To all those commenters who would blame the prevalence of obesity in the South on minorities, please see Professor Krugman's blog where he posts a CDC map showing that the pattern of obesity he is discussing persists among non-Hispanic whites.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/heavy-politics/?module=BlogP...®ion=Body
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/heavy-politics/?module=BlogP...®ion=Body
32
The summary point about the seriousness of the issue of partisanship needs a much higher profile. There is in fact a kind of Republican fear and loathing machine that plays upon the prejudices of the party base using very sophisticated forms of media and money management to keep the momentum of ignorance and hate going in this country. It is highly coded and even at times shows a moderate face in public, but it is dark at its core and deeply rooted in a resentful nostalgia for the "good" old days when America was more white rural and decidedly mono-cultural. It's interesting to wonder how long the more moderate Republican establishment can ride this tiger it has created under it, before it is consumed by its own creation.
16
Even a very smart guy like Krugman sometimes comes off as even smarter than at other times, and this column is one of K's smartest. He gets a lot into a small space, and brevity makes it even harder to deal with any kind of complexity. Bravo!
As an aside, I will mention that once in my checkered past I worked on an ad campaign for Pizza Hut, which was mentioned in the column. Their marketing stragedy included the USP (unique selling proposition) that their product was "pizza for people who don't like pizza" - and that partly because it was seen in those olden times as spicy (not then popular in many parts of tne country) and foreign. This led to their promotion of the concept of "Your hometown Pizza Hut" to get away from the perceived negatives turned up by their research. Implying that pizza was in any way related to Italy was strictly ferboten. PH was red neck pizza that did best in certain demographic areas and died in others.
I don't have any reason to believe it is any different today, so it's not surprising they give a lot of money to the GOP; that's "their" universe.
As an aside, I will mention that once in my checkered past I worked on an ad campaign for Pizza Hut, which was mentioned in the column. Their marketing stragedy included the USP (unique selling proposition) that their product was "pizza for people who don't like pizza" - and that partly because it was seen in those olden times as spicy (not then popular in many parts of tne country) and foreign. This led to their promotion of the concept of "Your hometown Pizza Hut" to get away from the perceived negatives turned up by their research. Implying that pizza was in any way related to Italy was strictly ferboten. PH was red neck pizza that did best in certain demographic areas and died in others.
I don't have any reason to believe it is any different today, so it's not surprising they give a lot of money to the GOP; that's "their" universe.
9
Why don't we just call it quits and turn over the government to Big Business. After all, they are actually the ones making the decisions that driving the future of this country. If you don't like pending regulation, there's a simple solution - hire a lobbyist while giving campaign donations.
Look at the supplement industry. Even though there products are dubious at best and contain mislabeled or poisonous ingredients at worst, what did the major supplement company do? They bought themselves a US senator (O. Hatch) who successfully kept the FDA and it's bothersome regulation at bay.
Want to see how this plays out on a state level? Look no further than Florida. Public education is becoming privatized while testing companies and charters school take in tens of millions. Our prisons are falling apart and some are being closed down due to not having enough inmates. But our concerned state has entered into contracts with private prison companies guaranteeing them a certain number of prisons.
We should change our motto to "Big Business and Lobbyists Knows What's Best." And while they changing the motto, they should place a huge "for sale" sign over the US Capitol.
Look at the supplement industry. Even though there products are dubious at best and contain mislabeled or poisonous ingredients at worst, what did the major supplement company do? They bought themselves a US senator (O. Hatch) who successfully kept the FDA and it's bothersome regulation at bay.
Want to see how this plays out on a state level? Look no further than Florida. Public education is becoming privatized while testing companies and charters school take in tens of millions. Our prisons are falling apart and some are being closed down due to not having enough inmates. But our concerned state has entered into contracts with private prison companies guaranteeing them a certain number of prisons.
We should change our motto to "Big Business and Lobbyists Knows What's Best." And while they changing the motto, they should place a huge "for sale" sign over the US Capitol.
14
This is the continuation of the Right's anti-intellectualism campaign. If you keep the populace un- or under-educated then they have successfully completed big corporations' agenda. Stop teaching global climate change, they get their pipelines and offshore drilling. Stop labeling requirements, people will keep buying food that is bad for them. If people don't know the basic tenets of science you can sell them anything unfettered eg. Roundup, DDT. The educated blow their cover every time.
17
Pizza Hut and Papa John's share at least two things: Lousy pizza and lousy politics.
23
"Follow the money". I'm missing the Big Banks in the list, but maybe that money spreads equally on both parties. Would be interesting to see figures on the size of the money flow from the different sources, to get an idea which branch is most important to protect. My guess is that Big Banks dwarfs all other categories in Mr. Krugman's list.
1
thanks paul for writing this. i won't be buying any pizza from these guys anymore. is there a list of retail corps and how they contribute politically and whether they are against equal or reproductive rights, i need to start using my purse politically. let us not forget that the diabetical hypocritical red states absorb more in government subsidies than they send in taxes, meanwhile blocking programs that would send more money and health to their citizens. but as we all know in this country that if you use money as speech and shout black is white loud and long enough to the ignorant sheep, lies become accepted truth. orwell would not have been surprised.
8
Great column on the toxic---in this case literally---effect of America's political financing rules. It also seems to explain why the Democrats won't be doing anything soon to change the fact America spends twice as much on litigation, as a percentage of GNP, as other western countries do. (With the odd exception of Belgium which spends about 65% of America as a percentage of
GNP. Belgians must like to sue each other too.)
GNP. Belgians must like to sue each other too.)
3
As other commenters have noted, I do think that labor regulation and minimum wage issues are probably a more important factor in the pizza maker's political giving. Which makes me wish that the Democratic party establishment would finally stop being afraid of standing up for the right of workers to organize and more vocally embrace a campaign for a "family" wage. We now have the same geographic/political divisions of the early 19th century, only now the issue that the South is passionately defending (complete with deranged secessionist rhetoric) is the right of employers to exploit and impoverish workers - just without the explicitly racist/chattel slavery part...
12
All that might be true, professor, but I think the larger issue is Obamacare. These chain restaurants pay very low wages and generally do not offer healthcare benefits. Remember when Papa John wailed about having to raise the price of his pizzas by $0.25 if he was required to provide health insurance?
4
Very interesting insight.
Republicans don't care about the cost of obesity. They are sure they'll succeed in making the middle class pays the bill.
7
What are we trying to achieve here? Are we taking satisfaction beating up on Red States, calling them the "diabetes belt" and feeling morally superior? Or are we trying to create a political dialogue to reduce partisanship? I hope the latter, but see the former.
4
"Beyond that, anyone who has struggled with weight issues — which means, surely, the majority of American adults — knows that this is a domain where the easy rhetoric of “free to choose” rings hollow."
Yes, Paul, in the grand American tradition, let's blame the pizza companies instead of ourselves for over-stuffing our bodies and getting no exercise. I see no reason not provide contents is nearly any food we eat, but in truth, how may Americans actually read labels? I see a few in grocery stores doing this but very rarely in truth.
Yes, Paul, in the grand American tradition, let's blame the pizza companies instead of ourselves for over-stuffing our bodies and getting no exercise. I see no reason not provide contents is nearly any food we eat, but in truth, how may Americans actually read labels? I see a few in grocery stores doing this but very rarely in truth.
1
One of these days, they WILL call a mind strike. Where will we be then? The President will have to send in the National Guard to make pizza.
I predict Pizza Hut will go the way of Radio Shack soon. I give them five years tops. IMHO There is something lacking in eating so much grease.
1
How far away are we from stimulating business in medicine by making people sick deliberately from the environment? If you are truly operating on self interest alone, the medical profession is a prime target for the market even though the medical prime directive says "do no harm." Well what is the prime directive of energy, food or the transportation industry. I believe they call it "cost effectiveness." Is anyone bothered by this or am I just saying obvious things about the market bull that no one, including Krugman wants to confront head on. Where is our Bull when we need him? Maybe a buffalo? The problem dear Brutus, is one of value. What constitutes it and whether you covet your neighbor's wife or not. REH Performing Arts Teacher NYCity.
1
"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call the “diabetes belt” of counties, mostly in the South, " Oh geez - another bang on the South. Paul, have you ever been to Charleston? More than a few males I know have unintentionally strolled into a parking meter or a light pole while their eyes were affixed on one of our gorgeous women window shopping on King Street.
It's true that are some fearsomely fat women (and men) down here (and of course, there are none up North), but the diabetes prevalence numbers are impacted by the much greater percentage of minority populations (35% in South Carolina) in the Southern states and in whose population diabetes is unfortunately endemic. Those same populations affect the numbers in the North too but not to the same degree as they have a much lower percentage of minorities.
Not to pick on Blacks or Hispanics as I just returned from a few days at Disney World - where the attendees were at least 99.9% white - and a thin female was either an infant or at most a teenager. Oh the obesity - oh the humanity. Something you wouldn't want to behold when on vacation. Oh - and a lot of those families were exited vans with New York and New Jersey license plates.
It's true that are some fearsomely fat women (and men) down here (and of course, there are none up North), but the diabetes prevalence numbers are impacted by the much greater percentage of minority populations (35% in South Carolina) in the Southern states and in whose population diabetes is unfortunately endemic. Those same populations affect the numbers in the North too but not to the same degree as they have a much lower percentage of minorities.
Not to pick on Blacks or Hispanics as I just returned from a few days at Disney World - where the attendees were at least 99.9% white - and a thin female was either an infant or at most a teenager. Oh the obesity - oh the humanity. Something you wouldn't want to behold when on vacation. Oh - and a lot of those families were exited vans with New York and New Jersey license plates.
6
Republican leaders say that everyone should be free to choose what foods to eat, regardless of whether it's healthy or unhealthy. Then they loudly condemn "those irresponsible people" who choose unhealthy food and lifestyles, which contribute to illnesses which generate enormous health care costs.
I recommend the following video and article about "Blue Zones", certain communities around around the world, known for the health and longevity of a large percentage of their residents.
- YouTube - "Blue Zones Project Overview" - 3:45 min.
- Article - "AARP - Blue Zones/Vitality Project Helps Minnesota Town"
aarp.org
A central idea about healthy Blue Zones -
"Self control can take us only so far in improving our health. Eventually we have to improve our surroundings." The focus is on a person's "Life Radius" in the surrounding community - about a 10 mile diameter around home and work.
In areas, such as the Minnesota town described in the AARP article, citizens, local leaders, schools, restaurants and other businesses, have worked together to create -- more walking paths, more readily available healthy food, and social networks which help support healthy lifestyles.
I recommend the following video and article about "Blue Zones", certain communities around around the world, known for the health and longevity of a large percentage of their residents.
- YouTube - "Blue Zones Project Overview" - 3:45 min.
- Article - "AARP - Blue Zones/Vitality Project Helps Minnesota Town"
aarp.org
A central idea about healthy Blue Zones -
"Self control can take us only so far in improving our health. Eventually we have to improve our surroundings." The focus is on a person's "Life Radius" in the surrounding community - about a 10 mile diameter around home and work.
In areas, such as the Minnesota town described in the AARP article, citizens, local leaders, schools, restaurants and other businesses, have worked together to create -- more walking paths, more readily available healthy food, and social networks which help support healthy lifestyles.
4
Professor Krugman's closing sentence may well prove to be America's epitaph: "Pizza partisanship, then, sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. It is, instead, a case study in the toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable."
