Defiant Consumers
September 28th, 2009 at 1:00 pm by David FarrarThe SST reports:
Slapping a high-fat content label on food won’t stop people eating it, says a visiting nutrition expert.
Josephine Wills, European Food Information Council director general, says food labelling is useless without supporting education and advertising campaigns.
Guest speaker at this week’s Nutrition Foundation annual meeting, Wills says research shows consumers can identify healthy foods, “but they’re not acting on it”. In Europe, half of shoppers knew which foods had less salt, fat and sugar – but in a supermarket aisle, only between nine percent and 27 percent made the healthier choice. “Taste and price are the strongest drivers when it comes to food choice. Nutrition is a little bit lower down.”
Oh my God. Consumers are choosing on price and taste, not just nutrition.
Obviously this can not be allowed to continue. The state should decide what foods are acceptable and do the shopping for households.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
There should be a massive campaign regarding nutritional eating habits, forcing sellers to sell only the “good” stuff, manufacturers of the “bad” stuff to produce it in unmarked (except for pictures of unhappy fat bastards) packets, saturation TV advertising and at least 12 hours of talkback type shows daily (on state broadcasting) where plain women and scrawney dickheads are allowed to pontificate about how bad “our” eating habits are and how they must change to what they say.
Backed of course by proposed legislation forcing the general populace to eat cardboard, sawdust and particleboard, laced with questionable fruit (currently marketed as muiseli) and drowned in the type of milk with all the milk taken out at least twice daily.
.
Then they might leave booze alone.
Vote:September 28th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
“…says food labelling is useless without supporting education and advertising campaigns.”
That is difficult when competing with the “education” and advertising campaigns that are already happening.
Companies have the freedom to promote all sorts of crap but you can’t control this by regulation. A lot of it isn’t bad crap in isolation. Being convinced you deserve a burger once a week is not that bad, but if the other six days you also think you deserve pizza, chicken, energy drinks etc etc then there is a collective problem. And one of the most eaten junk foods of all, fish and chips, isn’t advertised or labeled.
From a recent post:
Why is it that pubs won’t serve me if I’m drunk, but McDonalds
continue serving them fat f***ers? Its hardly fair.
But it wouldn’t be fair holding food sellers responsible for the condition of their customers. Reminds of another quote:
Braddock: “Winston, you are drunk, and what’s more you are disgustingly drunk.”
Vote:Churchill: “Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. And tomorrow I shall be sober.”
September 28th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
” manufacturers of the “bad” stuff to produce it in unmarked (except for pictures of unhappy fat bastards) packets,”
Now that is a damn good idea. I am prepared to make my image available (for the usual fees) as the ‘unhappy fat bastard”
Vote:to go on high fat/sugar products. I am usually a happy fat bastard but if need be can scowl for the camera. We must all make whatever sacrifices we can to save the gluttonous from their own stupidity.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Michelin men rule!
Vote:September 28th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
High calorie food should be taxed perhaps?
Vote:Fat pricks cost the country huge amounts, like smokers, more calories per gram, more tax.
User pays.???
September 28th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
When are we going to stop legislating/taxing to avoid individual ‘personal responsibility’?
Vote:Next we won’t be allowed to put butter on our toast – heck, butter’s 100% fat, can’t have that, someone might get heart disease. For goodness sake, this nanny state crap really pees me off!
September 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
we need to tax those who cost both taxpayers and the environment so, we need to up the tax take on:
Vote:fags (no offense Mr carter), booze, fatty AND sugary foods, those who operate and use cars, buses, planes, boats/ships (because what they are made of), users and producers of steel, plastics, oil, all other metals, houses (trees, copper nylon etc) blah blah blah.
For gods (are you allowed to say that anymore?) sake. Get out of my life, i have paid a freaking fortune in taxes over the past 35 years, I need a rest, stop telling me what to do and let me keep some of my money.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
On the push for country of origin etc and more info on packaging, I would have thought it would make great sense to do it voluntarily? You know, if you make your product from all organic, NZ ingredients and it is made in NZ by NSers you would put that loudly and proudly on in big letters on your packaging?? Simple I would have thought.
Vote:September 29th, 2009 at 6:31 am
What she ACTUALLLY said was that heart foundation low fat ticks were being used by food manufacturers to sell to customers who DID want to make informed choices but the manufacturers were lacing the food with excess sugar and salt so that the net dietary impact was bad.
For example, is there any reason why childrens breakfast cereal should be ‘low fat’ but have 30% sugar?
Vote: