Washington, DC — Foods today are too “convenient,” “good-tasting,” and “cheap.” People are eating them for “pleasure rather than just survival.” Parental responsibility in the diets of children is a “failed experiment.” So whines Yale psychologist Kelly Brownell in his new book Food Fight in which he lays out an alarming plan to advance government control over food choices through high taxes, restaurant zoning restrictions and food advertising regulations.
Brownell’s Big Brother Manifesto calls for the following government solutions:
- High Taxes on Foods – Brownell urges high taxes on foods he doesn’t like arguing that they “can generate considerable revenue and appear to drive down sales of these foods … The aim of the taxes to decrease consumption of unhealthy foods must be made explicit.”
- Food-Free School Zones – Brownell insists that “counting on parents” to take responsibility for their children’s diets “is a failed experiment.” His solution? “Zoning laws could prohibit the operation of businesses selling food within a certain distance of schools.”
- Restrictions on food advertising – Brownell remarkably concedes: “There is only circumstantial evidence that the ads cause poor eating.” But this recognition doesn’t stop him from complaining about advertising on children’s television shows for insidious products such as apple sauce and 100 percent juice drinks.
“Big Brother Brownell is invading America’s kitchens,” Richard Berman, executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom said. “The only thing missing from this book was a complete ban on Thanksgiving dinners, birthday cakes and Halloween.”
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices. To learn more, visit www.ConsumerFreedom.com.
