"War on Fat" - or...how statist gluttony eats responsibility and liberty
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 or...how statist gluttony eats responsibility and liberty
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Introduction [Top]
In the recent past, I discovered that reducing my saturated fat and caloric intake actually lowered my weight, waist size and cholesterol level! I added a regular workout plan to the mix and I lost more weight and actually feel healthier.
Imagine that - I actually could control my health by implementing lifestyle changes.
Here's the tricky part that requires some effort - I have to continue to watch my diet or else I will regain the weight and the accompanying health problem. Yes, I actually have to make sure not to eat Big Macs or Krispy Kreme doughnuts twice a day. Can I do it? Do I have free will? Do you?
The thing is...I could care less if you are obese, smoke or drink grain alcohol. You are not hurting anyone but yourself. It's your body. It becomes my business when government forces me to pay for your bad behaviors, as the supporters of socialized health care propose.
Statists argue that people are not responsible for their own actions and lives. They say that humans are at the mercy of such inanimate objects such as guns, drugs and violent video games. They say that we cannot control ourselves when faceless "corporations" such as McDonald's or Microsoft try to sell us their products.
So, what are helpless humans to do? Why, look to the government, of course!
Topics
Statist destruction of personal responsibility
Statist Statist destruction of private property
Statist destruction of personal responsibility [Top]
George Bush issued Executive Order 13266 on June 20, 2002 entitled, "Activities To Promote Personal Fitness".
Among other things, the order states, "While personal fitness is an individual responsibility, the Federal Government may, within the authority and funds otherwise available, expand the opportunities for individuals to empower themselves to improve their
general health."
The links and articles in this section demonstrate the disturbing trend toward increased federal intrusion into the nutrition and fitness choices of every American.
Fat Nannies Want to Bust Your Gut- Jacob Sullum, July 15, 2005 [REASON]
Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic?A growing number of dissenting researchers accuse government and medical authorities--as well as the media--of misleading the public about the health consequences of rising body weights. - W. Wayt Gibbs, May 23, 2005 [Scientific American]
Fat, Flabby and Forgetful?- John Luik, May 16, 2005 [Tech Central Station]
Detroit eyes tax on Big Macs, Whoppers- May 9, 2005 [The Washington Times]
Super-Sizing Statistics- Wendy McElroy, May 5, 2005 [LewRockwell.com]
Junk Food Ad Ban May Not Make 'Blind Bit of Difference'- Chris Moncrieff, March 31, 2005 [Scotsman]
Sen. Harkin to introduce bill to outlaw advertising "junk" to kids- March 17, 2005 [AMonline.com]
Schwarzenegger says he wants to ban junk food at California schools- Erica Werner, March 6, 2005 [The Canadian Press]
Don't Blame SpongeBob for Child Obesity- Radley Balko, March 2, 2005 [CATO]
Maine legislators to take on obesity in session- January 23, 2005 [Foster's Sunday Citizen]
Junk Food Ad Ban In The EU A Possibility- January 22, 2005 [Halifax Live]
Latest global threat:
Ronald McDonald- January 22, 2005 [WorldNetDaily]
Food: The Coming AssaultMy obesity ought to be my problem, not that of my neighbors. But that ideal of individual responsibility is now nearly dead among public policy experts; there isn't any money in it for them. - Tibor R. Machan, December 22, 2004 [Mises]
Chips, Dips, and Red Ink- Gary North, December 3, 2004 [LewRockwell.com]
CDC Study Overestimated Deaths From Obesity- Rob Stein, November 24, 2004 [Washington Post]
Ban ‘junk-food’ ads by celebrities?- November 14, 2004 [MSNBC]
The War on FatIs the size of your butt the government’s business? - Jacob Sullum, August/September 2004 [REASON]
American SlenderWhen did freedom become just another word for 10 pounds left to lose? - Nick Gillespie, August/September 2004 [REASON]
Are We Really Force Fed?We are advised that America is experiencing an "Obesity Epidemic", as if it is some sort of contagious disease. - P. Gardner Goldsmith, July 30, 2004 [Mises]
Obesity and 'Public Health'?Obesity is a problem for many people, but it is not a public health problem. By calling it one, however, Thompson can promise that we, the taxpayers, will pay for everyone's diet programs, stomach surgery, and behavioral counseling. - David Boaz, July 20, 2004 [CATO]
