Solving the big problems
Monday March 15, 2004 - Permanent link to this post -
I know how to solve Britain's growing obesity problem: Packaging.
It struck me when I was trying to get into a clementine this lunchtime, that if biscuit packets and cheeseburgers had the same access issues as some of the most common fruits and vegetables I'd be a much healthier person. The government needs to reverse it's environmental stance on food packaging and start putting fatty foods in tight, 4mm thick, flesh-like casing. They could randomly put a plastic “seed” in one square of every chocolate bar and cover anything over a set calorie value in a stubborn “pith”.
If kids had to spend five minutes picking bits of wrapper out of their fingernails after snacking, convenience food would soon become inconvenience food, and healthier foods (which would be exempt from the packaging legislation) would all of a sudden become more appealing. It wouldn't take long before demand for unhealthy fodder fell and ASDA started to put apples, bananas and oranges on stands at the end of each checkout conveyor belt, once the home of apple, banana and orange-flavoured sticks formed from sugar and e-numbers.
There are other factors to this proposal which would obviously need to be considered. Jobs would be cut in sweet factories all over the country. Trebor, Rowntrees and Cadbury would I'm sure have somthing to say about that. On the other hand though, jobs would be created in the packaging and print industries, trades which I'm sure the chocolatiers and mint-makers could pick up easily enough. It's just a question of training. The environmental issue raises some concerns, although once the demand for the sweet stuff has dropped, the amount of waste will follow.
I obviously haven't thought of everything here (although I've clearly thought about it a lot) but it's an idea that I think can save this nation's backside.
