Salt Police Coming

Another food police report today. This time the "evil" that is being attacked is salt. The medical folks say we eat too much, and of course with that cue, politicians are jumping on the band wagon to save us from salt. It's a safe way to legislate without losing votes. Don't ban tobacco. alcohol, or the obscene proliferation of needless prescription drugs. If you area politician go after what would offend few- the amount of salt consumed in foods.

More specifically, the advisory Institute of Medicine issued a report that calls for the government to establish new federal standards that would cut the amount of salt that manufacturers and restaurants add to foods...to gradually reduce the maximum amount of salt that can be added to foods, beverages and meals. I dare them to try and take my salt shaker away! Isn't it bad enough that in the U.S. the government has taken over so much (and ruined most of it) already that I can hardly wipe my butt with toilet paper without feeling guilty about "destroying the planet" by using paper products.

Citizens should have the sole responsibility for regulating what they eat of what is a legal product (aka salt). Surely, the public needs better food education, given the widespread fast food, junk food, chemically enhanced food for sale. But if those items are legal to consume, the government should step back and allow each consumer the free choice about how much of it to eat or drink. Education about the harmfulness of a product, as in the case of how cigarette usage dramatically decreased after such programs and when social sanctions against it were common, is the democratic way to "protect" (I hate that word as the government uses it) against abusive behavior of legal products.

The American heart association is also advising the government to institute the sodium reductions. One in three Americans have high blood pressure and an additional 20% have been diagnosed with pre-hypertension. "We believe reducing sodium in the food supply in a gradual way could drastically change the eating habits of Americans, which will reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke, " was the statement issued by the AMA in conjunction with the salt reduction recommendations.

It's strange how politics guides such ides, not reason. For example, a proposal in my state legislature yesterday to make those people receiving tax payer paid for food stamps was defeated on the basis that (according to one prominent state legislator opponent) "Government shouldn't be the food police." (for people who receive free food from taxpayers) Yet at the national level politicians want to regulate what things we pay for and we eat. It's sort of inconsistent to be the food police to people who pay for their food, but contend that it's not right to be the food police to welfare recipients????

The salt attack isn't a definite plan of the politicians yet. But given it is a safe crusade and a trendy one (is there any food we can eat without being "warned" about it) food bans could become the new global warming mentality of the next day. I say, let people chose what they wish to eat and whether they will eat it in moderation as doctors recommend. Life isn't about being "saved' from everything we enjoy. It's about being free to make the personal choices the individual, not big brother government, prefers to make.