The food police strike again with GMO labeling and soft drink restrictions in New York and California. Is it public protection or interference?
New York City Mayor Bloomberg has decided he is in the food policing business. NYC is now banning the sale of sugared soft drinks, under most circumstances, in servings bigger than 16 ounces. There are certain exemptions for 7-Eleven and supermarkets. But movie theaters and others were upset by the new ruling.
This is crazy. People around the country have been unhappy with the NYC decision. Yet New Yorkers themselves, during the comment period, were mostly in favor of the ban.
What’s next? Government saying, “You can have one scoop of ice cream, not two? Or ”Two cookies, but not three?” Where do you draw the line when government decides what portions you can have?
I want to contrast what NYC is doing with what California is doing. There’s now a big fight in California about whether food should have labeling indicating it contains genetically modified ingredients in it. Personally, I couldn’t care less if I eat GMOs, but many people do.
Labeling is fine, but you shouldn’t be in the business of telling me I can’t buy GMOs. Ditto for NYC and large soft drinks.
To me, it’s all about information and choices. If I want to use the info, it’s there. But if I want to buy something knowing it’s full of chemicals or GMOs or whatever, that should be my choice. Not government telling me I can’t buy it.
