Cut salt and saturated fat levels in processed food to save thousands of lives, says NICE: "Tens of thousands of lives could be saved, and millions of people spared the suffering of living with the effects of heart disease and stroke, simply by producing healthier food says new NICE guidance today (Tuesday 22 June). The guidance calls for the food industry to further reduce the salt and saturated fats in the food it produces, building on the good work already started."When I was a prosecutor in Baltimore, near the end of my service I was trying to work out some sort of case where the defendant was accused of selling marijuna. It must have been consolidated with my more serious felony case as I was not a felony drug prosecutor. When we approached the judge to discuss a possible plea, the defense attorney said that the young man had turned his life around and was now working at McDonalds. Having sworn off everything with a drive-through at that time, I wryly commented to the judge and his attorney, "he's killing more people now than he ever did selling marijuana." We all had a good laugh, but it was true.
I don't think we should shut down fast food operations or even force them to serve healthier foods, despite the fact that this would save many lives. But I don't have a problem with using persuasion and other non-violent tactics to encourage restaurants to serve healthier products. I feel the same way about drugs. Let's encourage other people not to use them. Let's not encourage their sale. I don't have a problem with going after those who target children. "Happy meals" should be banned and the people who sell them aren't much better than drug dealers who target kids, in my humble opinion. But at the end of the day, adults have the responsibility to inform themselves about what they put into their bodies and have the right to make their own decisions about what foods and drugs they might want to consume.
