Blame parents not food companies
David Shearer writes:
Here’s a “school lunch” bought from an Auckland dairy this morning. It has 8 teaspoons of sugar – about twice the recommended daily amount for a child, in one single meal.
Obesity is poised to overtake tobacco as New Zealand’s leading preventable health risk. As long as the government lacks the courage to regulate junk food, its plan to tackle obesity isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Time to stand up to the powerful food manufacturing lobby for the sake of our kids.
And the school lunch is:
I am staggered that David Shearer thinks that if school kids are eating this for lunch, the problem is food manufacturers, not parents.
On an individual level all four food items are fine as an occasional snack. Or is Labour saying that these food items must be banned or taxed extra?
The problem is if they are what a kid is having for lunch on a regular basis.
And I’ll be blunt – you’re a bad parent if that is what you are having your kids eat for lunch.
For a fraction of the cost you can make up a healthy lunch for your kids – sandwiches, fruit, sultanas etc. There is no excuse for the above to be a regular lunch item for kids.
Why do politicians of the left always look to blame companies, rather than blame individuals for poor choices?
No amount of tax or regulation short of banning all potato chips in NZ will stop a kid eating that for lunch, if their parents are not taking an interest in them having healthy food.
And don’t say this is all poor families can afford. That lunch would cost:
- Calci yum $1.69
- Grain waves $1.62
- Bluebird $1.49
- Minees $1.00
So around $5 for that.
Maybe David Shearer could tell us exactly what regulation he proposes that would stop that food being sold from a dairy?
Stuff reports Andrew Little is saying the same:
Labour leader Andrew Little says the Government should take a stick to junk food producers, rather than shying away from regulation as it tries to tackle rising obesity levels.
Yes how dare the food producers create potato chips. They must be beaten up for it.
There is nothing wrong with so called junk food, in moderation. I have potato chips around once a month. If someone has them every day and is obese, the answer is not regulating or banning potato chips.