Public Health England “is ‘demanding’ a calorie-cap on supermarket ready meals that would limit breakfasts to 400 calories and lunches and dinners to 600 calories each.” That’s among numerous nanny-state initiatives under way in the United Kingdom, including stringent guidelines on individual drinking and the introduction of a sugary drinks tax. Madsen Pirie, Adam Smith Institute:
It is not really government’s job to make people feel miserable, and it is certainly no business of theirs to legislate what people may or may not eat. The fact that the recommended limits are so low is justified by officials on the grounds that people will always exceed recommendations, so ultra-low ones will make them exceed to tolerable rather than intolerable levels. The problem with this approach is that the ultra-low targets simply discredit the whole process of recommendation. …
There is a very good case for proposing that government should stop doing this altogether. There is plenty of good medical advice that people can read in the press, and most people are aware of the ancient dictum, “Nothing to excess.” Most of us, I suspect, would like to indulge ourselves occasionally without having official bullies making us feel bad about doing so.
6 Comments
Eat two. They’re small. In fact, once you start to eat more than one, eat six,
Bob
What if you are buying a ready meal to eat now and have left-overs for lunch tomorrow? What if you buy 3 for 4 people? What if you are training for a marathon and need to eat a lot? What if you only eat twice a day? What if you are a 240 lb football player? Until I got older I probably ate 3000 calories per day and never got fat due to constant activity. The government has no idea about what individuals are doing or what they need nor is it any of their business what they eat. Just because one can perceive a problem does not mean it is real or that there is a solution.
Filboid studge!
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/FilStu.shtml
One of my favorite short stories.
Thanks Hugo. That’s some good comedy.
Priceless!!!! “The fact that the recommended limits are so low is justified by officials on the grounds that people will always exceed recommendations.” Make you wonder where else the government is lying because they don’t believe adults can make their own decisions.
While “It is not really government’s job to make people feel miserable”, this is the one area they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.