8/27/2008

Tories declare war on fat people and expose their confusion

Is it just me or was the Tories announcement about fat people "taking responsibility" a total contradiction when the Tories said they would oppose a traffic light scheme for food labelling ?

It strikes me that the Tories commission that came up with this report (a group chaired by the head of food company Unilever) have fallen for the supermarket and food manufacturers line that food labelling is bad. So no food traffic light labelling under the Tories, but an expectation that people should eat more sensibly.

How exactly will the Tories get people to eat more sensibly if traffic light labelling is not in place ? How do you get people to take responsibility when the government removes one of the very things that will make them more responsible ?

Confused ? I guess that's what happens when you let the food industry dictate your policies.

Whatever next from the Tories ? The head of BAE to come up with defence policy, the head of Vodafone to come up with a policy on phone masts ?

Same old Tories. Funded by big business, dictated to by big business and in the pocket of big business.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I was going to write something similar, but you beat me to it. Utter shamelessness from the Cameroons

Andrew Allison said...

You don't need a traffic light labeling system to work out what's good for you.

Next time you are in the supermarket, take a look a what is in other trolleys. I can bet that the majority of those customers who are overweight will have excess quantities of crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and processed food. You don't have to be a member of MENSA to work out a diet like that is bad for you.

Nich Starling said...

Andrew, the key thing is that the Tories want to take away somethin gthat will give people a chance to be more responsible. What harm would it do ?

The truth is, of course, that the food industry has been against the traffic light system from the start and the Tories (no doubt in return for donations) will do what industry says.

It happened in the 1980's and 1990's too. Remember the large donations from telecoms firms to the Tories, and in return the Tories changed planning rules to allow mobile phone mast to go through the planning system easier.

Letters From A Tory said...

As I said on my blog yesterday, I think the traffic light system is very useful and I cannot understand why any government would want to reel it back in.

CityUnslicker said...

well done on coming 3rd. deserved.

Anonymous said...

I think the tories might like people to use common sense as it is obvious what goes to make up a balanced diet. Do you really think that a red traffic light is going to stop people eating crisps/drinking fizzy drinks. People still smoke even though it says danger of death on the packet. The unfortunate thing is that it tends to be less well educated people who ignore these warnings and would continue to eat bad food even if it was labelled with a redd light

Nich Starling said...

Can one Tory explain what benefit there will be from axing the traffic light system ?

Can a Tory tell me who will benefit other than food manufacturers and retailers (who ahve long opposed the system) ?

Anonymous said...

Not all the food industry has opposed the traffic-light system - hon mensh to McCains the chop perople who use it on their products. And the Covent Garden soup people.

Anonymous said...

How exactly will the Tories get people to eat more sensibly if traffic light labelling is not in place ?

I think the point is they're not going to "get" people to do anything. You don't always have to coerce people, you know. Sometimes people eat a lot and don't exercise much. It's their problem.

How do you get people to take responsibility when the government removes one of the very things that will make them more responsible ?

If people don't read the labels now, I doubt adding another one will make much of a difference.

Bill Quango MP said...

Can one Tory explain what benefit there will be from axing the traffic light system ?

Yes.
Tesco will write a big cheque for campaign 2010.

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