My only disagreement with him is about the reach of big money, which is just as pervasive in its effect and influence with Democrats as it is with Republicans. While it is true that Republicans and Democrats get some of their big money from slightly different places, money follows power, not party. So wherever there is power in Democratic hands or the potential for power, big money's impact affects Democrats just as much, corrupting them just as much.
As evidence, ask Sen. Warren about how her part knuckled under to big money in weakening Sardines-Oxakely. And no better example of Democrats being influenced by big-money exist than Hillary Clinton, where a certain former Secretary of the Treasury and who is also the former head of a leading investment bank, is one of her chief money men.
My only disagreement with him is about the reach of big money, which is just as pervasive in its effect and influence with Democrats as it is with Republicans. While it is true that Republicans and Democrats get some of their big money from slightly different places, money follows power, not party. So wherever there is power in Democratic hands or the potential for power, big money's impact affects Democrats just as much, corrupting them just as much.
As evidence, ask Sen. Warren about how her part knuckled under to big money in weakening Sardines-Oxakely. And no better example of Democrats being influenced by big-money exist than Hillary Clinton, where a certain former Secretary of the Treasury and who is also the former head of a leading investment bank, is one of her chief money men.
3
I was struck by the phrase, "The pizza lobby portrays itself as the defender of personal choice and personal responsibility.". Since the pattern of unhealthy eating habits starts in childhood it reminded me of the fact that laws forbidding child labor took two generations to enact in the 1800's. This may seem incredible now but the argument against the laws then was the same - government has no right to tell me how to bring up my children and if I want them to work then that is my right as a parent.
13
As a libertarian (yes, I know that's a curse word in many circles) I have no problem with, in fact strongly support, labeling requirements so people can make informed choices. The problem is that is seldom stops there, but uses successes in informing to step up to proposals to ban large servings of soft drinks, for example.
"Even if you know very well that you will soon regret that extra slice, it’s extremely hard to act on that knowledge." No one ever said being a responsible adult was easy; if it were there would be more of us.
"Even if you know very well that you will soon regret that extra slice, it’s extremely hard to act on that knowledge." No one ever said being a responsible adult was easy; if it were there would be more of us.
5
I don't think the "fat" GOP test is really fair. Most of the southern states have a large minority population that is for the moment edged out currently by conservatives.
9
Are you saying that "minorities" are the fat ones?
4
If Dr Krugman had applied any rigor to his analysis, he would have discovered that the most solidly Democrat constituency- African Americans- are massively over represented in diabetes and obesity rates.
6
African Americans make up about 12% of America. Hispanics about 16%. You're statement is true, but you can't ignore the fact that the large fraction of the obese in the area in question is white. Very white.
9
Krugman and rigor in the same sentence? Maybe Krugman and hyper-partisanship, but not rigorous analysis.
2
Are all those white people Republicans?
1
Any moderately informed person would (or should) know that everything in our life is political, including our air and water, so why not pizza? What Dr. Krugman said in this article is another reminder to me how much a terrorist group like ISIS is actually a lesser enemy than our own greed and ignorance.
It is a circular argument that says, we need to keep producing the poisons that kill us because somebody need those jobs. This applies to heroin, tobacco, guns, coal, and now, sugar and saturated fat. Even our children are fair game.
No "serious" people see this as foolish, even obscene. Instead, they mouth words like jobs, choice, rights, big government, personal responsibility? Where is the personal responsibility of people who engage in "production" that harm others? None of us like to admit that not all adults are mature and responsible and even choices that are seemingly personal affect others around us, that we cannot truly be free when our minds are most of the time afflictive and selfish.
There is something extremely crooked with a society that see wrong as right, bad as good. And this our current brand of American exceptionalism. I think no other people in this world do this better than our Republican, conservative Right, well, may be Putin also.
It is a circular argument that says, we need to keep producing the poisons that kill us because somebody need those jobs. This applies to heroin, tobacco, guns, coal, and now, sugar and saturated fat. Even our children are fair game.
No "serious" people see this as foolish, even obscene. Instead, they mouth words like jobs, choice, rights, big government, personal responsibility? Where is the personal responsibility of people who engage in "production" that harm others? None of us like to admit that not all adults are mature and responsible and even choices that are seemingly personal affect others around us, that we cannot truly be free when our minds are most of the time afflictive and selfish.
There is something extremely crooked with a society that see wrong as right, bad as good. And this our current brand of American exceptionalism. I think no other people in this world do this better than our Republican, conservative Right, well, may be Putin also.
7
I dream of a day when "follow the money" will not be the standard answer to why things go wrong in the USA.
10
It's true that the fight about food choices, as Krugman says, "involves things like labeling requirements...and the nutritional content of school lunches," but the crux of this issue is much bigger and is deeply politicized. Simply put, our food production system makes it more likely that average Americans will end up heavier but essentially malnourished. And this problem of our diets has huge implications for health care, education and even national security. What's worse is that this problem can't really be taken on at the grassroots level, the incentives ingrained in federal legislation - which all point in the wrong direction for us if we want to be healthy - can only be undone or reworked in Congress, which means doing so will require huge amounts of money and political influence - the price of doing anything these days in Washington.
5
Are pizza bellies and beer bellies on the same political side?
4
PIZZA = INVASION OF IMMIGRANTS
Pizza is more a problem of immigration than economics. Though it's definitely not a problem of trickle down economics because it's not drippy enough. Granted you can get some wicked grease stains on your shirt, but not to the point that they'd have turn the economy around and prove once and for all the supremacy of the free market (free lunch of pizza anyone?). No. Pizza demonstrates the dangers of foreign recipes immigrating to America. The soldiers coming back from World War II had enjoyed Pizza in Naples, Italy. A few prescient people realized that it could be really popular here. Since pizza was eaten by Italians, it was guaranteed not to be a socialist or communist import like, say, borscht. But still, the Italian import has grown to show that immigrants into the country could be overrun with foreign influences. Not like hamburgers (oops! a meat patty typical of the German town of Hamburg) or the hot dogs (a sausage typical of the German town of Frankfurt). With all these immigrant foods flooding our marketplace, what's going to happen to good, solid American food. Like what the Pilgrims had on the first Thanksgiving. Turkey, cranberries, dried corn and lima beans. All gifts from the indigenous tribes. Is there nothing sacred? No food that is authentically American? Worse than our economy being overrun, our national culture has been overpowered by foreign influences. We do, indeed, live in perilous times!
Pizza is more a problem of immigration than economics. Though it's definitely not a problem of trickle down economics because it's not drippy enough. Granted you can get some wicked grease stains on your shirt, but not to the point that they'd have turn the economy around and prove once and for all the supremacy of the free market (free lunch of pizza anyone?). No. Pizza demonstrates the dangers of foreign recipes immigrating to America. The soldiers coming back from World War II had enjoyed Pizza in Naples, Italy. A few prescient people realized that it could be really popular here. Since pizza was eaten by Italians, it was guaranteed not to be a socialist or communist import like, say, borscht. But still, the Italian import has grown to show that immigrants into the country could be overrun with foreign influences. Not like hamburgers (oops! a meat patty typical of the German town of Hamburg) or the hot dogs (a sausage typical of the German town of Frankfurt). With all these immigrant foods flooding our marketplace, what's going to happen to good, solid American food. Like what the Pilgrims had on the first Thanksgiving. Turkey, cranberries, dried corn and lima beans. All gifts from the indigenous tribes. Is there nothing sacred? No food that is authentically American? Worse than our economy being overrun, our national culture has been overpowered by foreign influences. We do, indeed, live in perilous times!
3
There is no authentically American food because every one of us is a foreigner. This country is less than 300 years old. If you go back 8 generations, most of our ancestors weren't living here.
Also, lima beans were brought to the US by Mesoamerican "foreigners" in the 1500s and corn by an earlier group around 2500 BC.
Also, lima beans were brought to the US by Mesoamerican "foreigners" in the 1500s and corn by an earlier group around 2500 BC.
2
I am surprised that Krugman did not mention the romance between Pizza and Republicans on the issue of minimum wage. Conservatives believe that you have a right to eat what you wish, just like they believe that they have a right to underpay workers whom they feel are somehow personally to blame for their poverty.
7
And let's not forget Papa John Schnatter's war on Obamacare and support for ALEC, the Teapartyers, etc. . Don't want all those ordering the double bacon, cheese filled crust affecionados having health insurance to cover their heart attacks. Or to have to cover the staff's heart attacks.
3
The nutritional science Problem With Pizza is actually deeper than this. According to all the newest clinical studies extra cheese and pepperoni is a pretty healthy choice across the board, since the science shows that saturated animal fat is actually - than you, Robert Atkins - a health food. Sadly for Pizza Hut it's the bread that adds extra notches on the 'diabetes belt'. Pizza with less cheese and pepperoni is less healthy and less flavorful but is at least doable, while pizza with less bread is, well, an oxymoron. Big Pizza can't really 'go green' any more than Big Tobacco, so my bet is that they will both remain fervent science deniers and permanent members of the club of big Republican donors.
6
"G.O.P. lean"
another good pun
another good pun
2
The "can't afford healthy food" argument doesn't hold up. The cost of a Big Mac is almost $5 these days and the cost per pound of broccoli is less than $2. Add a little butter (I said a little) and salt (again, a little) and the broccoli is just as cheap and a zillion times more healthful than the big mac. I happen to like broccoli. I also like hamburgers but I recognize that more of the former and less of the latter is much better for me in the long run.
4
This is a good point. I bought 40 lbs of rice at the local Asian market for $20. It lasts about 6 months with approximately every other dinner having rice as the starch.
1
I bet many GoP Congresspersons think that the "diabetes belt" is something one can wear to cure the ailment.
6
I'm not sure why pizza has become political other than to pacify the public with bread and circuses, and I guess if you watch Fox (Fear) News you'll need lots of comforting carbs.
Hopefully the Low Carb High Fat diet (LCHF) will become very popular and everyone will be healthier and many will no longer need the diabetes drugs. The government and medical profession could have done a better job over that past decades by using real science instead of making everyone fear fat for no good reason. Too many grams of carbs per day make people fat.
Here's a video on low carb myths with one doctor trying to enlighten people about LCHF diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT1JNWPVKXk&feature=share
Hopefully the Low Carb High Fat diet (LCHF) will become very popular and everyone will be healthier and many will no longer need the diabetes drugs. The government and medical profession could have done a better job over that past decades by using real science instead of making everyone fear fat for no good reason. Too many grams of carbs per day make people fat.
Here's a video on low carb myths with one doctor trying to enlighten people about LCHF diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT1JNWPVKXk&feature=share
6
"Hopefully the Low Carb High Fat diet will become very popular"
Huh? That's essentially the Atkins diet, which has enjoyed enormous popularity.
Huh? That's essentially the Atkins diet, which has enjoyed enormous popularity.
1
Darn! I love Pizza !! The larger the better with the works - onions, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, spinach with lots and lots and lots of Pepperoni,bacon, sausage and oodles of drippy three cheeses. Also I want my slice heavy falling out of my fingers.
2
This otherwise excellent editorial neglected to mention the fast food industry's vested interest in opposing any increase to the minimum wage. Dr. Krugman no doubt felt that this went without saying, but I would personally not have overlooked the opportunity to drive home this point. Opposition to the minimum wage, as much as to nutritional regulations, informs this industry's support of the Republican party.