Obesity Is Not A DiseasePharmaceutical and Weight Loss Industry Driving Hysteria Over Obesity For Taxpayer-Funded Profits. - Mike Burita, July 16, 2004 [Center for Consumer Freedom]
US weighs in: Obesity now a disease- July 16, 2004 [Yahoo! News]
Getting Fat From the War on CapitalismSocialists of all stripes have long waged an ideological war against personal responsibility, for if it is true that adults cannot and should not be held responsible for their own decisions, then the argument can be made that the state should step in and control virtually all aspects of peoples’ lives. - Thomas J. DiLorenzo, July 1, 2004 [LewRockwell.com]
Big Mac AttackSuper Size Me asks the question: Is McDonald’s unappealing -- or irresistible? - Jacob Sullum, July 2004 [REASON]
The Great Obesity Con-sensus- June 28, 2004 [The Center for Consumer Freedom]
The 'War' Against ObesityUnfortunately, a healthy majority of poll respondents also blame fast food companies, restaurants, marketers and advertisers, and food manufacturers. - Radley Balko, June 25, 2004 [CATO]
The Assault On Personal ChoiceLike a bad food cop working outside the law, CSPI's Margo Wootan coldly responded to the FTC chairman's concerns: "People are just hiding behind the First Amendment." - June 4, 2004 [The Center for Consumer Freedom]
Tipping the Scale...it would be quite a stretch to call Super Size Me balanced, which is how it was repeatedly described during the question-and-answer session at the D.C. film festival. The movie pays virtually no attention to the individualist critique of the war on fat, instead depicting it as a struggle between public-spirited activists and greedy corporations. - Jacob Sullum, May 7, 2004 [Tech Central Station]
Obesity Obsession- Steven Milloy, March 12, 2004 [Fox News]
VictimizationingBecause of the rewards provided by courts, legislatures, and executives, the natural result of victimizationing is a race to the bottom. - Thomas Creasing, January 23, 2003 [LewRockwell.com]
Poor Fat PeopleVarious government agencies report that poor Americans are more likely to be fat than non-poor Americans. You know what’s next: To make it even more politically incorrect to say anything negative about fat people or poor people, we’re now to be told that those of us who are not poor are responsible when a poor person gets fat. - Brad Edmonds, January 18, 2003 [LewRockwell.com]
McDonalds Made Me Fat!Bad law isn't going to produce better meals or safer medicine. - Ralph R. Reiland, January 16, 2003 [Capitalism Magazine]
Are Dietary Guidelines a Public Good?- Robert E. Wright, November 2002 [FEE]
McJunk ScienceMcDonald's just announced it will use a different cooking oil to reduce the amount of trans fatty acids in its fried foods. It sounds like an advance for corporate responsibility and public health. But it's actually a big fat mistake. - Steven Milloy, September 9, 2002 [CATO]
The Food, the Fat, and the Ugly- Karen De Coster, August 9, 2002 [LewRockwell.com]
Legal Man Takes on the "Fat Pushers" Who's Next? Krispy Kreme?In today's America, of course, giving people free and enticing donuts may be enough to set up Krispy Kreme for a lawsuit … by fatties. - Ralph R. Reiland, August 4, 2002 [Capitalism Magazine]
The Fat Police Indict MargarineNo amount of margarine is safe to eat. Nor are there safe amounts of vegetable shortening, dairy products, pastries, crackers, fried foods -- even breast milk. - Steven Milloy, July 17, 2002 [CATO]
A job for nannyFat people aren’t victims. They’re just fat, and it’s time they were urged to shape up.- Tania Kindersley, July 6, 2002 [The Spectator]
The "War on Fat": A Review- July 3, 2002 [ConsumerFreedom.com]
Darwin's Dangerous Diet...how about we do something to remove some of the restrictions that keep people from really taking control of their own weight? As soon as something pops up that starts working, some ambulance-chasing lawyer finds someone they can represent as a victim and gets it banned, or some FDA bureaucrat starts trying to regulate it more (if they actually bothered to let it onto the American market in the first place!) - Kenneth Green, July 3, 2002 [RPPI]
War On Fat: Here Come The Lawyers- June 25, 2002 [ConsumerFreedom.com]
Bush declares war on fat America- Ed Vulliamy, June 23, 2002 [The Observer]
Supersize Me, Baby!Only in the world of public-health extremists do you learn that paying less money for more of what you want is a bad thing. - Dr. Kenneth Green, June 20, 2002 [RPPI]
