Personal Responsibility v/s Government Legislation in Diets
Probably for the first time in history, stand of dealing with a shortage of food supplies and poor nutrition in citizens around the world, we are facing an era where population can easily access food in large portions up to the point where it might be even dangerous to do so.
Currently, Chile ranks numbers 6th in obesity disorder around the world, after US, UK and Canada. Therefore, the amount of food we intake and the reaction our bodies have towards it are serious problems and we need to decide what can we do about it and where does resposability lie regarding it.
Some people are prompted to think the issue is completely related with personal will. This point of view perceives obesity as a matter of restraint, if you do not want to be fat, you need to stop eating. This extreme simplification overlooks deep economic, political, health and mental issues which are strongly related with food consumption and its deseases. On the other hand, some views will argue Government regulation should be involved and nutrition should become a State matter.
Both perspectives have developed major industries and in consequence, they have strong advocates in one side or another. Diet industries such as Weight Watchers have been in the market for decades with little results to prove their success. State nutrition policies are involved in early stages of childcare as well as throughout school and university education with a lack of value for money to argue for. Neither option seems to be the appropriate one.
As we watched in the previous video, a major cultural change has been performed and it is rarely addressed by mainstream discussion. We do not grow our own food any longer. Few people grow their own vegetables and fruits and even less take care of animals in order to access meat. We are used to buy and eat processed food in supermarkets and to trust the food industry to provide the proper nutrients our bodies need. I think, this behavior supports a naive attitude towards the problem. Industries take care mostly for the economic interests of shareholders and investors. Hence, if something is profitable is a big lip to think it is healthy as well.
I think one important solution towards the problem is to restore community gardens and growing food education, as well as to discuss the shortage of time to cook and eat that our modern way of life impose on us daily. Of course, this means responsibility lies both in our personal decisions and in State regulations to ensure a better quality of life.
Probably for the first time in history, stand of dealing with a shortage of food supplies and poor nutrition in citizens around the world, we are facing an era where population can easily access food in large portions up to the point where it might be even dangerous to do so.
Currently, Chile ranks numbers 6th in obesity disorder around the world, after US, UK and Canada. Therefore, the amount of food we intake and the reaction our bodies have towards it are serious problems and we need to decide what can we do about it and where does resposability lie regarding it.
Some people are prompted to think the issue is completely related with personal will. This point of view perceives obesity as a matter of restraint, if you do not want to be fat, you need to stop eating. This extreme simplification overlooks deep economic, political, health and mental issues which are strongly related with food consumption and its deseases. On the other hand, some views will argue Government regulation should be involved and nutrition should become a State matter.
Both perspectives have developed major industries and in consequence, they have strong advocates in one side or another. Diet industries such as Weight Watchers have been in the market for decades with little results to prove their success. State nutrition policies are involved in early stages of childcare as well as throughout school and university education with a lack of value for money to argue for. Neither option seems to be the appropriate one.
As we watched in the previous video, a major cultural change has been performed and it is rarely addressed by mainstream discussion. We do not grow our own food any longer. Few people grow their own vegetables and fruits and even less take care of animals in order to access meat. We are used to buy and eat processed food in supermarkets and to trust the food industry to provide the proper nutrients our bodies need. I think, this behavior supports a naive attitude towards the problem. Industries take care mostly for the economic interests of shareholders and investors. Hence, if something is profitable is a big lip to think it is healthy as well.
I think one important solution towards the problem is to restore community gardens and growing food education, as well as to discuss the shortage of time to cook and eat that our modern way of life impose on us daily. Of course, this means responsibility lies both in our personal decisions and in State regulations to ensure a better quality of life.
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