#23: For All You Fatties Out There

I don't know if you guys have ever read anything by Mark Bittman, but he's a columnist for the New York Times. He wrote a very interesting op-ed called "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables" that argues that the U.S. government should tax junk food and soda, and that it should subsidize health foods, such as vegetables. It's an interesting op-ed, so I'd urge you to read it if you're interested in this topic. The reason he says we should do this is because of the growing obesity dilemma in the United States. His argument is that junk food is way cheaper than health foods, and if it were the other way around, then people who don't have much money (which is a lot of people in our country these days) would buy more health foods and less junk food. This note is my response to that idea.
My first question for Mr. Bittman is this: Would that really work? I mean, to me, people just like junk food. I'm not sure if raising the price of junk food will actually do anything. It might, but I'm not sure exactly. I feel like people will pay whatever they need, within reason, for their favorite foods. Just because prices go up a little, doesn't mean people will give up the things that give them that sugar high they crave. Plus, just because vegetables become cheaper, doesn't make them any tastier. But who knows? Bittman's take on this is a legitimate one. It's interesting, and it's possible. But I'm not so sure it'll work.
My second question is: Will this fly in court? This could potentially be a freedom of choice issue, and it could possibly break a load of other laws...I mean, people would probably be outraged at the fact that the food they always buy is getting more expensive, not because they're becoming scarce and hard-to-obtain, but because the government wants to control our eating habits. People might be inclined to file lawsuits and be against the government trying to, once again, gain more control over us. I mean, it is our choice if we want to eat junk food and get fat, whether it's right or not. However, the government will say they're not taking away our freedom of choice in the food department, because we're still allowed to buy that junk food; we're just forced to pay more for it. So would this fly with the government AND the public?
Mr. Bittman's idea is certainly a good one. My two questions are what I think will keep the government from taxing junk food and subsidizing health foods, but I'd certainly be for it, just for myself. However, in the grand scheme of things, what one person wants isn't enough. It should be what the majority of people wants. I, personally, try to stay away from junk food, so this will just give me more of an incentive to stay away, so I'm all for it, but I don't know if it is fair to everyone or if everyone would let it pass. Also, I hate government control, so I'm not exactly sure if I want the government involved in this. What do you think? Should the government be allowed to try to save us from ourselves?
And, of course, I have to have some comic relief here, so here's a link to a video called "What if.......Wild Animals Ate Fast Food." It's hilarious! http://youtu.be/b7YnxTa-y3g is the link for that. Also, check out this video called Grocery Store Wars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E.