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The Fattening of America



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Health Economist, Eric Finkelstein, from RTI International talks about the economics of food, and how it is making us fat. He also reveals interesting findings of a study he conducted, paying people to lose weight. What are the answers to curb America's fattening trend? He has some ideas.
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2 responses // The Fattening of America

  • Paying people to lose weight? Ridiculous.
    "Changes in the price of food have made it easier and cheaper to consume more food" -- over the picture of the burger being flipped on the grill.

    Here's a smart idea: make fattening food more expensive: take away the subsidies that bolster the meat and dairy industries. Take away cheap foreign beef. Abolish factory farms. Let the meat prices come up to what it really costs to raise cattle and slaughter them humanely. Then you'll see a lot more people reaching for the healthy foods and not the junk food when junk food becomes expensive.
    Julie_Soller
  • Julie,

    Thanks for the response.
    Actually paying people to lose weight isn't ridiculous, because it happened. Eric is reporting on what actually happened in a study he conducted, and not implying any kind of morality to it.
    And again correlating the cost of food to how much we eat of it, is really a statement of fact, not an endorsement.
    I do admire your passion about changes you would want to see in the food industry; but I don't find them particularly realistic.
    What would be easier, completely overhauling the capitalist, and legislative status quo, or find a way to motivate people to move toward healthier food, and reducing demand for junk food? I think a downturn in people going to McDonalds would close more factory farms sooner, than trying to legislate some kind of forced closing.
    The bottom line is many organizations are already using incentives like this with huge dividends to their companies health costs, and that is probably what should be taken away from the study.
    10engines

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