Health Politics

Utah, Food Freedom, and the Nullification Doctrine

Jan 17th, 2012
by Admin.
2 comments

Senator Casey Anderson sponsored Utah Legislature Bill SB 0034, which restores the Constitution in relation to regulation of food in Utah and is a great example of the Nullification Doctrine. This bill can also be seen as a potential victory for the food freedom movement.  Quoted directly from the Bill  general description,  “This bill prohibits federal regulation of an agricultural product that remains in Utah after it is made, grown, or produced in Utah, and addresses the designation of a Utah agricultural product.” This bill has reached a critical stage in the process to becoming law, soon to be voted on, and that is greatly in thanks to Senator Casey Anderson and the Utah Tenth Amendment Center. I’d advocate visiting the Tenth Amendment Center website for great Constitution info and Tenth amendment related current events. Senator Casey Anderson and the Utah Tenth Amendment Center argued that the supreme law of the land is the Constitution, which Federal Law should be based around, and that because of this, Federal regulation in State Agriculture is unconstitutional because the Federal Government only has the authority to regulate interstate commerce, not intrastate commerce. Intrastate Commerce refers to commerce within the state, while interstate commerce refers to commerce between [...]

The Ron Paul Raw Milk New Hampshire Difference

Jan 9th, 2012
by Admin.
5 comments

People value their health and the freedoms surrounding  it as much as they value their financial freedom , and for a candidate not to take a stance on an issue like Raw Milk in New Hampshire is a lost opportunity and a lost moral responsibility. It is a lost opportunity because there are people out there searching for someone to fight for their right to do what they want with their property (their body), and there are a lot of them. Current estimates of raw milk consumption in the United States estimate 3.04% of the population consumes Raw Milk, which is about 9.2 million people (Source). It’s a lost moral responsibility because it is the exact duty of a public servant, to serve the public, even when it means getting into legal and Constitutional talks on the authority of the Federal Government. We need to talk about this. We need to talk about what role Government plays in dictating what a free man or free woman can put into his or her body. Of course, the Texas Congressman, Doctor, and Presidential FrontRunner, Ron Paul , did not lose his responsibility or this opportunity, unlike ALL the other candidates on either [...]

Food Label Laws and the GMO Food Label

Jan 2nd, 2012
by Admin.
1 comment

Food Label Laws are laws enforced by Government requiring food manufacturers and producers to label the foods they sell in specific ways.  An example of this is the requirement for food manufacturers to list ingredients and certain additives in foods, besides the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list. This is where one of the many problems of food labels occurs, despite the benefits many people would claim on behalf of required ingredient lists.  The GRAS list is a list of additives and the like, recognized as safe by scientists and Government. Of course what’s not mentioned here is the massive revolving door between Government and agriculture/pharmaceutical corporations, and these industries and non profit groups that approve the standards for these labels. These special and corrupt relationships allow for regulators and legislators to be promised future jobs as executives in respective industries, in return for favorable opinions and support on demand.  The GRAS list is an example of an action by Government I see to be taken in the future with the GMO Food Label. And the GMO Food label and food label laws are really the focus of this post and a defining issue in the food labeling argument. To read [...]

Should Government Protect You From Yourself?

Dec 13th, 2011
by Admin.
1 comment

Should Government Protect You from Yourself? In the last Republican Presidential debate, an interesting question was posed, with an even more interesting answer, and it all surrounded the issue of Government intervention in your health. The question was not about healthcare, but had more to do with health as a lifestyle, including the topics of diet and fitness. The question was on whether Government should have a place in deciding what is right for the health of the majority of citizens or not. And the particular answer I am focusing on is the one by Congressmen and Presidential candidate Ron Paul. You can see this question and answer starting at the 9 minutes and 10 seconds mark: Ron Paul-Government is trying to Protect You from Yourself, Q/A  9:10 Ron Paul-50 Issues that Affect Our Freedom None of the controversy around the issue is exaggerated, and I would even argue that it’s not getting enough coverage. Government is swiftly realizing how beneficial control over our health can be. New Government positions means more lobbying money, and more corporate/Government decisions on what direction your health heads in (more power). This of course means the market (you, me, everyone else) is losing power, [...]

Should a Food Lobbyist be Deciding What You Eat?

Dec 7th, 2011
by Admin.
3 comments

A Food lobbyist could be deciding what goes on your dinner plate right this minute.  With the power of money, corporations and individuals can lobby our Government to impose taxes, laws, regulations, subsidies, bailouts, and special contracts that make specific products winners, and other products losers. Through what will be explained below, you will get the idea of how a lobbyist could be deciding what’s on your plate and how much it costs. Food lobbying, or more generally, lobbying, is a form of petitioning the Government that corporations and others use. This petitioning often results in billions of dollars being spent in efforts to place a specific companies interests ahead of others in the mind of the person being lobbied. And the use of “billions” is not exaggeration. Just for the year 2010, lobbying totaled over $3,500,000,000; yes, that is 3.5 billion dollars (Source). And in 2011, lobbying costs come out to around 2.5 billion dollars, with over 12,000 lobbyists petitioning our congressmen for favors (Source).  Normally, lobbying as a form of petitioning the Government would fall under the first amendment, and the right to have your needs and wants shown, respected, and talked about, is a fair one. But what [...]

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