4
As a Pizza-Loving kid who grew up in Brooklyn, I wouldn't consider what Pizza Hut, Dominos, or Papa John sells actual pizza. It's total garbage that doesn't deserve to share the same name as the stuff coming out of Lenny & Johns, L & B Spumoni Gardens, or Patsy's--or any of the 1,017 Rays pizza joints in NYC.
85
Amen, Brother, from a Bronx native who knows from pizza.
9
Paul, it ain't the cheese, it's the carbs. The dough, certain toppings...
4
I'm studying for an MPH degree and I have written several papers related to the nation's obesity crisis. While it is difficult, or impossible, to characterize pizza as good for your health, the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) you consume with the pizza are downright unhealthy. The beverage industry, the corn growers (corn is the primary source of refined sugar found in soft drinks), and food and beverage retailers spend enormous sums of money each year blocking public health efforts to reduce consumption of SSBs. They are very quick to counter any claim that refined sugar from corn is any different from any other kind of sugar, which ignores how many calories from sugar are in a typical SSB serving. A single 20-ounce soda has about 190 calories. Drink one of them a day and you will gain 1.5 pounds a month (18 pounds a year). If you eat pizza, your body will tell your brain that you're full, but the sugar in SSBs doesn't trigger that natural satiation effect. I don't think anyone would blame pizza, by itself, for causing obesity, but SSBs are definitely a major cause.
7
Rather disingenuous to invoke "personal responsibility" while keeping marketing and data mining firms on the payroll who know how to exploit every urge and weakness, don't you think?
5
Because of course, it's not really about the pepperoni. It's about the sauce. It's about the sugar.
If sugar is the next tobacco (and it is), you can bet big food will come down hard and false against any efforts to roll back their freedom to hock their poison to an unknowing public. Brace yourselves to see Papa John sitting in front of a Congressional Committee saying "sugar does not cause obesity."
If sugar is the next tobacco (and it is), you can bet big food will come down hard and false against any efforts to roll back their freedom to hock their poison to an unknowing public. Brace yourselves to see Papa John sitting in front of a Congressional Committee saying "sugar does not cause obesity."
8
I grew up on my Italian American mother's homemade pizza and soup for Friday night supper back in the days when Catholics didn't eat meat on Friday. No pepperoni. My mother is still relatively good at 101. I learned a long time ago from her to stay away from Republican pizza as well as their politics.
14
All you who are telling us that you do your own cooking from scratch, seldom or never eat what some food business has prepared, and who expect everyone else to do the same, think about how you sound. You sound just like those who say, "I built my own business through my own hard work and determination, without any help from government or charity, and anyone else can do the same!" Different political affiliations, same self-righteousness.
And now there's even a moocher class to match Mitt Romney's 47%: Type 2 diabetics.
And now there's even a moocher class to match Mitt Romney's 47%: Type 2 diabetics.
6
It's really amazing how successful the corporate pizza chains are. There is no local pride of ownership, no pride in their product, nothing at all but a business model to turn out the absolute cheapest product possible. And how do they accomplish that? Crummy facilities, low wages, low grade ingredients doctored up in the lab with salt, corn syrup and fat to make them taste better and an economy of scale.
Buy from a locally owned pizzeria if you have one or, even better, make your own. I've been doing so for years and it's inexpensive, easy, tastes good and has top notch ingredients.
Buy from a locally owned pizzeria if you have one or, even better, make your own. I've been doing so for years and it's inexpensive, easy, tastes good and has top notch ingredients.
8
Wow, no kidding. I just looked up Domino's stock (DPZ)...
1
Maintaining the right to remain ignorant. What is that?
4
so, paul, you're saying that republican policy is to support those who want to kill us in order to make more money. i already understood that about the gun merchants; but pizza? aren't there any "good" pizza makers?
2
This op-ed reminds me of Casa Nostra Pizza in the novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson.
Papa john was known to be a huge contributor to defeating Hillary's healthcare plan in '94. In the name of small business owners. No surprise there; no healthcare either. Only pepperoni is universal i suppose.
5
I'm surprised there is no mention of Papa John's owner John Schnatter's avowing that he would lay off workers rather than offer health care, never mind his massive mansion and his clear ability to afford to treat workers better than the law called for.
6
Once again, Krugman is against freedom and personal choice. We need someone like him who knows better to make our decisions for us. Maybe in his world we should do like Huxley and have all our decisions made for us at birth. Notice, though, that he has no issue with political contributions by big labor.
2
No, he's for providing the information people need in order to make choices.
5
How is it that this excellent article was not linked to the daily summary of op-ed pieces? Many of us subscribe in order to read Krugman's trenchant commentary and to leave off easy access is a big mistake
3
Having grown up in the Bronx, the occastional slice of pizza brings back fond memories of summer days and shopping with my mother. There is a difference however in my mind between small pizza and big pizza. Small pizza , the type purchased at a mom and pop felt like dropping in at friends, big pizza is like going to the mall..impersonal, efficient and anonymous . Big pizza is about brands and also about fast food and may I say it ? …Minimum wages !
Now minimum wages are clearly a republican strong suit, they want to keep them down. Minimum wages also have another effect and that is the influence on nutritional choices which are shifted heavily towards low cost processed carbohydrates , and away from the more expensive protein side.
The obesity exposition is very much about the sources of affordable calories and the minimum wage, and it is clear that if the only source of affordable calories for the working poor are to be processed carbohydrates then we will have to accept soaring heath care costs …Why republicans can't see this is just another example of willful blindness .
Now minimum wages are clearly a republican strong suit, they want to keep them down. Minimum wages also have another effect and that is the influence on nutritional choices which are shifted heavily towards low cost processed carbohydrates , and away from the more expensive protein side.
The obesity exposition is very much about the sources of affordable calories and the minimum wage, and it is clear that if the only source of affordable calories for the working poor are to be processed carbohydrates then we will have to accept soaring heath care costs …Why republicans can't see this is just another example of willful blindness .
6
"the G.O.P. lean"--unfortunate, in context, Paul!
There are some big, big fellas in Houston and San Antonio. Pizza is just a starter for them!
2
Whoever said, 'We are our own worst enemies' was darned RIGHT!
4
Much of our food is "manufactured" not prepared. It contains all sorts of sub components which have never been approved for human consumption in large amounts. For example many food products contain yeast to increase the protein amount on the label. Many contain excess salt or sugar to increase shelf life. We don't know the medical effects of these foods yet, but I'm sure that when we find out we will learn that these components have contributed to many diseases which will cost us dearly both in medical costs and in reduced lifespan. Thus Republicans who accept these donations are literally helping to kill or injure many people.
4
Facts have a liberal bias. And the right-wing just can't stand the facts. They prefer to be able to propagandize the population without interference from factual information. Someday the people who have been hood-winked by the spurious "freedom" argument will have an epiphany and the right-wing will rue the day they convinced them to have lots of guns.
6
Wow, a very astute analysis! I've gained a great insight, Dr. Krugman. Pizza and the American politics, who knew! Thanks for continuously informative columns dissecting the dynamic among money (and economy), political behavior, and power. When are we going to have more principled politicians with social consciousness and conscience?
2
Nutritionists and Exercise/Physiologists (etc.) alike all need to step out of the box and into real-world practice. No diet alone will maintain 'good health'; no exercise/active lifestyle alone will maintain 'good health'.
And there are NO studies that definitively prove otherwise once the generalizations and statistical nonsense (bad statistics is my meaning; so few understand beyond using SPSS, SAS, etc.) are, again, take out of that tidy box and place into the real world.
None. Would be rather impossible, actually :)
And there are NO studies that definitively prove otherwise once the generalizations and statistical nonsense (bad statistics is my meaning; so few understand beyond using SPSS, SAS, etc.) are, again, take out of that tidy box and place into the real world.
None. Would be rather impossible, actually :)
Oi Vey- Pizza in Politics? Another great reason why I make mine at home. I roast whole garlic gloves overnight in the crockpot and the next day they are perfect to smash and mix with a bit of olive oil, smear over some simple homemade crust, toss on some mushrooms, tomatoes and olives with some mozzarella and bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce on the side. THAT is Pizza baby...
6
I'm a little surprised. Krugman misses a much more essential reason why Big Pizza, especially Pizza Hut, is overwhelmingly Republican.
Big Pizza is one of the largest employers of minimum and low-wage workers. Low cost of labor is a (perhaps the singular) driver of the industry's healthy margins.
Is anyone really surprised they spend their money on anti-union repressive Republicans?
Big Pizza is one of the largest employers of minimum and low-wage workers. Low cost of labor is a (perhaps the singular) driver of the industry's healthy margins.
Is anyone really surprised they spend their money on anti-union repressive Republicans?
4
If I buy a pizza from a little pizza shop, the owner can use that money to contribute to a political campaign. If I buy the pizza from Pizza the Hut, a corperson (that is, a corporation that is a person), the corperson can contribute that money to a campaign in favor og my right to make bad choices. So, if I do not want to make bad choices, and I know the corperson will spend money on such things, I really can 'vote my dollars'. Sounds like a sushi night to me.
2
Yes, they cling to their guns and religion... and also their junk food.
3
Here's one time when Dr. Krugman doesn't rely on his beloved Europe to make a case. Euros are known to consume more fat, alcohol, and smoke more. How come that doesn't make them right-wingers?
The facts are that the middle class has been skinned alive by the .1% and left hanging from a meat hook to dry.
There simply isn't much left to get. But that won't stop Big Pizza or Big anything else from trying to squeeze a trickle of blood from the hanging carcass. That's why Pay Day loan franchises have multiplied, and why Wall Streeters are now bundling junk bonds made up of low credit car loans.
Same scam as the mortgage backed securities business, just a different industry.
The good news for the .1% is there is no hew and cry from the population calling for an end to this jackal capitalism.
The bad news is when there finally is that hew and cry, look out.
When will that happen, when will American come to their senses? Beats me boss, but it happened before, and it's gonna happen again.
It's just a matter of time. Let's pray to any God or Gods we believe in that it's an Elizabeth Warren who rides that wave of anger, as opposed to someone wearing a brown shirt.
There simply isn't much left to get. But that won't stop Big Pizza or Big anything else from trying to squeeze a trickle of blood from the hanging carcass. That's why Pay Day loan franchises have multiplied, and why Wall Streeters are now bundling junk bonds made up of low credit car loans.
Same scam as the mortgage backed securities business, just a different industry.
The good news for the .1% is there is no hew and cry from the population calling for an end to this jackal capitalism.
The bad news is when there finally is that hew and cry, look out.
When will that happen, when will American come to their senses? Beats me boss, but it happened before, and it's gonna happen again.
It's just a matter of time. Let's pray to any God or Gods we believe in that it's an Elizabeth Warren who rides that wave of anger, as opposed to someone wearing a brown shirt.
4
Papa John gets old and dies. Unhealthy ignorant people get old and die. Nature sorts itself out
1
We have a solution in the greater NYC area: Small mom & pop pizza shops...
If broccoli and carrots were marketed as endlessly as junk food, we'd be facing an epidemic of Vitamin A poisoning instead of obesity...
If broccoli and carrots were marketed as endlessly as junk food, we'd be facing an epidemic of Vitamin A poisoning instead of obesity...
5
I believe Pepsi is the parent corporation of Pizza Hut, as well as KFC, Taco Bell, and Burger King. Not surprising who they'd give their donations too. They're afraid of a soda tax, as though their corporate profits can't stand a cent per ounce tax.
