Obesity: the economist's perspective
Posted by kathryn in Food Labelling and A Balanced Diet
Ross Gittins, the economics writer, has an an interesting article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald , on the issue of obesity. The core issue is, living in a free market economy, do manufacturers have the right to load their foods up with fat and sugar, if we the consumers are still willing to buy those foods?
It’s normal business sense to make your product as enticing as possible. Frying it and filling it with sugar, salt and fat, is a very effective way of doing this. These products taste good, which is why most people buy them. However that much salt, fat and sugar is simply not good for your health and this kind of diet is largely responsible for the increase we’re seeing in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Up until the 1960s most food preparation was done at home. Since then, massive advances in food technology, has led to a rapid rise in the range and type of food products available to us and now cooking from scratch is becoming a rare event.
Ross Gittins talks about this as being a “market failure”:
“The capitalists are only doing what comes naturally and using all their wiles to flog their food and make a quid. But when the rest of us do what comes naturally and yield to their blandishments, the result is major social and economic dysfunction.”
And he puts the case for government intervention:
“When market failure is demonstrated, and is known to have serious consequences, the case for government intervention is established . . . after all, there’s ample precedent for such intervention to protect our health against the excesses of an unfettered market: tobacco control (pricing, advertising and promotion restrictions, smoke-free restrictions), road trauma minimisation (mandatory seat belts, speeding and alcohol restrictions) and injury prevention (restrictions on firearms, fireworks and safety regulations).”
This could include more effective food labelling (yes there’s that topic again ), restricting advertising that encourages over-consumption (especially to children), and so on.
28 June, 2006
Comments
well, i thought about this for a while, and am still undecided – how much should be our own commonsense and willpower ?
i know in my head that these fried, sweet products are bad for me if i have them regularly, so i limit it to being a bit of a treat.
you could use the same argument about alcohol, ie capitalists try to maximise sales to attract shareholders and grow profits, but we know better than to drink it constantly throughout the day, every day.
why people dont’ use the same thinking when it comes to food is a bit beyond me.
having said that, lately have been terrible at resisting cakes & puddings, yes, it’s winter, but just becasue someone i am with is having a sticky date pudding with cream doesn’t mean i have to order one as well. but of course, lately …
i am going back to my “just having a bite of yours” policy in spite of the pouting it produces from the owner of the cake, becasue i am actually happy with just a bite, and really, it’s better for me. And as for the owner of said cake, well, he should remember to eat lunch more often, and then he wouldn’t feel so protective of his desserts. hah.
Dear Rosie
Thanks for your comment. It’s a tricky balancing act between the freedoms of the individual and the responsibilities of the state, and it’s something we have to think about and negotiate in many different aspects of our life.
Yes manufacturers try to maximise sales and yes we “should” be able to resist the foods we know are bad for us. Couple of problems with that though – firstly we’re pre-programmed to want and seek out fat and sugar – it’s an old evolutionary urge. Fat and sugar used to be scarce, when we did come across them, we loaded up to see us through the next famine. Trouble is while our biochemistry hasn’t moved on, the world of food manufacturing has. Fat, sugar and are now CHEAP and easy to add to foodstuffs and they’re put into loads of things – foods you wouldn’t even think they’d be added to.
Moreover, even if you try to eat well and make good food decisions, it can be hard to do so. Go to the food hall and order a salad, the one with the yummy dressing and whups it’s got more fat and sodium in than a Big Mac. The “health food” aisle of your local supermarket is often no better, featuring loads of products high in fat, sugar and sodium. The Choice website has more info on this here and here.
It has to be easier than this. I fundamentally believe you should not need a nutrition qualification to make good food choices and at the moment I think you do. I’m not saying all these foods should be banned, instead it should be easier to know exactly how good or bad a foodstuff is for you.
And re the cake, pouting and lack of lunch issue, I’m completely with you on that one.
Kathryn
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