Re: Are we protected from Junk Food Corporations?

From: DonQuijote1954 (nolionnoproblem_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 08/30/04 

Date: 30 Aug 2004 09:54:25 -0700

"options, options, options"
 
So many things we can do, so little time...

"effective government regulation may never come as long as food
companies continue donating money to politicians"

'Equal Time' for Veggies, Junk

Lawsuits against food companies are currently legal long shots,
experts say. Some say government regulations, taxes and changes in
insurance premiums are preferable and would achieve the same goals.
Potential regulations could include requiring "equal time" for junk
food and healthy food in vending machines, banning sugary drinks and
high-calorie foods from schools, and requiring all restaurants to
include nutritional information on their menus.

The non-profit group Center for Science in the Public Interest has
proposed a small tax on soft drinks. A penny tax on every 12 ounces of
soda or sugary soft drink sold would yield $1.5 billion in revenues to
pay for nutrition or physical education programs, says Margo Wootan of
CSPI.

Another option is differential health insurance rates for those who
cannot control their weight, says law professor John Banzhaf, just as
life insurance premiums are higher for smokers. "That doesn't get back
at the manufacturers, but it gets back at the people who use," he
said, "If life insurance companies were not charging smokers more we
would be outraged."

Changes in laws, policies and taxes might help Americans recognize the
gravity of obesity, experts say.

"I want to get to the point where people are in the hallway and see a
vending machine and say, 'That's bad, that shouldn't be there,' in the
same way as if they saw a cigarette vending machine," says Tom Farley
of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical
Medicine.

But as with the tobacco case, effective government regulation may
never come as long as food companies continue donating money to
politicians, some say. "The food industry may well turn out to be as
entrenched [as the tobacco industry]," says Richard Daynard, a law
professor at Northeastern University who was involved in the tobacco
litigation.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/D...lame020122.html