The owner of Domino's, Tom Monaghan, is well known as a right wing supporter adamantly opposed to abortion. A good, and filthy rich, Catholic, he puts his money where his mouth is.
Papa John's, ditto, just a younger version of Monaghan.
Herman Cain, of the 9-9-9 plan and Uzbekibekibekistan, 'nuff said.
Pizza isn't necessarily "junk food." Properly prepared, it's far from the worse option on the menu in Fast Food Nation. The problem is these chains use the cheapest ingredients possible, then disguise the deficiencies by adding loads of salt and flavor enhancers. They have labs where they test which chemicals are the most effective, and addictive, at fooling customers. But a thin, organic whole wheat crust with moderate application of gourmet hormone and antibiotic free cheeses, topped with fresh organic produce from the garden or local farmers' market, with a homemade organic tomato sauce or pesto? Nothing wrong with that, per se.
Except that McDonald's, Taco Bell, and the others beholden to Wall Street, they do the bait and switch. The meat's not really meat, nothing's what it appears. The American consumer is too stupid or lazy to notice.
Exceptional. and increasingly obese and diabetic. there's a pill for that on tv!
The owner of Domino's, Tom Monaghan, is well known as a right wing supporter adamantly opposed to abortion. A good, and filthy rich, Catholic, he puts his money where his mouth is.
Papa John's, ditto, just a younger version of Monaghan.
Herman Cain, of the 9-9-9 plan and Uzbekibekibekistan, 'nuff said.
Pizza isn't necessarily "junk food." Properly prepared, it's far from the worse option on the menu in Fast Food Nation. The problem is these chains use the cheapest ingredients possible, then disguise the deficiencies by adding loads of salt and flavor enhancers. They have labs where they test which chemicals are the most effective, and addictive, at fooling customers. But a thin, organic whole wheat crust with moderate application of gourmet hormone and antibiotic free cheeses, topped with fresh organic produce from the garden or local farmers' market, with a homemade organic tomato sauce or pesto? Nothing wrong with that, per se.
Except that McDonald's, Taco Bell, and the others beholden to Wall Street, they do the bait and switch. The meat's not really meat, nothing's what it appears. The American consumer is too stupid or lazy to notice.
Exceptional. and increasingly obese and diabetic. there's a pill for that on tv!
6
The irony here is the states with heavy people with Type II Diabetes also are adamantly against Obama Care. Mike Huckabee Bubbas verses Bubbles goes right along with pepperoni. Those ‘Bubbles’ that want healthy food are destroying America. Who knew that the next big conservative war front was pizza.
2
Pizza Hut should be sued for improper use of the term "Pizza".
Fidatevi! So di che parlo e sono un buongustaio. :)
Fidatevi! So di che parlo e sono un buongustaio. :)
2
School lunches, yes. Pizza, please no! If you politicize pizza be prepared to lose if you take the side of altering it. Given the choice between living under a dictatorship and having someone mess with your pizza I think you would get a frightening response to that question from most freedom loving Americans. Even though I just walked by a pizza chain restaurant selling a, "Bacon Cheese Burger Deluxe Pizza", pizza in the home and in other restaurants is an art form. Yes, it is a splurge like ice cream, and one should not eat a whole pizza to one's self which seems like common sense. "Common Sense", now there's an idea.
2
I continue to see new product lines touting themselves as "healthy" because they add some grains, say, but further research shows its also chuck full of unhealthy sugar, salt and/or simple carbohydrates.
But there's Sarah Palin sarcastically sipping her giant soda. Wow, what great leadership.
But there's Sarah Palin sarcastically sipping her giant soda. Wow, what great leadership.
3
I am at a loss to know why Democrats are so concerned about the cheese content of Pizza. People are not gorging on Pizza. It is not that bad as High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is being put in many foods including bread. Countless reports have concluded that HFCS causes diabetes and also Uric Acid. I studiously avoid any item that shows HFCS as an ingredient. The Dems should ban this rather than the cheese content of Pizza. It is a meaning less pursuit. HFCS sales top $1Billion and they will not easily give up. Wonder why lawyers are not suing them.
Nobody's advocating banning, only informing the customer.
What's with these fast-food magnates that they WANT their customers to be ignorant?
What's with these fast-food magnates that they WANT their customers to be ignorant?
3
Who is the party of the big banks? Oh yeah, both of them.
2
Avoiding labeling requirements hardly explains why Pizza-chain magnates are so uniformly big Republican donors. There isn't a "War on Pizza" among Democrats and Progressives that I know of.
I think the explanation is more the business model of franchising -- fast food has been the most successful franchising game -- for those who win at it the closest thing to being John Galt.
I think the explanation is more the business model of franchising -- fast food has been the most successful franchising game -- for those who win at it the closest thing to being John Galt.
1
And let's be honest about the big pizza chains--their founders didn't get into it because they're passionate about good food (try their products if you doubt that, but I recommend only once!). They got into the pizza business because it's an easy item to mass produce with excellent margins by food business standards. Nothing I guess too wrong with that if you want eat mass produced crap, but having to let people know the basics of what they are making, like calories and nutrition, is not too onerous on them and good for literally everyone else.
5
Eric, you didn't actually read the column, did you? Just skimmed the headline, and maybe the first paragraph. And then responded by rote. It's not an attack on pizza. It's an attack on the food industry and the GOP war on healthy eating. Pizza is actually a pretty healthy choice, depending on your topping.
3
Maybe the moon will hit them in the eye!
1
Great column today ! Being a retiree living on a fixed income, I have objections to your monetary policy prescriptions ( why is unbridled, permanent "Keynesianism" good for retirees and savers ? ), but this piece hits the bulls eye. And don't be afraid of puns; there are those of us - fellow-punsters, mostly - who savor them.
1
Clever metaphor, pizza.
If we had a true capitalist system we would not be giving the high fructose corn syrup producers any subsidies. (Same with oil, etc.) But we do not have a free market, we have a market that has been manipulated through tax gimmicks for decades. And the benefits are going to those already doing well.
Education; the first thing a dictator or tyrant (whether it is Stalin or Pol Pot) goes after are the intelligentsia. There is nothing a dictator likes less than thinking people.
I haven't traveled the world extensively, but what I have done I have seen very few obese people. The grocery stores are well supplied with basics, just not millions of choices for the same basics. And NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SUGAR.
If we had a true capitalist system we would not be giving the high fructose corn syrup producers any subsidies. (Same with oil, etc.) But we do not have a free market, we have a market that has been manipulated through tax gimmicks for decades. And the benefits are going to those already doing well.
Education; the first thing a dictator or tyrant (whether it is Stalin or Pol Pot) goes after are the intelligentsia. There is nothing a dictator likes less than thinking people.
I haven't traveled the world extensively, but what I have done I have seen very few obese people. The grocery stores are well supplied with basics, just not millions of choices for the same basics. And NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SUGAR.
8
Does this mean that the fat cats are backing the Republicans?
What about exercise and personal responsibility? Can either be a part of political partisanship? They certainly weigh into the "obesity" crisis?
2
I spent three weeks in Paris and Israel recently, my first trip overseas in nearly 20 years, and the general absence of heavy people was striking. Most of those I did see turned out to be Americans. (We're loud, too.)
8
You went up to everyone and asked if they were American? There's no way to know what nationality they are unless you asked.
Important issues and the usual good analysis by Mr. Krugman.
4
Pizza isn't being attacked; that's a pretty specious argument against Mr. Krugman's essay. It is the greedy, stingy behavior of the CEOs of the national chains. (Pizza Hut, owned by Pepsi, may be the exception)
I say, buy local pizza from a local pizzeria. The owner may be a right-winger, but he's probably not trying to buy elections.
We all should be buying locally whenever possible, anyway.
I say, buy local pizza from a local pizzeria. The owner may be a right-winger, but he's probably not trying to buy elections.
We all should be buying locally whenever possible, anyway.
9
A few of the "big pizza" guys were prominent conservatives before the nutritional information wars started. Thinking of Domino's Monahan for instance.
There also seems to be a real reluctance on the part of these CEOs to treat their employees with decency -- to provide them health care, for instance.
But beyond that -- as much as I love a good pizza -- I can attest to the nutritional dangers of it. Live with a Type 1 diabetic or two...you'll see that pizza, like no other food, will spike your blood sugars for hours. Heavy carb, heavy fat. It doesn't do a pancreas good.
There also seems to be a real reluctance on the part of these CEOs to treat their employees with decency -- to provide them health care, for instance.
But beyond that -- as much as I love a good pizza -- I can attest to the nutritional dangers of it. Live with a Type 1 diabetic or two...you'll see that pizza, like no other food, will spike your blood sugars for hours. Heavy carb, heavy fat. It doesn't do a pancreas good.
3
Oh and the cost to any health care due to increased diabetes shloud be well offset by the eventual return to normality in politics that keeps us out of wars. Bibi looked a little heavy the other day, somebody get that guy a pizza, kosher of course.
2
Americans can and should vote with your wallet. I stopped buying Dominoes for two reasons: the pizza is awful and the company supports for right causes I don't agree with.
6
Did you really need more reason than "the pizza is awful"?
This trend isn't really that new. Individual founders of pizza chains (think Domino's and Papa John's) have always poured a lot of money into their partisan right wing purchases of Congressional members. The difference is that some of these companies are now doing it as companies, not individuals. I personally won't buy a pizza from any of these people for two reason. One, their partisanship, which goes against my grain. Two, they make crappy pizza anyway. I have a wonderful locally-owned pizza pub in my town where I'd rather spend my time and money.
5
I just looked at a map of the diabetes belt. It could be a map of the Confederacy. Striking! Check it out:
http://www.diabetesbelt.com/map.html
http://www.diabetesbelt.com/map.html
6
While pizza was busy becoming political I was busy learning to make my own. I long since gave up trying to figure out what was in fast food and I don't have time on a 30 minute lunch hour to try to slog through all the "nutritional facts" written in the tiniest print imaginable to try and find the healthier option. And at the rate things are going with agribusiness it's only a matter of time before we all have to go back to growing our own food.
5
Another trenchant piece from Krugman.
Unfortunately, the fact that we have such a whopping obesity problem (more than 30% of US adults and if we include overweight adults over 20 it is 69%) stems from a perfect storm of factors that includes the movement of people from cities to suburbs starting in the 50's that ushered in an over reliance on autos and much less walking/exercise, the rise of fast food in America, the high rates of poverty which lead to poor nutritional choices by the low-income, and last but by no means least a health system that excludes many millions and which places too much emphasis on specialist and not enough on primary care where patients might receive counselling and advice on issues such as weight reduction.
One welcome development is that, increasingly, a new generation is seeking the benefits of urban living - at least in some parts of the US - and recognize that healthier choices lead to a better chance of a happier life.
But as PK implies, most of these places are either in Blue States or are Blue-State like enclaves in Red States (Austin TX for example). And it's no coincidence that the majority of people in those states also opt for a fairer and more comprehensive healthcare system than do Red (and generally more obese) States.
Unfortunately, the fact that we have such a whopping obesity problem (more than 30% of US adults and if we include overweight adults over 20 it is 69%) stems from a perfect storm of factors that includes the movement of people from cities to suburbs starting in the 50's that ushered in an over reliance on autos and much less walking/exercise, the rise of fast food in America, the high rates of poverty which lead to poor nutritional choices by the low-income, and last but by no means least a health system that excludes many millions and which places too much emphasis on specialist and not enough on primary care where patients might receive counselling and advice on issues such as weight reduction.
