Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 > Welcome Back Nannie State > Fri, 7 Oct 2005 09:55:04 -0400 > > > Editor's Note: Speaking at the founding of Food > Secure Canada last week, British food policy > advocate Tim Lang discussed England's contemplation > of a children's food bill, a theme popularized by > pop chef Jamie Oliver's healthy food in schools > initiative. This article raises an important > distinction between safe food and healthy food where > state regulation has often been preoccupied with > food safety, but not necessarily its contribution to > the health of a population. This article builds > further on a theme expressed recently in Foodnews > that nation-states continue to be extremely > important when it comes to regulating food. > > > > www.nowtoronto.com > > WELCOME BACK NANNIE STATE > > > > By Wayne Roberts > > > > There's a rush on for local celebrity chefs who can > do what Jamie Oliver did for England - be the > flashpoint for a lightning campaign to abolish junk > food from schools. > > > > Late in September, England's Labor government agreed > to a junk food ban in school vending machines and > school meals after several months of television > campaigning by the popular TV chef, adored as much > for his breezy boy-next-door looks and style as for > his flair at cooking and passion for healthy eating. > > > > Oliver was " utterly brilliant " on TV and in his > " feed me better " mass signature campaign, England's > senior food policy expert Tim Lang told the founding > meeting of Food Secure Canada in Waterloo just days > after the victory. But there should be no mistaking > that this is a classic case of the overnight success > that was 25 years in the making. > > > > Cooking up the storm over the past decade has been > Sustain, the environmentally-minded local food > coalition which Lang chairs when he's not teaching > food studies at London's City University, or > attending to duties as one of the only non-doctors > ever admitted to the Faculty of Public Health > Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians. > > > > Sustain is now less than a month away from a > showdown with prime minister Tony Blair on a > children's food bill to be presented for second > reading by a backbench MP's private member bill. > Sustain has signed up about 150 MPs and over 137 > national organizations, including those representing > doctors, dentists, teachers and health foundations, > in support of the bill, which calls for an end to > advertising to children, a ban on junk food in > schools, and the re-introduction of school courses > on cooking and healthy eating. > > > > In bowing to Oliver's TV shows that exposed the > horrors of " meat slurries " and other " nutritional > rubbish " featured in school meals, the government > may be hoping for some let-up on the pressure from > the children's food bill, due for second reading on > October 28. > > > > As Lang sees it, this campaign goes for the cultural > jugular, " the battle for mouths, hearts and minds, " > and reintroduces public protection as a basic > function of government. This protective role -- > often ridiculed as " the nanny state " by hip > retailers who insisted that consumers should be free > to make their own food and health choices without > being hassled by " health Nazis " - has been sidelined > since free trade led to the abolition of protective > tariffs during the 1980s and '90s. Just as > Hurricane Katrina blew away the cover of George > Bush's inability to protect the population from > weather mishaps, the obesity crisis - now affecting > more people around the world, including about a > fifth of all children, than the crisis created by > food shortages and hunger - exposes the inability of > governments to protect their citizens from the > global junk food industry. > > > > Lang has no problem admitting he's a fan of nannies. > " Judging from the area of London where I live, the > people who are most opposed to the nanny state all > have nannies for their own kids, " he told NOW after > his speech. " Let's hear it for the people's > nannies. " > > > > Oliver's campaign " tapped into the unease and > captured beautifully what the children's food bill > is about, " Lang says. " It's a pretty simple approach > -- do you want your children to have their minds > warped? That's basically the politics of the > children's food bill, " he says. > > > > The role of health protector has only grudgingly > been accepted by governments, says Lang. Governments > accept a responsibility for safe, but not healthy, > water or food. The safety obsession remains, even > though the tab for government-paid medical bills > covering heart disease, diabetes, cancer and > osteoporosis - all linked to obesity and > malnutrition -- far outweigh public ill-health or > costs for diseases linked to food safety, even > allowing for such scandals as mad cow disease. No > government says shoppers should decide if they want > meat with e coli or from a mad cow, but it's tickety > boo for food companies to ply wares that cause > chronic and non-contagious disease. > > > > Governments have been pressured to accept > responsibility to protect health, rather than let > market forces decide, when it comes to the sale of > tobacco products to children, and to some extent > when it comes to the sale of artificial products > competing with healthy breastmilk for children. But > it took the obesity crisis, Lang says, before people > in government health circles finally said " enough is > enough. " > > > > Former English prime minister Margaret Thatcher, > herself a former chemist employed by the food > industry, abolished food standards in school meals > in 1980 and set the rhetorical standard for the > legitimacy of letting free markets decide such > matters as food preferences. Today's advances in > legislation are " rolling back 25 years of > neo-liberal victories, and we have to say that, " > says Lang. > > > > " Free trade was a misnomer for deregulated commerce > in the interests of a new baronial economic class, " > and the jive about consumer choice plays the same > function, he says. > > Individual citizens and the public have no choice > when it comes to labels on genetically-engineered > foods or labels on pesticides in foods, and have no > knowledge or say about levels of corporate > concentration in the food industry - one of the most > monopolized sectors in the global economy, and one > where five of the top ten global corporations > specialize in junk foods. > > > > What may feel like free consumer choices are molded > by global ads that cost corporations over 450 > billion a year - an amount greater than the GDP of > 70 per cent of the world's countries, and 500 times > greater than the ads put out by the United Nations > World Health Organization. The great majority of > food ads pitch sweet nothings and high-fat, > high-salt heart attacks on a plate. Virtually no ads > pitch vegetables and fruits, probably because they > are sold in bulk produce bins, undifferentiated by > corporate owner. Corporate junk food ads dominate > most programs aimed at children. > > > > The discourse on food topics over the past15 years > has revolved too much around food safety, the right > to food as an antidote to world hunger, and food as > a trade item from developing nations, says Lang. His > most recent book, Food Wars, deals with all of these > issues. But it's time to add some new framing, he > told the 250 delegates at the founding conference of > Food Secure Canada. " Culture and power have to > return to center stage in our policy thinking and > campaigning about food, " he said. > > > > Adapted from NOW Magazine, October 6-12, 2005 > > > > WHO WE ARE: This e-mail service shares information > to help more people discuss crucial policy issues > affecting global food security. The service is > managed by Amber McNair of the University of Toronto > in partnership with the Centre for Urban Health > Initiatives (CUHI) and Wayne Roberts of the Toronto > Food Policy Council, in partnership with the > Community Food Security Coalition, World Hunger > Year, and International Partners for Sustainable > Agriculture. > Please help by sending information or names and > e-mail addresses of co-workers who'd like to receive > this service, to foodnews > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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