Big Fat LieIt once seemed safe to consider such ideas manifestly absurd. Sadly, that is no longer true. - Jacob Sullum, June 7, 2002 [REASON]
And the Latest Food Scare Is...Pizza!- May 17, 2002 [American Council on Science and Health]
Fat Attack!They're at it again. Since the government has appointed itself everyone's nanny they're determined to make us live right and live healthy. - D.L. Brooks, May 17, 2002 [LaissezFaireBooks.com]
Fat Tax? Fat Chance- Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., May 7, 2002 [HealthFactsandFears.com]
It’s the Fat PoliceOne problem with state paternalism is that it requires much power and coercion. Indeed, there is a strange correlation between state power and interventions by the public health elite. "Food," said a Nazi slogan, "is not a private matter." - Pierre Lemieux, April 6, 2002 [The Independent Institute]
Husky Hoops Stars?Pound for pound, the best players in college athletics are all Final Four fatties -- "overweight" by federal government standards. - March 27, 2002 [ConsumerFreedom.com]
Food Industry To Blame for Fat?Our prospects for long life, good heath, and the pursuit of happiness are far brighter in the hands of competitive, profit-driven food corporations than they are in those of national nutrition-nanny know-it-alls. - Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H., March 12, 2002 [HealthFactsandFears.com]
Government in Your ArteriesSome of the unintended consequences would be amusing if they weren’t tragic: With high enough taxes on junk food, we’d see a black market for mayonnaise, and eventually we’d have nonviolent mayonnaise offenders as a huge percentage of the inmates in federal prisons. - Brad Edmonds, January 29, 2002 [LewRockwell.com]
The War Against Dietary Fat- April 10, 2001 [ConsumerFreedom.com]
Hide the ham: Health fanatics want to slap a "fat tax" on your favorite foods- released December 8, 1999 [LP Press Release]
Coming soon: The Fat TaxIs obesity harmless? Obviously not. But do we ask too much by allowing people to govern their own behavior? - Larry Elder, November 9, 1999 [Capitalism Magazine]
Statist destruction of private property [Top]
Hold That Fat, New York Asks Its Restaurants- Marc Santora, August 11, 2005 [The New York Times]
Taking the biscuit: how a health lawsuit threatens America's favourite cookieA British-born lawyer called Stephen Joseph has filed suit against Kraft Foods Inc, the manufacturers, alleging not only that the biscuits are unhealthy, but that the company engages in "fraudulent and deceptive marketing." - Andrew Gumbel, May 13, 2003 [Independent.co.uk]
Burger Ban Urged for Children- Ainsley Thomson, April 24, 2003 [The New Zealand Herald]
Fat City for Trial LawyersCaesar Barber, a 272-pounder, has sued the major fast-food chains because he is obese. "They said, `100% beef,'" Barber whined. "I thought that meant it was good for you. Those people in the advertisements don't really tell you what's in the food. It's all fat, fat and more fat." - Robert A. Levy, August 28, 2002 [CATO]
The War on Good FoodBoth the food and drug wars attack and criminalize the behavior of people who are often near and dear to us, and in the case of small farmers, hard-working entrepreneurs as well. - Michael Miles, July 25, 2002 [LewRockwell.com]
Ailing Man Sues Fast-Food FirmsA New York City lawyer has filed suit against the four big fast-food corporations, saying their fatty foods are responsible for his client’s obesity and related health problems. - Michael Y. Park, July 24, 2002 [FoxNews.com]
Fattening the StateSouthwest Airlines recently announced that, as of this week, "persons of size" who fly with them will have to purchase an additional seat if they cannot fit into one...Once again, it is private property that provides the only conflict-free resolution to problems of this kind. By intruding in the affairs of civil society and curtailing the rights of property owners in the name of stopping so-called anti-fat discrimination, it will be the state, when all is said and done, that ultimately grows the fattest. - Thomas E. Woods, Jr., June 25, 2002 [Mises]
Lawyers See Fat Payoffs in Junk Food Lawsuits- Michael Y. Park, January 23, 2002 [FoxNews.com]
Writings
Eat, Already- Brad Edmonds
Enter the Zone: A Dietary Roadmap- Karen De Coster
How I Found Thin in an Unthin World- Jeremy Sapienza
State Science is Bad for Your Health- Brad Edmonds
Lawyers Run Amok- Doug Bandow
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Mark Valenti's Liberty Page created and updated by Mark D. Valenti fromSeptember 1999 through
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