One welcome development is that, increasingly, a new generation is seeking the benefits of urban living - at least in some parts of the US - and recognize that healthier choices lead to a better chance of a happier life.
But as PK implies, most of these places are either in Blue States or are Blue-State like enclaves in Red States (Austin TX for example). And it's no coincidence that the majority of people in those states also opt for a fairer and more comprehensive healthcare system than do Red (and generally more obese) States.
4
The almost laughable thing about these titans of business "thought" is their limited quarterly reports foresight: They don't' care about global warming or if their customers die of diseases as long as the stock price is good.
5
Oh, just give in to the unhealthy diet choices that statistically support the conservative base in voting republican. Any thing that gives assistance to the great Die-Off of the nonbelievers of everything science, fact based evidence, and evolution can't be all bad.
4
Good point--an unexpected "silver lining"!
2
"It is . . . a case study in the toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable."
Yes, and it's also about the rampant ignorance that is the result of our persistent failure to give a damn about education. Republican rhetoric about "results" notwithstanding, they care about who can profit from teaching our kids, while Democrats have not stood strongly enough in defense of one or our most important bulwarks of democracy.
Yes, and it's also about the rampant ignorance that is the result of our persistent failure to give a damn about education. Republican rhetoric about "results" notwithstanding, they care about who can profit from teaching our kids, while Democrats have not stood strongly enough in defense of one or our most important bulwarks of democracy.
9
No one should be surprised that Pizza Hut plays this role. Formerly owned by PepsiCo, Inc., it is now owned by Yum! Brands, who also own KFC and Taco Bell. Via the sale from PepsiCo to Yum! Brands, these chain fast food restaurants most always sell Pepsi. None of this is good for anyone. Yum! Brands is now the largest fast food restaurant company in the world and it is a Fortune 500 company. KFC just opened the first western style "restaurant" in Mongolia. "Feeding the world crap, that's our motto." Ugh.
9
Food labels. I'm pretty old (80+) and maybe 10 pounds over weight and I am really tired of this subject. The latest food fad among the enlightened? Kale!! Kale! Well, I suppose it is good for you, but the taste? May I remind those who preach about diets that people have a sense of taste? I'm not sure what to do about school lunches, but if the food isn't tasty..the students probably won't eat it!! And, carrots and skim milk really aren't that yummy. The plain fact is that fast food pizza tastes good!
Kale pizza isn't bad if you include mushrooms and garlic.
1
Kale, olive oil and a little balsamic? You may have missed a lot in your 80+.
1
>sigh!< More destructive clinging to the past on the right instead of thinking creatively.
I make excellent pizzas at home with tons of vegetables. Yeah, I like cheese, I put cheese on them, but I get a lot of veggies in there too.
Why on earth can't pizza businesses come up with something that works with school nutritional guidelines? You'd think it would be part of the natural competitiveness of business. But no, let's just pretend everything is a choice of misery or keeping things the same as they've always been, no matter how untenable that is...
I make excellent pizzas at home with tons of vegetables. Yeah, I like cheese, I put cheese on them, but I get a lot of veggies in there too.
Why on earth can't pizza businesses come up with something that works with school nutritional guidelines? You'd think it would be part of the natural competitiveness of business. But no, let's just pretend everything is a choice of misery or keeping things the same as they've always been, no matter how untenable that is...
3
Pizza partisanship!
Let's not forget big pharma and big oil in our discussion of big money contributions.
I'll have a large pepperoni with extra cheese, mushrooms and anchovies--please.
Let's not forget big pharma and big oil in our discussion of big money contributions.
I'll have a large pepperoni with extra cheese, mushrooms and anchovies--please.
1
Not a bit surprising since one major pizza company also backs effort to teach creationism ONLY, and the biggest Republican donor also makes nutrition-less white bread. I can't fight their money but I can avoid supporting their products at all times.
7
We must not forget how the Farm Bill perverts the cost of food. King Corn is a big part of this whole problem.
8
We know what the Republican response will be. Pizzas don't make people fat. It's eating pizzas that makes people fat.
7
If corporations are intent on putting their corporate goals into politics, then we should put our politics into their markets. Don't eat pizza. You'll never find me at Whole Foods anymore, either.
4
Don't eat pizza because it's bad for you, or don't eat pizza because it's made by big reactionary corporations?
What about pizza made in small independent pizzerias? As another poster said, the owners of these small shops may be right-wingers but they're not out to buy the country. My dry cleaner supported Carl Palladino in 2010. No matter; he's good with clothes.
What about pizza made in small independent pizzerias? As another poster said, the owners of these small shops may be right-wingers but they're not out to buy the country. My dry cleaner supported Carl Palladino in 2010. No matter; he's good with clothes.
1
It may have been caught earlier, but "Republican LEAN" is an unintended pun.
3
Piazza chains are nothing more than Walmart, except they serve pizza.
48
"At one level, there is a clear correlation between lifestyles and partisan orientation: heavier states tend to vote Republican,..."
Take a look at the states that tend to vote Democrat in terms of the rate of diabetes. You will find high levels of that diseases within the cities and the African American population. Then go ahead and re-valuate the statement on correlation.
"Debates about nutrition policy bring out a kind of venomous anger — "
No disagreement, Krugman has proven that.
Take a look at the states that tend to vote Democrat in terms of the rate of diabetes. You will find high levels of that diseases within the cities and the African American population. Then go ahead and re-valuate the statement on correlation.
"Debates about nutrition policy bring out a kind of venomous anger — "
No disagreement, Krugman has proven that.
One more reason for not buying pizza from chain producers!
5
Are they putting chemicals in the pizza to make people more gullible?
That could explain why so many people vote against their own interests.
That could explain why so many people vote against their own interests.
4
Mr. Krugman can smugly tweak those in the 'diabetes belt' but guess what, they realize what he doesn't; it isn't a "toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable", it is the ever-expanding reach of government that is making America less governable.
1
OK, I will go along with that if you agree that my blue state's money should not be going to those red states any more. I could really use it myself. I might even buy more (local) pizza with it.
5
I thought it was all about labor and minimum wage. Doh! I won't eat any chain pizza.
2
Pizza from small independent pizzerias is better anyway.
4
From the light bulbs we are "permitted" to buy to the toilet we are allowed to place in our own homes. The one size fits all federal government is working to "protect" us. No matter that partisans on both sides know how to milk these regulations to their own benefit.
We are treated as children. Too dumb to make smart informed choices-our federal government must make these choices for us. Limit our access to an increasing number of areas.
I reject this. I think our founders would too. We have an out of control federal government that will only keep getting bigger and infringe on our rights AS INDIVIDUALS. I know the collective is in fashion now. From insurance, to energy, to transportation, to almost everything we touch or do in our everyday lives-big brother is watching out for you.
Pathetic.
We are treated as children. Too dumb to make smart informed choices-our federal government must make these choices for us. Limit our access to an increasing number of areas.
I reject this. I think our founders would too. We have an out of control federal government that will only keep getting bigger and infringe on our rights AS INDIVIDUALS. I know the collective is in fashion now. From insurance, to energy, to transportation, to almost everything we touch or do in our everyday lives-big brother is watching out for you.
Pathetic.
You know nothing about the founders. What you know is the propaganda spread by the right wing hate machine. Read what the founders wrote. The may have not known about democracy but they knew about social evolution and would no doubt be in lockstep with Obama.
4
I'm normally with Krugman, but this seems rather lame. Almost everyone loves pizza, and in almost every town in America there is a local pizza place not just Big Pizza. In many places you can get a healthy pie: in the Trenton train station, of all places, I had a perfectly nice slice of spinach pizza.
C'mon, Paul: there are far more important stories than this one.
C'mon, Paul: there are far more important stories than this one.
Yes and no. Blame the pizza moguls, not pizza itself.
1
How many workers in pizza joints are paid more than minimum wage? Very few. That's why pizza moguls love them some GOPers ... Republicans can be counted on to keep wages low and protect profits from taxes.
4
Good Point. Like any other hazardous product (cigarettes, alcohol, once-upon-a-time pharmaceuticals) ban advertising.
3
Paul,
While the gist of your theory is correct, I think this comes down to something more basic than cheese & sauce. The Democrats are the only ones fighting to raise the minimum wage. Any increase in wages for pizza store owners directly impacts bottom line as wages are their biggest expense. Of course they, unlike Henry Ford, don't draw the connection to increaased sales of their product by raising the wages of the biggest consumers of their product!
While the gist of your theory is correct, I think this comes down to something more basic than cheese & sauce. The Democrats are the only ones fighting to raise the minimum wage. Any increase in wages for pizza store owners directly impacts bottom line as wages are their biggest expense. Of course they, unlike Henry Ford, don't draw the connection to increaased sales of their product by raising the wages of the biggest consumers of their product!
10
Krugman is being deceptive -- this is not about labeling and school lunches. The food dictators do what to dictate what we eat. They already are trying to tax sodas with sugar -- pizza and other "bad foods" will not be far behind. In fact, after Krugman claims this is only about labeling and food lunches, he then says choice in food is a bad thing, and eating bad food is like smoking and should be treated the same. So, just as we tax the heck out of cigarettes to discourage use, I guarantee he want to tax "bad foods" the same and otherwise force us to eat what he wants us to eat. No wonder Big Pizza supports Republicans.
Where's he being deceptive?
2
No, Alan, the deception is in the practices of the commercial food industry. The reason the fast food industry, especially pizza makers, go with the GOP is their whole business model depends on the one form of government subsidy that the GOP supports, the myriad subsidies, especially farm subsidies, that make junk food like Mickey D's and Domino and Pizza hut possible. Their whole scheme is based on being really cheap. If you go to the local pizza shop, and order a whole pie, a large pie anywhere in the NYC area is going to be 14 bucks on up; go to pizza hut and they advertise "two large pies for 9.99"...and the reason is they are using cheap ingredients heavily subsidized by the government....so they can put a ton of cheese on the pie and charge little because the kind of cheese they use is dirt cheap; the flour they use is dirt cheap, and the pizza sauce is dirt cheap, in large part because it is loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Soda is cheap because soda is basically sugar water, and the sugar they use is HFC. Mickey D's uses dirt cheap meat dependent on subsidies, and the use of hormones and antibiotics, cheap soda, cheap potatoes and buns full of HFC...and what happens is people don't have a choice. These firms live off the government hog, and note that the GOP firmly refuses to cut farm subsidies and the idiotic subsidy for corn and ethanol.
5
A few random thoughts:
* The notion that labeling reduces sales is a myth. If people want to eat junk, they will ignore the label and eat it. But labeling does considerably help those who do not want to eat junk (or eat it in moderation). Labeling does, however, increase infrastructure and raise expenses for the food producers. I agree with labeling, but this should be acknowledged.
* Because people are emotionally attached to their fave junk food, there is great logical inconsistency regarding what does and does not get attacked. One big junk food is ice cream. Try to regulate the ice cream industry. You will become an instant pariah.
* The home of the gooiest, most unhealthy pizza in the known universe is that bastion of Democrat politics and former home of our president -- Chicago.
* The notion that labeling reduces sales is a myth. If people want to eat junk, they will ignore the label and eat it. But labeling does considerably help those who do not want to eat junk (or eat it in moderation). Labeling does, however, increase infrastructure and raise expenses for the food producers. I agree with labeling, but this should be acknowledged.
