Another government report is out pushing the case for more regulation of the food market to deal with expanding waistlines, but a new Mercatus Center study by Michael L. Marlow and Sherzod Abdukadirov argues that, to quote its summary,
* Consumers already have ample access to information on healthy dietary choices.
* Markets already are responding with products and services to address the problem.
* Individual decision-making—not market responsiveness—is the main factor.
Related: Jacob Sullum (does obesity impose externalities on others, and is that relevant to policy?)
2 Comments
It is self-evident that we do have a market failure in anti-obesity efforts. Consumers obviously are not being allowed to freely make healthy choices, otherwise they would make healthy choices. See how that works? You shall have the freedom to make whatever choice you like, just so long as you choose to do what we want you to do.
It seems that government interference is what has caused the obesity epidemic to explode in the last 30 or so years. Fat was bad so let’s encourage transfats. But now they’re bad. Beet farmers need a subsidy so let’s put a tariff on cane sugar, raising the price. Corn growers need a subsidy too, so let’s encourage high fructose corn syrup. Added bonus because of the subsidies it’s cheaper than sugar – but that harms the beet farmers (sorry).
Then we started feeding our children at school with free and reduced price lunches. Because these might be the only meals a child gets during the day. So where are their parents? Why aren’t their parents feeding them? Maybe because the school will so why bother feeding your own children? Spend that money on something else.
In my area breakfast and lunch are provided for free four days a week at a couple of local schools through the summer. You don’t even have to qualify for free or reduced price lunches during the regular school year, just go eat.
/rant
Sorry about the rant, but it galls me that the government makes all these pronouncements and changes its mind about what’s good and what’s bad and then blames the consumer. Says the consumer is too dumb to know how to eat properly and exercise and so therefore the government must do even more micromanaging of our lives.