Not so long ago, hunger was the only food issue over which it was worth issuing international reports, but the World Health Organization recently suggested that governments around the world should start fighting obesity by using taxes and subsidies to get people to eat healthy foods. That inspired the U.S. government to tell the U.N., correctly, that it is one's total diet, not specific "good" and "bad" foods, that determine one's weight (and overall health), as the AP's Jonathan D. Slant reported on January 16:
"The (U.S. government) favors dietary guidance that focuses on the total diet, promotes the view that all foods can be part of a healthy and balanced diet, and supports personal responsibility to choose a diet conducive to individual energy balance, weight control and health," wrote [William] Steiger, special assistant for international affairs at Health and Human Services.
Naturally, that statement didn't please the food authoritarians at CSPI:
"We doubt the secretary's commitment to fighting obesity on any serious level," said Bruce Silverglade, legal affairs director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Government is part of the problem and government needs to be part of the solution."