* Because people are emotionally attached to their fave junk food, there is great logical inconsistency regarding what does and does not get attacked. One big junk food is ice cream. Try to regulate the ice cream industry. You will become an instant pariah.
* The home of the gooiest, most unhealthy pizza in the known universe is that bastion of Democrat politics and former home of our president -- Chicago.
4
And here everyone is remembering Herman Cain as just a throwaway bit of presidential stuffed crust.
Oh that crafty Grand Old Party. Just a rising pile of dough that could do with a bit of punching down, a firm kneading, a rolling out on a flat dusted surface and some quality time in the 500 degree oven of contemporary reality.
Yet, for all their promises of superior savour and extra toppings, GOP progress is of the frozen variety, supermarket stale and entirely untouched by human hands. Somehow perfect for the undiscerning gourmand.
Oh that crafty Grand Old Party. Just a rising pile of dough that could do with a bit of punching down, a firm kneading, a rolling out on a flat dusted surface and some quality time in the 500 degree oven of contemporary reality.
Yet, for all their promises of superior savour and extra toppings, GOP progress is of the frozen variety, supermarket stale and entirely untouched by human hands. Somehow perfect for the undiscerning gourmand.
9
Should we use the tools of Government to steer the economics of people's dietary choices? My stance on a wide range of issues places me pretty squarely in the liberal camp, but I'm skeptical on this one.
In our culture, we seem these days to be quick to single out a given food, food group, or nutrient (Fat! No, carbs!) as the demon cause of the obesity epidemic, but as medical research shows, diet is only one part of the equation. At least as important in determining obesity, and probably more so, is physical activity. Strong evidence for this has been documented in numerous studies, and shown particularly effectively by the fact that the average Westerner today actually consumes fewer calories than did the average (slimmer) Westerner of one and more generations past. Increased rates of obesity seem to stem from the fact that although our calorie intake has fallen, our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have meant that our calorie expenditure has fallen faster.
I don't know if steering people's diets by taxing certain foods would produce a better social outcome, but I can certainly think of cases in which it wouldn't produce better individual outcomes.
My grandfather is one of them. For 93 years, he lived on a diet that was rich in lard, fried animal products, grease, heavy cream, whole milk, red meat, starch and sugar. His diet sustained him in his physically demanding line of work, which in turn kept him trim. A food tax would have made him poorer, not healthier.
In our culture, we seem these days to be quick to single out a given food, food group, or nutrient (Fat! No, carbs!) as the demon cause of the obesity epidemic, but as medical research shows, diet is only one part of the equation. At least as important in determining obesity, and probably more so, is physical activity. Strong evidence for this has been documented in numerous studies, and shown particularly effectively by the fact that the average Westerner today actually consumes fewer calories than did the average (slimmer) Westerner of one and more generations past. Increased rates of obesity seem to stem from the fact that although our calorie intake has fallen, our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have meant that our calorie expenditure has fallen faster.
I don't know if steering people's diets by taxing certain foods would produce a better social outcome, but I can certainly think of cases in which it wouldn't produce better individual outcomes.
My grandfather is one of them. For 93 years, he lived on a diet that was rich in lard, fried animal products, grease, heavy cream, whole milk, red meat, starch and sugar. His diet sustained him in his physically demanding line of work, which in turn kept him trim. A food tax would have made him poorer, not healthier.
6
Studies have shown that when we just THINK of a healthy food option, we're more likely to choose something unhealthy. To our brains, being good (thinking about eating something healthy) gives you permission to be bad. When McDonald's introduced salads, Big Mac sales skyrocketed. When a few healthy items were placed in vending machines, people would more often than not choose the LEAST healthy item in the machine.
We need less policy-making and more self-understanding and awareness.
We need less policy-making and more self-understanding and awareness.
2
If the policies of the government don't change---the average person will never understand. Subsidizing soybean and corn at the expense of fruits and vegetables creates cheap junk food and food additives (i.e. high fructose corn syrup). Drugs and procedures over healthy fodd. Etc., etc.
4
The United States government campaign against tobacco - democratic government - proved that there is a difference between "big" government and "good" government.
Government was the solution, not the problem.
Imo, the government could do something similar about sugar. However, it is necessary to approach that topic with some smarts. After all, it is not possible to eliminate all sugar from diets.
Government was the solution, not the problem.
Imo, the government could do something similar about sugar. However, it is necessary to approach that topic with some smarts. After all, it is not possible to eliminate all sugar from diets.
5
Although I endorse the spirit of this column, I must confess that pizza is my favorite food, and it's not all that difficult in this day and age to find out the nutritional content of your average slice. I should also mention that I'm, er, a tad overweight. Just a tad...
Of course, the large chains that advertise on TV make lousy pizza, true, so they definitely need whatever help they can get from the Republicans to bamboozle the public into buying their garbage, but actual hand-crafted pizza from a local Mom-and-Pop pizzeria is a different animal, and needs no help in that direction. When made properly, it is a true delight. Not the most thinning food in the world, I grant you, but neither are gin martinis... ya gotta live!
Of course, the large chains that advertise on TV make lousy pizza, true, so they definitely need whatever help they can get from the Republicans to bamboozle the public into buying their garbage, but actual hand-crafted pizza from a local Mom-and-Pop pizzeria is a different animal, and needs no help in that direction. When made properly, it is a true delight. Not the most thinning food in the world, I grant you, but neither are gin martinis... ya gotta live!
8
What's so crazy about cooking your own food ? I mean, why does everything have to revolve around paying someone to cook it, the only difference being how fast they cook it and how they serve it?
It would be interesting to see what would happen if each and every household in the country decided to cook at home. We can even call it, home cooked meals day.
I imagine it would put a dent on the US economy and therein lies the problem. That we have an economy that depends on us not cooking our own food!
It would be interesting to see what would happen if each and every household in the country decided to cook at home. We can even call it, home cooked meals day.
I imagine it would put a dent on the US economy and therein lies the problem. That we have an economy that depends on us not cooking our own food!
2
Is there a higher use of tobacco in red states?
1
I got lost on this article. I can understand the problem in India about where's the beef but not about the south about pizza. I am afraid Krugman is not a lover of pizza. Nor do I see pizza people voting republican in 2016 because they favor pizza and people voting for Hillary are for meat. Did Krugman know about southern fried chicken?
Is it not time to concede that our interpretation of the constitutional right to lobby politicians has caused organised single issue interest groups to literally buy politicians and favorable political outcomes at the expense of a less organised broader society ? Is it not time to simply outlaw political donations and move to federal financing of political campaigns. Surely we can then get a congress which is not systematically subverting the will of the American public on everything from guns to pizza ?
6
As someone who generally appreciates experts and evidence, the nutrition "experts" have been stunningly, completely, 180 degrees wrong on numerous issues. Remember "heart healthy margarine?" How about "eggs/cholesterol/fats are bad?" Or everybody should eat _6-11 servings a day_ of bread, pasta, and cereal?
If real cheese is used, the cheese is the healthiest part of the pizza.
If real cheese is used, the cheese is the healthiest part of the pizza.
7
So your logic is that others have gotten nutrition science wrong, so the idea that cheese is healthy is right?
Cheese is mostly fat, which you can get the little bit protein in a less fatty food.
The vegetables on the pizza are the least fattiest and have the fewest carbs
Cheese is mostly fat, which you can get the little bit protein in a less fatty food.
The vegetables on the pizza are the least fattiest and have the fewest carbs
@Steve F:
My logic is that cheese and other naturally fatty foods are both nutrient dense and satiating to the appetite. Most people will lose weight, correct blood lipids, and gain better control of blood sugar if they ditch sugars/flours and replace them with protein and fat.
(That said, there are many types & qualities of fatty foods.)
My logic is that cheese and other naturally fatty foods are both nutrient dense and satiating to the appetite. Most people will lose weight, correct blood lipids, and gain better control of blood sugar if they ditch sugars/flours and replace them with protein and fat.
(That said, there are many types & qualities of fatty foods.)
1
Bravo, Paul.
Seems the people who decry nanny-statism are most in need of one.
Seems the people who decry nanny-statism are most in need of one.
4
Unfortunately, the Democrats are about as much the party of Big Finance as are the GOP; totally ruining the "fat cats" joke I had in mind.
21
The brick wall that's the conservative mind is going to be really disturbed by the social implications of the emerging field of Epigenetics.
Epigenetics is the area of science that studies how genes & metabolism gets regulated & how the traits that are regulated are passed down thru multiple generations.
Stress, violence, diabetes, & many other issues can be traced to events before birth, during development, in the parent's experiences, & in the mother's diet.
The cellular environment can have huge effects on health lasting for generations but only experts can tell you about this so the US will not be able to apply this knowledge for it's own good.
Finally pollutants like BP-A & PCBs are major players for health problems that can last generations after a parent has been exposed.
We can't wait to study this & apply the fix but most conservatives can't handle simple problems let alone the causes of problems that adversely effect generations. As Dr Krugman said recently "knowledge is not power".
Epigenetics is the area of science that studies how genes & metabolism gets regulated & how the traits that are regulated are passed down thru multiple generations.
Stress, violence, diabetes, & many other issues can be traced to events before birth, during development, in the parent's experiences, & in the mother's diet.
The cellular environment can have huge effects on health lasting for generations but only experts can tell you about this so the US will not be able to apply this knowledge for it's own good.
Finally pollutants like BP-A & PCBs are major players for health problems that can last generations after a parent has been exposed.
We can't wait to study this & apply the fix but most conservatives can't handle simple problems let alone the causes of problems that adversely effect generations. As Dr Krugman said recently "knowledge is not power".
7
Pizza runs on cheap labor. Any business model based upon cheap labor is going to be pro Republican.
250
My rather ordinary Midwestern city has pizza places galore -- handmade wood-fired oven pizzas. Artisanal pizza. Small mom & pop stores. Big national chains. Small local chains. The supermarket sells pizza. The gas station sells pizza (ew). The warehouse club sells pizza.
To say that "everyone who sells pizza is a Republican" is just pure nonsense. I rather doubt the old-hippie guys running the handcrafted pizza business with whole wheat crust, and organic toppings, are hardcore Republicans.
The idea that Democrats do not make, sell or EAT pizza is utterly laughable. Lefty liberalism is truly going off the rails.
To say that "everyone who sells pizza is a Republican" is just pure nonsense. I rather doubt the old-hippie guys running the handcrafted pizza business with whole wheat crust, and organic toppings, are hardcore Republicans.
The idea that Democrats do not make, sell or EAT pizza is utterly laughable. Lefty liberalism is truly going off the rails.
2
Dr. Krugman, as usual, makes some important points. Obesity, like smoking, imposes costs on ALL Americans; it's not simply a matter of personal choice. When people do not have the information to make informed choices, and when adults make choices about what schoolchildren will eat, "personal choice" is meaningless.
Keep in mind that when Republicans talk about "personal choice" and "personal freedom", what they are really for is freedom for the superwealthy and the large corporations to do whatever they want, with no accountability to the American people.
Keep in mind that when Republicans talk about "personal choice" and "personal freedom", what they are really for is freedom for the superwealthy and the large corporations to do whatever they want, with no accountability to the American people.
13
And Republicans eat pizza with a knife and fork. They really don't get it.
15
Italians eat pizza with a knife and fork, and they invented it.
I have never seen a Republican do this.
I have never seen a Republican do this.
