Amazingly, I Didn't Need To Have Nancy Pelosi Come To My House And Tear A Doughnut Out Of My Hand
My friend, fellow alt weekly columnist and The Atlantic blogger Ari LeVaux emailed me about my post on Dr. Robert Lustig's petulant little tantrum calling for the government to start controlling sugar consumption.
Now, I'm right there with Lustig on how awful sugar is -- and I've posted his video and sent the link to it around to many. But, I'm very much not there with him on his thinking that government should tax or ban sugar. Ari writes:
Hi Amy,I saw your blog post about Lustig's sugar proposal. While I agree with your sentiment, I'm curious where you draw the line. Do you think there should be an age limit for legal sale of alcohol and tobacco? If so, what would you think of some kind of age limit for sugar?
The reason I'm asking is because while I agree that informed people should make their own decisions on what to eat, children don't have that choice, and they can be trapped into longtime habits and medical conditions based on what they're fed.
My fix would start with ending the US government's continued subsidies to sugar farmers.
Ari
My response:
Children's parents should be responsible for parenting them -- we should not be "parented" by the state because some choose to have children. We were not allowed to eat sugar growing up. Since I did not work a side-job as a bookie and did not have either a driver's license or a car, I had a hard time going up to the supermarket and loading up on Little Debbie's.My fix would start with ending all government subsidies. If you can't stay in business, you should do something else!
Also, government meddling in what people eat has largely caused the obesity crisis (per Gary Taubes...for example, how an aide to George McGovern with zero science experience created the Food Pyramid). Of course, the current "Food Plate" is not based in dietary science, either, but "science."
I was free to spend every dime I had as a kid on sugar-and I did. It's what kids do-they ahve sweet teeth. I outgrew it and am not and never have been (short of right after giving birth) fat. The government does not need to regulate it.
momof4 at February 4, 2012 4:38 AM
Brazil, Mexico, Australia, the EU, and Russia have higher sugar consumption per capita than the US:
http://www.illovo.co.za/Libraries/2010_Annual_Report/Annual_Report_2010_Part_6.sflb.ashx
This tells me that Sugar Nazis who think they have the perfect solution to America's obesity & health problems are deluded.
Martin at February 4, 2012 10:25 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/02/amazingly-i-did.html#comment-2959003">comment from MartinMartin, if you don't know dietary science, don't make assumptions about what will and won't solve obesity problems. Per Gary Taubes' massive research into what is dietary "science" and what is science, it is carbohydrates -- sugar, flour, starchy vegetables like potatoes, apple juice -- that cause the insulin secretion that puts on fat.
You can hear Dr. Michael Eades talk on my radio show about how you can "break" your metabolism and that once you break it, you're screwed.
Advice Goddess Radio -- Nerd Your Way To A Better Life!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon/2012/01/16/advice-goddess-radio-amy-alkon
Furthermore, if you know anyone who has cancer, Otto Warburg's research, blogged on Eades' site, suggests they should cut out sugar immediately. Sugar feeds cancer cells. I know two people with cancer right now, and I saw Mike and Mary Dan Eades last night and asked them a question for one who's going through chemo and will post about it today, I hope, from a post Eades did a while back.
There's some evidence pointing to Alzheimer's being "diabetes of the brain." I do not eat sugar or flour. I eat a scoop of chocolate gelato once a week, or two or three squares of chocolate if I can't get the gelato. Other than that, I am very low-carb and have never been healthier.
Amy Alkon
at February 4, 2012 10:40 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/02/amazingly-i-did.html#comment-2959011">comment from Amy AlkonPeople who want to know why flour, for one, is so bad for them, should read Dr. William Davis' Wheat Belly.
To find out how to eat healthy -- per evidence -- read the Eades' The Protein Power Lifeplan.
Also, Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It (Vintage).
Amy Alkon
at February 4, 2012 10:45 AM
Interesting idea, but woe to ever party/group that decides to go with it. I would guess the Democrats would not even be that stupid to try.
Interesting any time the government gets in the control game it does not go well.
Tea and taxes... hmmm colonists start getting uppity.
Alcohol and prohibition - build up of organized crime and eventual repeal.
Ya government may be successful with smaller bans/control of something. That is the population that wants said product or service is low. Only so many people want raw milk. Most will not care if some farms get raided.
The bigger you go the bigger the outrage. Look at recently - SOPA. People want the right to download music or watch youtube.
So will the next revolution be the Twinkie revolution or the Cola revolution. Ha - this government overthrow is brought to you by the makers of Coca Cola. Little twist here of Coke recent slogan - Life Begins Here.... The Revolution begins here.
Through, I could see the small step plan happen. Government does little change here and then another there. Till all sheep/citizens are chewing on celery.
John Paulson at February 4, 2012 10:51 AM
Re: trapped into bad eating habits, my mother, who has type 2 diabetes, changed her eating habits at age 80. She loves starchy food, but once she figured out how much better she felt avoiding it, she whacked a bunch of carb out of her diet.
Lori at February 4, 2012 5:33 PM
The way the government subsidizes sugar producers is to maintain a high tariff on imported sugar. If the tariff was dropped the price of sugar would go down. US consumers pay about three times the world price for sugar. Cheaper sugar might not be a good idea; but if this happened, there would be less demand and use for high fructose corn syrup, which I think would be a good idea.
ken in sc at February 4, 2012 6:21 PM
Ken, tariffs aren't all that the government does for sugar producers. In addition, there are both direct subsidies, and price floors that limit competition. Must of the U.S. sugar cane industry is in Louisiana, and doing favors for the sugar industry was how the Democratic Party kept its grip on the state for decades.
Cousin Dave at February 5, 2012 8:50 AM
Dana Carpender has said she used to steal to support her sugar habit when she was a kid.
nonegiven at February 5, 2012 9:37 AM
Sometimes I wonder if I am being too anal regarding my dogmatic nutritional beliefs(Low carb) and if I am being a total ahole that I don't give little girls selling Girl Scout cookies the time of day at all.
Certainly would not waste my time lecturing them or their mommy's but I do think they are spreading and selling nasty stuff that is potentially very damaging.
Ron S at February 9, 2012 9:04 AM
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