2018 was the year the Bansturbators went postal…
Whatever you like to eat, whatever you drink, whatever you enjoy doing in your spare time, the Bansturbators wanted to slap health warnings on it, make it more expensive or, ideally, regulate it out of existence. All the evidence from the past suggests that none of these draconian measures work. We know, for example, that in the UK all the government’s fizzy drink tax did was ruin the taste of popular brands like Lucozade, Ribena and Irn Bru; and in Australia the incidence of smoking actually increased after the health police decided to replace branded packaging with “plain packaging” and grisly visual health warnings…
Here are just a few examples from around the world of Nanny Statism gone totally insane:
Cancer Warnings on Coffee
Starbucks and other coffee sellers must include cancer warnings ruled a judge in – where else? – Los Angeles California.
A little-known not-for-profit group sued some 90 coffee retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds they were violating a California law requiring companies to warn consumers of chemicals in their products that could cause cancer.
One of those chemicals is acrylamide, a byproduct of roasting coffee beans that is present in high levels in brewed coffee.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a decision dated Wednesday that Starbucks and other companies had failed to show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in the coffee roasting process, court documents showed.
Cartoon Mascots Should Be Banned on Sugary Cereals, UK MPs Demand
Cartoon or fictional characters, like Tony the Tiger and the Milky Bar Kid, should no longer be used to promote unhealthy food, a group of MPs says.
The proposed ban would also mean that film or TV characters like superheroes could no longer appear on such foods.
But characters like the Jolly Green Giant could still promote healthy food, the health select committee says.
From the parliamentary committee report:
The next round of the Government’s childhood obesity plan should include a ban on brand generated characters or licensed TV and film characters from being used to promote high fat, sugar and salt products. The plan should also include a commitment to end sponsorship by brands overwhelmingly associated with high fat, sugar and salt products of sports clubs, venues, youth leagues and tournaments.
French Baguettes Must Lose Their Salt, Declares Parliamentary Committee
“It’s a real public health problem,” said Loic Prud’homme, one of a 20-member parliamentary committee looking into the matter.
Michele Crouzet, another committee member, said the daily intake of salt in France, at about 10 to 12 grams, is still double the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.
Excessive salt levels are linked to cardiovascular trouble, which in France is the second-biggest killer among health problems.
Californians Attempt to Impose Cancer Warnings on Cereals
In the underlying case, Dr. Richard Sowinski alleged the breakfast cereals must have cancer and reproductive health warnings on their packaging because they contained acrylamide, a chemical known to pose health risks and included on the Proposition 65 list of harmful products.
But the cereal companies in their petition to appeals courts stated that any attempt to include such warnings must be denied because it is preempted by federal law that encourages “federal policy objectives to increase Americans’ consumption of whole grains.”
Note, though, that the case was won not on the grounds of commercial freedom but on the dubious grounds that breakfast cereals are somehow good for you…
Wine No Longer to Be Displayed After 8pm in Lithuania
Restaurants have also been affected. Wine bottles are no longer allowed to be displayed after 8 p.m. as its labels are considered advertising and patrons have a choice of buying wine by the glass or having it served in a decanter.
“This is just ridiculous,” said Arunas Starkus, study director at the Sommelier School of Lithuania, calling the new rules “simply irrational and naive.”
European Union Bans Dark-Baked Bread
NoTricksZone reports:
I’ve gotten used to the high levels of regulation here in Europe, and it’s gotten tough to surprise me. Yet, EU bureaucrats never fail at finding new ways to do so.
The latest pertains to the color of bread. The most recent news on EU regulation is reported for example by the Austrian online Wochenblick here, which writes: “EU regulation: Effective immediately our bread is not allowed to be too dark”!
The risk, according to the EU, is acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound that can form on starchy food if the cooking temperature is too high (some studies suggest).
European nannies are afraid some people could get sick from eating overly dark bread.