Two other examples from Oregon of owners politics hurting sales: Christmas trees and grass seed. The big farmers are usually Republican. The issues are taxes and regulation. With more equitable income distribution the rest of us could afford a tree, a lawn, golf, or a pizza (it can be healthy-no soda please).
1
"Heavier states tend to vote Republican." I love it. Southern states are at the bad end of all the lists of stuff like education, income, health, etc. and so obesity is not a surprise. The Southern thing may explain more about voting, however, than the numeric variables. I know first hand when and how the South became the solidly Republican South, and it's not likely to change soon. I just heard that no Republican leaders are going to the commemoration at Selma. The pizza connection, however, is a grabber.
3
It's too bad we didn't let the South secede when we had the chance. No Civil War, no Reconstruction for which they still hate us Northerners, and not enough conservatives in the North to cause the sort of problems they do nowadays.
2
Well, the problems suggests the solution by itself.
If Darwin is right, the cheese in the middle of the country are going to thin out either by early death by artery blocking cheese(which of course can be made up by more reproduction) or extra weight that brings them six feet under other means and by defection of those in the middle to the coasts.
One can lament that each state will have two senators as long as there are two people left on it but one might as well feel relieved that the votes in the house or senate are not allocated on the basis of the physical weight of those casting the vote.
If Darwin is right, the cheese in the middle of the country are going to thin out either by early death by artery blocking cheese(which of course can be made up by more reproduction) or extra weight that brings them six feet under other means and by defection of those in the middle to the coasts.
One can lament that each state will have two senators as long as there are two people left on it but one might as well feel relieved that the votes in the house or senate are not allocated on the basis of the physical weight of those casting the vote.
1
Pizza Hut is not pizza.
6
When I found out that John Schlatter (aka Pappa John) had a Mega Mansion in St Louis yet wanted to screw his employees out of wages and benefits to optimize his personal profits, I decided to never again patronize a chain pizza parlor, especially Pappa Johns. Where I come from (Florida) we celebrate Fridays by patronizing the family pizza parlor in our nearby town. The husband and wife know my name and always say Thank You for our business. I am not interested in feeding John Schlatter's bottomless greed or funding Pizza Hut's contribution to the Republican Party.
10
That's not the half of it, Dr K.
Recall that when Obama won re-election, Papa John Schnatter went stuffed crust on ACA venom, claiming he'd have to resort to massive layoffs to defray corporate health care costs.
This from a guy who paid 275 large to buy back the Camaro he owned as a teenager.
I feel his pizza pa[i]n.
Recall that when Obama won re-election, Papa John Schnatter went stuffed crust on ACA venom, claiming he'd have to resort to massive layoffs to defray corporate health care costs.
This from a guy who paid 275 large to buy back the Camaro he owned as a teenager.
I feel his pizza pa[i]n.
6
Another nonsensical op-ed that serves merely to throw red meat to some and raise the blood pressure of others. I guess nobody who always votes for a Democratic candidate and never votes for a Republican is ever overweight, obese or diabetic. All of Bloomberg's nanny state push to limit sugary sodas in deep blue New York City was because, well, all those deep South Republicans are obese?
By making everything about red vs blue politics, Krugman is showing his true colors as a political hack, one of his very serious people who should be taken with the same seriousness and respect as his very serious people.
By making everything about red vs blue politics, Krugman is showing his true colors as a political hack, one of his very serious people who should be taken with the same seriousness and respect as his very serious people.
2
Hey Paul, "GOP lean"....very funny!!
2
it's amazing to consider that type 2 diabetes really is a disease that you can often eat your way out of. losing weight and changing your diet can lower your blood sugar to healthy levels. besides the health benefits, the implications to personal finances and the country's health care costs are astounding. health should not be the enemy of business.
3
The National Film Board of Canada's 2008 documentary The World According to Monsanto should be required watching for all center and center left economists. Monsanto is essentially the quintessential food provider for an economy based on perpetual growth. One cannot at one and the same time hope for a more humane economy and work for maintaining that self same economy and hope for it to develop a humaneness that has no part in the Adam Smith economy. It is an economy of reason and does not possess any human compassion or empathy. Western economy is like the leopard it cannot change its spots, it is what it is. It can only be made more humane by democracy and the understanding that enterprise must be accompanied by public and private corporations. Until energy utilities and food are compelled to compete with government corporations that are not committed to unrealistic growth and profit we are doomed to feudalism.
3
"...the Upton Sinclair principle applies: It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. And beyond all that, it turns out that nutritional partisanship taps into deeper cultural issues."
The Sinclair principle is poorly constructed. It's not understanding that's the problem. It's acting on the understanding and refraining from lying about the situation. Does anybody really believe the extraction industries don't understand fossil fuels are causing global warming? Does anybody really believe the tobacco companies didn't understand tobacco caused cancer? Does anybody really believe the bankers didn't understand what they were doing with MBS's? That they thought their industry was a positive for the economy as a whole? Really? No, you don't believe that. They know and knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway because we let them.
The Sinclair principle is poorly constructed. It's not understanding that's the problem. It's acting on the understanding and refraining from lying about the situation. Does anybody really believe the extraction industries don't understand fossil fuels are causing global warming? Does anybody really believe the tobacco companies didn't understand tobacco caused cancer? Does anybody really believe the bankers didn't understand what they were doing with MBS's? That they thought their industry was a positive for the economy as a whole? Really? No, you don't believe that. They know and knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway because we let them.
142
You seem to have a view of the human mind as something objective. Human experience, however, shows that it is a tool to further the person's interest, maybe it be rational or not. Objectivity is hard. There is no delusion like self-delusion.
. . .increased choice can be a bad thing, because it all too often leads to bad choices.", sounds as if Mr. Krugman is cribbing from George Orwell.
2
It's not the extra cheese (unless it's sweetened), it's the crust that kills. Eat just the toppings and you'll be healthy. Eat the bread and you're toast.
1
Unless the "cheese" is some sort of weird processed concoction made out of soybean oil and who knows what else. And the meat is loaded with nitrates. And the sauce contains as much sugar as ketchup and not much else. And no olive oil has ever been near the pie. And the mushrooms come out of a can. And forget basil leaves or pieces of real tomato.
No, best to skip the whole Pizza Hut thing, and instead make it at home or buy it from some place whose pizza is something a person from Napoli would recognize - and eat!
No, best to skip the whole Pizza Hut thing, and instead make it at home or buy it from some place whose pizza is something a person from Napoli would recognize - and eat!
3
So, what's the issue here? How much money does Pizza Hut give? Why are they giving money? You answer none of these questions in your column, but do manage to imply that pizza should be regulated by a nanny state...
2
Rats on the treadmill don't have time to read labels. Feed them a little salt, sugar and fat and they keep on running, running, running until they can't run no more. This is the life of the majority of American workers that keep people like Papa John laughing all the way to the bank.
Food is engineered to be addictive. Once you break the addiction and eat healthy food you can actually taste how bad processed food is. It's very difficult to get off the treadmill and make a healthy meal these days.
Food is engineered to be addictive. Once you break the addiction and eat healthy food you can actually taste how bad processed food is. It's very difficult to get off the treadmill and make a healthy meal these days.
12
The difference between a New York slice or a brick oven thin crust Pizza Margarita on the one tray or the goop on the other tray served by Pizza Hut and its progeny (like the take out chain advertising lately a cheeseburger pizza, which is a gastronomical oxymoron if there was one) is an apt taste description of what we are served by our politicians and politics on the left and the right.
2
There is also the coincidence that the founders of Domino's and Papa John's are avid anti-abortionists. Not necessarily industry related, but personal beliefs of a few big players impact the donations.
6
But if pizza goes down, what will happen to all those low wage jobs? Frightening!
As I was reading this article while watching Mike & Mike this morning, a Little Caesar's commercial came on announcing a bacon-wrapped pizza with "so much bacon you won't be able to lift it." It seems that Prof. Krugman's "right to add extra cheese" has escalated into bacon wars. I am going out today to buy stock in whatever pharma companies have diabetes drugs in their development pipelines!!!
76
Following the money is always the easy way to see how politicians are going to vote. Even if the people making the donations are doing it because of religion or economic issues, rather than about putting calories on the menu, the politicians won't care. They will vote the way they think the donors want them to on as many issues as they can.
Cheryl Lans - I agree that "personal choice" has an adverse affect on the low income population, but I think it's an education issue more than it is an actual affordability one. I can cook healthier and cheaper meals than any pizza out there. Unfortunately, doing so isn't convenient and the food might not taste as good as a greasy slice (well, at least to those who enjoy greasy pizza!)
I'm sorry but calling Pizza Hut pizza is just plain insulting to the entire NY metropolitan area and any decent pizza loving American.
4
Hard to believe Mr. Krugman didn't mention the brotherly relationship between Payton Manning and Papa John.
Forget Jeb Bush, who has been working out with a personal trainer to try to look more fit. Chris Christie is the perfect presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 2016. Count the ways
3
Government, keep your hands off my pepperoni!
Actually, pizza isn't the unhealthiest thing in the world. Just try to avoid that 6th or 7th slice.
Actually, pizza isn't the unhealthiest thing in the world. Just try to avoid that 6th or 7th slice.
1
I had already dropped Pappa John's now I will drop Pizza Hut. Do we have any progressive pizza?
1
Unfortunately, HaHa Pizza does not deliver to Japan.
1
The only similarity of Pizza Hut pizza to the real thing is that it's round. Actually, way too round.
4
It isn't often I'd disagree with a man of Mr. Krugman's stature and wit, but aside from the fact we live in a country where so called freedom of choice implies there is an actual choice most adults know very well what they are stuffing in their craws.
It hardly seems logical that adults need nutritional labels on extra cheese pizzas to know we might be larding our plates and clogging our veins.
Kids are another story, but while their physical health is of paramount personal import and something a reasonable society should consider, they are subject to indoctrinations much more debilitating than an extra slice of cheese or what today passes for "Republican Full Bodied"
I tip my hat to the economic analysis found in these columns, but think these observations with regard to personal choices made by consenting adults are off base.
I don't want to breathe air sullied with the gasses emitted through the use of coal, but if adults want to eat or smoke themselves to death I won't stand in their way. Just don't ask me to pay their hospital bills
It hardly seems logical that adults need nutritional labels on extra cheese pizzas to know we might be larding our plates and clogging our veins.
Kids are another story, but while their physical health is of paramount personal import and something a reasonable society should consider, they are subject to indoctrinations much more debilitating than an extra slice of cheese or what today passes for "Republican Full Bodied"
I tip my hat to the economic analysis found in these columns, but think these observations with regard to personal choices made by consenting adults are off base.
I don't want to breathe air sullied with the gasses emitted through the use of coal, but if adults want to eat or smoke themselves to death I won't stand in their way. Just don't ask me to pay their hospital bills
1
And I thought pizza moguls were Republican because they rely on really, really cheap labor. Drivers typically supply their own vehicles, get paid mileage that doesn't really cover the cost, get minimum wage, rely on tips, tips that I'm sure have not kept up with inflation over the years, making the price of the pizza somewhat elastic on the downside. These pizza moguls are horrified by minimum wage increases.
4
All that you say may be true, but it probably does not contribute much to the governability or lack thereof of America.
For instance, the real cause of American led obesity in the modern world is the ease and profitability of growing, harvesting and distributing grains as compared to vegetables and fruits. This makes them cheap and thus the primary food provided to the non-affluent. The chief non-grain foods available to those earning less then $100,000 a year are meat and potatoes. Most potato products are enhanced with sugars and fats to make them tasty. And as to meet while a little is healthy, two patties are far more cost effective.
