War On Food

Gotta tip the hat to the Great Guru Instapundit for this one but after Mayor 'Nanny' Bloomberg declared war on Ventis and Big Gulps, James Lileks chimed in with a brutal, awesome takedown of this idiocy that's worth reading for the sheer beauty and elegant construction of his argument. The money quote:

A culture that redefines food choices as moral issues will demonize the people who don’t share the tastes of the priest class. A culture that elevates eating to some holistic act of ethical self-definition - localvore, low-carbon-impact food, fair trade, artisanal cheese - will find the casual carefree choices of the less-enlightened as an affront to their belief system. Leave it to Americans to invent a Puritan strain of Epicurianism.

I respect people's choices to eat what they want- the government should too. I know the argument exists that fat people/smokers/heavy drinkers are all adding to our health care burden and therefore we should all eat macrobiotic slop for breakfast, lunch and dinner but what does that do to our society? That kind of food-based tyranny leads down the road to all kinds of fun things like fascism, communism, totalitarianism... a democratic and more importantly, free society is bound to respect the personal choices of others- provided they don't directly harm them.

Hence, the arguments against smoking in public. While I certainly don't appreciate the almost propaganda like intensity of 'cigarettes are evil Satan tubes of death' that pervades the issue, people who don't want a faceful of second hand smoke have a right to have a smoke-free workplace/public space to enjoy. (I would appreciate them being a little less shrill when they call me at work to complain. It's cigarette smoke, not VX Nerve gas. Calm down.)

Do we have an obesity crisis? Yes. Are portion sizes out of control? Yes. So we should outlaw food to solve the problem? We really want the US Government on the case? I don't. At a certain point, we have to say a society that it's time for people to take responsibility for their actions. Why not start with food?

P.S. I'd like to take this moment to apologize for ever thinking that Mike Bloomberg should even consider a Presidential run as an Independent. When I first heard these rumors, the notion appealed. Then I got to know the guy a little better- he's a consummate disgrace to Independents everywhere and would be a disaster as a Presidential candidate.