these new regulations as just another aspect of taxation and control? I mean, is there anyone who honestly believes the government has our bests interests at heart when it proposes stuff like this??
I have a single, simple response to these kinds of guidelines. Ready?
NO.
