CNN's Laura Schmidt, who is a colleague of previously mentioned author Robert Lustig, wrote an editorial suggesting we regulate sugar like we do alcohol. What?
At the end of the article in the comments section, of course, there are the detractors. Which I assume include most sane Americans, whether they commented or not. But here're a couple who put on their angry eyes:
PatMacDaddy a year ago
Yes. Eating whatever we want is a matter of our personal freedom. But what if there is no freedom of choice because there is no sugar-free stuff to choose from?
How many of you can relate to this:
I can't be the only one. When there's sugar as one of the choices, it doesn't feel like a choice.
Ms. Schmidt says something that I completely agree with:
Unfettered corporate marketing actually limits our choices about the products we consume. If what's mostly available is junk food and soda, then we actually have to go out of our way to find an apple or a drinking fountain. What we want is to actually increase people's choices by making a wider range of healthy foods easier and cheaper to get.
I support cigarette regulations. I support a lot of the alcohol regulations. I don't want cocaine to be a legal choice for my children. I'm beginning to believe that sugar has become just as much a public health hazard in the long-term.
So, if you think using government regulations is a slippery slope, what would you propose we do to help those that really do want to be healthy but find it too hard in today's world?
Also, my kitchen is still a mess.
Also, my kitchen is still a mess.
Anna, I found your post and article to be interesting, this is a plight that I am very familiar with being in the medical field. There are a few points that concern me though, such as the fact that you say we lose our ability to choose because there are no sugar free choices. This statement is a bit misleading, there are plenty of "sugar free" choices in any grocery store in America. My other concern is that this article talks about banning sugar, first off there is no evidence that sugar in moderation is bad, but more importantly sugar is not the only thing that is causing us as a nation to be over weight and riddled with health issues. Do we ban all of these substances, and if so who decides? Then who decides what we can and can't eat? I have struggled with eating healthy just like anyone else has, but just because we find a task challenging or difficult doesn't mean we have the government take it away from us like a parent disciplining his child. Life is not ment to be easy and neither is overcoming our weaknesses. That's why our agency is so important, so I can turn my weaknesses into strengths and thus become more like god. That's why there was a war in heaven faught for our agency, so we could overcome the world through our actions motivated by our choice. It just scares me when we turn to the government and ask them to take away our problems for us. It robs me of the chance to overcome my weaknesses and to come closer to god. I truly commend you for your choice in trying to overcome the challenges of eating unhealthy and making people aware of the problems and complications of being unhealthy. This is what I think should be done, people like you getting the word out about eating healthy and presenting people with the facts then letting them choose if its worth it to them to change. I'm cheering for your success, I will keep in touch to see how things go.
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