Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 17, 2006 15:23:50 GMT -5
I'm all for personal accountability, but when we have such a degree of unhealthy, overweight people in one specific culture compared to other cultures, then some of the blame HAS to go on that culture.
I mean it seems that gluttony has become a deeply engrained part of our fast-food, immediate-gratification, corporate consumer culture. From the time we are babies we are getting bombarded with TV pitches for sugar-infested breakfast cereals, sugar-infested colas, trans fat-infested chips and burgers, etc. Junk food is easily accessible--which is a draw to lazy people. Plus people in America drive everywhere. It's not like you go out and walk off your meal afterward. Many Americans sit on their couch and watch Tv afterward. So it's a combination of poor diet and a lack of exercise that is propigated by our corporae consumer culture.
As for extra food, it is usually wasted. Thrown out. Dispicable, I know, but it is true. There is currently a new tax in Oakland (California) on fast-food chains because most of the litter in the streets comes from fast-food joints. So in order to pay for cleaning it up the city of Oakland is charging a tax. I think this is a good idea. In fact I think the people who eat at fast-food joints (which is basically everybody) also should be taxed. We have 'Sin' taxes for people who buy cigarettes, alcohol or who gamble, so why not have 'sin' taxes on people who buy fast-food?
Also, another thing contributing to the unhealthy condition of so many Americans is all of the toxins and drugs Americans are putting into their bodies. It starts with Health Insurance--which is a total scam. Health Insurance companies and Pharmacuetical companies got togther a couple of years ago, paid off the Bush Administration and rewrote the Health Insurance laws of this country so that the rates have risen so high that there are almost 50 million people in this country without health insurance. A third of them are children. Luckily I live in the only state (Illinois) that provides affordable health care for all children under 12. I pay 15 bucks a month for full coverage for my baby boy Jack. If I got that coverage through a private health insurance company it would be over 300 bucks a month--which I can't afford.
But to further compound the problem is over-the-counter prescription drugs. Here in the US everyone is addicted to prescription drugs. Everyone's on allegery medicine or heart medication, or whatever. Meanwhile Corporations are the ones that have dumped chemicals into the air and water, pollute our food with pesticides, use unhealthy preservatives in all of our foods, that have resulted in everyone in AMerica being phyiscially and mentally unhealthy. The only people I know who aren't on prescription drugs are those who are on illegal drugs. So the Drug companies and the Health Insurance companies are in kahoots together to drive up the prices of drugs, which drives up the price of insurance. Then the medical professionals are given incentives to prescribe more drugs, which in turn jacks up the price of insurance even more. And the cycle continues...
I mean it seems that gluttony has become a deeply engrained part of our fast-food, immediate-gratification, corporate consumer culture. From the time we are babies we are getting bombarded with TV pitches for sugar-infested breakfast cereals, sugar-infested colas, trans fat-infested chips and burgers, etc. Junk food is easily accessible--which is a draw to lazy people. Plus people in America drive everywhere. It's not like you go out and walk off your meal afterward. Many Americans sit on their couch and watch Tv afterward. So it's a combination of poor diet and a lack of exercise that is propigated by our corporae consumer culture.
As for extra food, it is usually wasted. Thrown out. Dispicable, I know, but it is true. There is currently a new tax in Oakland (California) on fast-food chains because most of the litter in the streets comes from fast-food joints. So in order to pay for cleaning it up the city of Oakland is charging a tax. I think this is a good idea. In fact I think the people who eat at fast-food joints (which is basically everybody) also should be taxed. We have 'Sin' taxes for people who buy cigarettes, alcohol or who gamble, so why not have 'sin' taxes on people who buy fast-food?
Also, another thing contributing to the unhealthy condition of so many Americans is all of the toxins and drugs Americans are putting into their bodies. It starts with Health Insurance--which is a total scam. Health Insurance companies and Pharmacuetical companies got togther a couple of years ago, paid off the Bush Administration and rewrote the Health Insurance laws of this country so that the rates have risen so high that there are almost 50 million people in this country without health insurance. A third of them are children. Luckily I live in the only state (Illinois) that provides affordable health care for all children under 12. I pay 15 bucks a month for full coverage for my baby boy Jack. If I got that coverage through a private health insurance company it would be over 300 bucks a month--which I can't afford.
But to further compound the problem is over-the-counter prescription drugs. Here in the US everyone is addicted to prescription drugs. Everyone's on allegery medicine or heart medication, or whatever. Meanwhile Corporations are the ones that have dumped chemicals into the air and water, pollute our food with pesticides, use unhealthy preservatives in all of our foods, that have resulted in everyone in AMerica being phyiscially and mentally unhealthy. The only people I know who aren't on prescription drugs are those who are on illegal drugs. So the Drug companies and the Health Insurance companies are in kahoots together to drive up the prices of drugs, which drives up the price of insurance. Then the medical professionals are given incentives to prescribe more drugs, which in turn jacks up the price of insurance even more. And the cycle continues...
