New Nutrition Labels: Obviously, Obesity Is Due To Poor Eyesight!

Have you seen the Obama's newly mandated "Nutrition Facts" labels for all processed foods sold in America?  Well, here's the proposed modifications:

The most notable change is the that calorie counts and servings per container are a lot bigger and a lot bolder with much of the data remaining the same as before. According to Michelle Obama and the FDA, this change will "only" cost the "food industry" $2 billion but it will return between $20 billion and $30 billion in better health over 20 years.  Of course, the non-political truth is that you and I will ultimately pay for this with higher prices; not some fuzzy entity like the "food industry" as Michelle would have you believe.

So, really, all this time we could have solved the obesity problem in this country by assisting our weak-sighted population by making the calorie and servings numbers large enough so that you could read them from across the street. Well, I certainly would like to see the "science" behind that "fact".  Further,  I would especially like to see the science that said that the extra large type had to be of just this size and amount of boldness.  Apparently, a text that was half as large just wouldn't cut it.

And, what about all those savings in health expenses?  Certainly, $20 to $30 billion does sound like a lot of money. But, it's over 20 years and against a population of 317 million.  So, the math says that each of us will save between $63 and less than $100 in health expenses over those 20 years; assuming the population stays the same as today.  I just don't know how, in any way, that savings in health costs could even be quantified by merely changing the type size on a nutrition label.

To me, this is just another political stunt, in a political year, by the Obama's to make people think they are really going to cure obesity by forcing food companies to ante-up with billions in new costs.   The simple matter is that those people who are concerned enough about their health and food intake are going to read any nutrition label; no matter what the type size is.  Enlarging it is not going to deter the true over-eater who uses high calorie food as a source of comfort or enjoyment.

Reference:

Food labels to get first makeover in 20 years: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/food-labels-to-get-first-makeover-in-20-years-with-new-emphasis-on-calories-sugar/2014/02/26/c8feeb4c-9f08-11e3-9ba6-800d1192d08b_story.html

Perry's Bachmann/HPV-Gardisil Problem

If you watched the debate on CNN last night, you would have heard Bachmann incessantly go after Gov. Perry for his executive order mandating that young teenage girls be vaccinated against the Human papilloma virus (HPV) with a product called Gardisil. Bachmann's attack seemed to be falsely based on the fact that Gardisil is supposedly a dangerous vaccine and that, somehow, Perry had put young girls lives at risk because the CEO of the manufacturer of the drug, Merck, was a Perry donor.

But, some this argument is littered with falsehoods. First, Gardisil has been administered to over 40 million women worldwide. Of those 40 million, there have been 20 deaths and, none of those deaths have yet been proven to be a result of taking the vaccine. In the U.S. alone, there are nearly 4000 deaths a year that are a direct result of contracting the human papilloma virus. The deaths worldwide are in excess of 230,000 each year and Gardisil has proven it could cut those deaths by two-thirds. Further, and completely contrary to Bachmann's claim, Gardisil has never been associated with mental retardation. In general, the side effects from taking the vaccine have been found to be minimal and the incidence of any serious illness following the administration of the drug has not been statistically different when compared with those not receiving the drug. Clearly, the benefits of Gardisil are enormous in light of the number of HPV deaths. That's why our own Food And Drug Administration has never stopped recommending that every girl, before the beginning of any sexual activity, be vaccinated with Gardisil.

The real Perry/Gardisil problem was that Perry used an executive order to mandate the vaccination of all young, teenage girls in Texas instead of going through the legislature. Ultimately, and for that very reason, the Perry-order was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. And, last night, Perry admitted he was wrong. Also, the Perry-order wasn't as mandatory as was implied by Bachmann last night, That order had allowed an easy "opt out" for any parent not wanting their daughter vaccinated. To me, Bachmann is desperately trying to regain her second place standing that was lost when Perry entered the race; but, in reality, her slippage in the polls has more to do with her own missteps. I think reasonable voters will again see Bachmann in a negative light in her Gardisil attack on Perry. Once again, she is looking uniformed and subject to considerable gaffes.

Jalapeños: On Notice

After nearly destroying the entire tomato industry in the United States, "our" FDA (Food and Drug Administration) "thinks" they've finally nailed down source of the salmonella contamination that has sickened more than 1,300 people in this country (See Full Story). Now, they are "sure" that it is because of jalapeño peppers that have crossed our borders from Mexico. So, unless your jalapeño pepper has proof of U.S. citizenship, don't eat it. And, eating jalapeños in any "sanctuary city" (like San Francisco) might be especially risky.

I am sure that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is in the process, right now, of raiding businesses with suspected illegal immigrant jalapeños.


Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com's photostream on Flickr with Creative Commons Licensing (Click to View Other Works).