UK Government to List Calorie Counts on All Restaurant, Cafe, Takeaway Menus
Calorie counts will have to be displayed on the menus of all restaurants, cafes and fast-food outlets under Government plans that have prompted a Cabinet row, The Telegraph has learned.
The Department of Health will within days unveil plans to display the number of calories in every meal to enable people to make “informed and healthy choices for themselves and their family”.
Confectionary and Red Meat Should Come With Health Warnings, Says Scottish Bansturbatress…
According to the Herald Scotland
Food shoppers should be confronted with graphic images of tooth decay and bowel cancer on products such as confectionary and red meat to encourage them to make healthier choices, according to a psychologist hired to advise Food Standards Scotland.
Emma Kenny, a behavioural psychologist who has commentated on television shows such as Celebrity Big Brother in the past, also said it was “dangerous and incorrect” to send a message to people that being overweight can be beautiful or healthy.
Bacon Is the New Tobacco, Say ‘Experts’
According to the Guardian:
The reputation of the meat industry will sink to that of big tobacco unless it removes cancer-causing chemicals from processed products such as bacon and ham, a coalition of experts and politicians warn today.
Led by Professor Chris Elliott, the food scientist who ran the UK government’s investigation into the horse-meat scandal, and Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist, the coalition claims there is a “consensus of scientific opinion” that the nitrites used to cure meats produce carcinogens called nitrosamines when ingested.
Except, as Tim Worstall notes, this attempt to ban ‘nitrites’ is a thinly-veiled attempt to ban bacon:
A call to ban the production of bacon and ham using traditional means arrives today. This isn’t quite what Aseem Malhotra and others say, instead they call merely for the production of bacon to not use nitrites. The difficulty with this being that bacon is, closely enough, the preservation of meat using nitrites. Sure, we can preserve meat in other ways – use sodium chloride as in salt preservation for example. We can can, freeze, pickle in vinegar, steep in wine, all are meat preservation methods that have been successfully used and we can do that with pork – as has been done at times and places. But none of those methods produce bacon, the point of bacon production being to, well, to produce bacon, isn’t it?
Everyone, Everywhere Wants to Ban Almost Everything Made of Plastic…
From the Telegraph:
Parents could be told not to wrap their children’s sandwiches in cling film under plans to make all schools plastic-free within three years, ministers are announce.
It comes as the government announces that the 5p charge for shopping bags is to be doubled to 10p, in a major escalation in the war on plastic.
The new charge will cover not just major supermarkets but will be extended to 253,000 medium sized stores and smaller corner shops currently exempted from the rules.
Damian Hinds, the education secretary, said schools and parents must also now play their part in helping to preserve the environment.
He urged headteachers to stop using items such as plastic straws, bottles, food packaging and plastic bags and opt instead for sustainable alternatives.
Except as we know the whole ‘single-use’ plastic scare is #fakenews.
Christmas and Birthday Cards Depicting Alcohol ‘Undermine Public Health’, Warn Experts
According to the Mail:
The opinion piece, written by Devon County Council’s Tracey Polak, assistant director of public health, and Virginia Pearson, chief officer for communities, public health, environment and prosperity, said Christmas and birthday cards ‘normalise’ heavy drinking.
[…]
‘While alcohol-related deaths and illness are increasing across the UK and Public Health England is running campaigns targeting excess alcohol consumption, these cards reflect that many people consider drinking to be harmless and fun.
‘Ultimately the responsibility for choosing cards lies with the purchaser so perhaps it is worth reflecting the next time that you choose one whether the message is one that you condone and wish to pass on.’
Tax Everything Sweet, Subsidise Vegetables, Demands Britain’s Nanny in Chief:
According to the Mail:
Junk food should be taxed and vegetables subsidised to tackle our obesity crisis, Britain’s top doctor has demanded.
Professor Dame Sally Davies said voluntary agreements with the food industry had failed to sufficiently reduce sugar and salt consumption – and that tough action is now needed to save children from a lifetime of ill-health.
In a defiant challenge to critics, the chief medical officer said: ‘Do you want to call that nanny state? If so I am chief nanny.
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