So yes the red states seem to be heftier, but it is not because the heft is consistent with a conservative mindset, it is because the conservative mindset has created a larger percentage of their own electorate that is poor and cannot afford healthy fruit and vegetables.
Blaming the "diabetes belt" on the citizens is missing the point. The real cause is not how governable the people are, the real cause is the ability to govern of those who profess a conservative philosophy.
For instance, the real cause of American led obesity in the modern world is the ease and profitability of growing, harvesting and distributing grains as compared to vegetables and fruits. This makes them cheap and thus the primary food provided to the non-affluent. The chief non-grain foods available to those earning less then $100,000 a year are meat and potatoes. Most potato products are enhanced with sugars and fats to make them tasty. And as to meet while a little is healthy, two patties are far more cost effective.
So yes the red states seem to be heftier, but it is not because the heft is consistent with a conservative mindset, it is because the conservative mindset has created a larger percentage of their own electorate that is poor and cannot afford healthy fruit and vegetables.
Blaming the "diabetes belt" on the citizens is missing the point. The real cause is not how governable the people are, the real cause is the ability to govern of those who profess a conservative philosophy.
5
Both my parents have diabetes and it is no picnic. I have no problem with a Nanny State that relieves considerable human suffering and saves hundreds of billions annually in health care costs. Those who oppose it generally have less a philosophical issue with it than a financial one. I am all for getting rich, but not at the expense of hurting others.
10
Here once again we have what turns off so many people from so called "liberals"--Krugman is basically saying Republicans are fat, stupid, and don't know what is best for them. After all, who could object to a little food labeling for something as clearly unhealthy as pizza. The unwashed masses need the intelligentsia, i.e. Krugman, Obama, et al, to tell them how to live their lives. No recognition is given to any actual counter arguments, but rather straw man claims are what pass for reasoned debate. While it is big country and hard to generalize (which never stopped Krugman), I do think that the problem that Obama, the Democrats, and other progressives are having is this holier than thou attitude of condescension and the clear willingness just to rule by fiat when the sheeple don't support the desired result. I have not voted for a Republican or right wing candidate in 35 years, and won't in the next election, but if the party wants to recover support it needs to realize that GOP Americans aren't all fat, stupid, racist, and duped. Bill Clinton's genius is he actually believed (or appeared at least to believe) in listening and relating to the public. Democrats lose popular support when they replace reflective listening, compromise and a healthy respect for the other side with a hectoring lecture on what is best for the listener. Compare Dukakis, Mondale, Gore, and increasingly Obama, with Carter, Clinton, Jerry Brown, etc.
8
At best, in one ear and out the other. Of course Obama and Krugman and the progressives have all the answers. But, more importantly, when things don't work out the way they say it will, they have the excuses and the the finger of blame pointed elsewhere. The ability to make excuses and blame others is what makes Obama, Krugman and their sheeple so powerful, and why they control so many elected offices.
3
I think you totally missed Dr. Krugman's point or didn't read the entire article. The labeling he talked about wasn't really and isn't really for Pizza Hut or any other fast food or otherwise operation. The labeling is so consumers can read a label to find out what is in a product they are contemplating buying and where it came from. Myself, if a product has an ingredient that is unpronounceable I don't buy it.
2
Remember Garret Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons"? Someone needs to research and write an article on "The Tragedy of Economies of Scale". It appears that the concept of economies of scale has a nexus where the social benefits of the efficiencies of improved organizational inputs, operations, and marketing are far outweighed by the social disbenefits of achieving the capacity to buy legislative and regulatory actions that increase externalities, monopolistic behaviors, and class hierarchies. This is a real danger to a democracy and should be called out rigorously.
4
Eating healthy should not be this difficult. The problem is fast food is hyper-marketed and readily accessible--and tempting. Someone else did all the hunting and gathering, we just get on the phone or roll through the drive-through. Eating a 1 dollar apple for breakfast is a hard thing to sell, when the drive-through, just off the highway, sells an and egg sandwich and hash browns for 4 bucks. Or the Pizza is a phone call away. One could argue that eating healthy is cheaper--it just takes a degree more planning, more "hunting and gathering" and much more restraint.
The profit margins on Pizza are huge--not so much with a homemade salad or a tide-me-over apple or homemade oatmeal. These Pizza companies are protecting massive profit margins on a 10 dollar pizza that costs them 3 bucks or less to make. And when you get hungry they want you to get use to the quickness, and do not want you to plan, to "hunt and gather"--hence the massive ad campaign.
Perhaps like smoking, advertising for fast food should be restrained. And the government should promote more healthy planning with some crafty ads. Good luck getting past the Pizza lobby though. That money is too attractive for politicians.
The profit margins on Pizza are huge--not so much with a homemade salad or a tide-me-over apple or homemade oatmeal. These Pizza companies are protecting massive profit margins on a 10 dollar pizza that costs them 3 bucks or less to make. And when you get hungry they want you to get use to the quickness, and do not want you to plan, to "hunt and gather"--hence the massive ad campaign.
Perhaps like smoking, advertising for fast food should be restrained. And the government should promote more healthy planning with some crafty ads. Good luck getting past the Pizza lobby though. That money is too attractive for politicians.
8
Good Paul. This is another clear window into the causes that drive so much of the business world. You could call it Greed, but Greed is simply another aspect of the the reason and common sense overwhelming self-righteous ignorance of a system based in competition and the insane notion that my freedom says that it is O.K. for me to make poverty a natural occurring event in our public life.
The concern of those whom you flag, (very few of whom, I am certain, eat pizza) is their own personal egos, their positions and the celebrity which is necessary to make them appear as superior beings, which they deeply believe they are!
You can bet that their children get decent lunches at their private schools where the plumbing works, there is glass in the windows, and the roofs do not leak.
The concern of those whom you flag, (very few of whom, I am certain, eat pizza) is their own personal egos, their positions and the celebrity which is necessary to make them appear as superior beings, which they deeply believe they are!
You can bet that their children get decent lunches at their private schools where the plumbing works, there is glass in the windows, and the roofs do not leak.
3
We're told to eat more fruits and vegetables. We're also told to exercise more. In the last 30 years fruits, especially those in supermarkets, do not taste as good as they once did. Peaches are big and mealy. Apples are way too big to consume as a snack. Tomatoes are tasteless. It's easier and cheaper to buy the canned, highly processed fruits and vegetables even though they may not taste as good as the real thing used to. A bag of potato chips is cheaper than a bag of carrots. Soda is cheaper than milk or fruit juice.
We don't have time to exercise because we're so busy working. We don't even have time to take decent vacations. Two weeks per year is not enough to allow our bodies and minds to relax. We can't even travel abroad on that ration. We work long hours and don't leave our desks because if we aren't there when management comes around they think we don't work. It costs money to join a pool or a gym. Our streets are poorly lit. Public parks and municipal facilities are hurting for money.
Big businesses get all sorts of tax breaks that allow them to overpay CEOs, pollute the environment, outsource jobs, disregard workers rights, overwork and underpay employees, mislabel food, etc. In other words, they want chronically stressed and unhealthy employees because they die sooner and cost them less. That it hurts families or the economy doesn't matter. And that's why you can write about pepperoni.
We don't have time to exercise because we're so busy working. We don't even have time to take decent vacations. Two weeks per year is not enough to allow our bodies and minds to relax. We can't even travel abroad on that ration. We work long hours and don't leave our desks because if we aren't there when management comes around they think we don't work. It costs money to join a pool or a gym. Our streets are poorly lit. Public parks and municipal facilities are hurting for money.
Big businesses get all sorts of tax breaks that allow them to overpay CEOs, pollute the environment, outsource jobs, disregard workers rights, overwork and underpay employees, mislabel food, etc. In other words, they want chronically stressed and unhealthy employees because they die sooner and cost them less. That it hurts families or the economy doesn't matter. And that's why you can write about pepperoni.
16
"Ummmmmm. Peeeeeeeza........"-
Chris Krispiecreme
Chris Krispiecreme
1
Dr. Krugman I respect you and agree with you almost 100% of the time. I do agree that pizza chains and other food providers such as Eden foods have been quite politically active and usually are in the anti-abortion Republican camp. However, obesity and diabetes are complicated health issues - there is (apparently) a genetic component and immunologic component involved. With diabetes, a virus can injure Islet cells on the pancreas (which are a major player in glucose regulation) and leave a thin person who lives a healthy life style diabetic. Further the body's immune cells can "see" the Islet cells as "foreign" and destroy them in an autoimmune response. So try as we might to control our health and weight, it is not always a matter of self control or poor food choices.
6
I feel with updated technology the priorities in our lives have changed.
Very few households in USA cook the food on daily basis. The reason is(not the working parents/couples/singles or too busy schedule) people spend too much time with screen( Smartphones).
Most of the people can't afford to go to healthy restaurants so the place for dinner is all fast food places: Pizza stores, McDonnell etc.
Eating outside was a treat once up on a time(not too long ) but now it's the daily dinner/lunch.
It takes overall 1-2 hrs. from our busy schedule to cook home made food . But in long term(if you have kid) its a good investment: Catch the kid early for their healthy habits before corporation catches them!
Very few households in USA cook the food on daily basis. The reason is(not the working parents/couples/singles or too busy schedule) people spend too much time with screen( Smartphones).
Most of the people can't afford to go to healthy restaurants so the place for dinner is all fast food places: Pizza stores, McDonnell etc.
Eating outside was a treat once up on a time(not too long ) but now it's the daily dinner/lunch.
It takes overall 1-2 hrs. from our busy schedule to cook home made food . But in long term(if you have kid) its a good investment: Catch the kid early for their healthy habits before corporation catches them!
6
But it's more than just Big Food politics, isn't it? Shouldn't we acknowledge that religion plays a big part in the political affiliation of at least some of Big Pizza's big names? Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's, is a very devout Roman Catholic, vehemently anti-abortion. John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's, is an Evangelical Christian. Seems to me that, at least for these two, there are social issues that put them squarely in the red corner. They'd be supporting Republicans no matter what business they were in.
110
So if Monaghan and Schnatter were atheists, they'd support food labeling?
The irony is, as usual, that the people who will need universal health care the most are being persuaded by the GOP that it is an evil socialist plot to control their lives.
It is a constant source of wonder to me that ANYONE who make less than ten million dollars a year would vote Republican.
It is a constant source of wonder to me that ANYONE who make less than ten million dollars a year would vote Republican.
12
How does that song go? Don't let your children to grow up fat, selfish, and social Darwinistic Republicans who don't believe in evolution, climate change, vaccinations, gay rights, and effective government. But believe in putting boots on the ground in numerous countries.
2
According to Dr. David Perlmutter in "Grain Brain" these poor dietary choices are leading to brain shrinkage, which could explain a lot about the last midterm election results.
5
Fast food and debt seem to be a daily 'dish' we are served. But, call me old fashioned, but I AM responsible for how I cook and choose to eat as well as how I live within my financial limitations. The government or Paul Krugman
are not responsible for my choices or endeavors. I can cook or eat out knowing I AM responsible for my health and welfare. Who cares if PAPA JOHN contributes to one party or the next? At least the 'pizza makers' are adding value to our economy and not adding drag by enjoying government benefits.
STAND UP AMERICA
are not responsible for my choices or endeavors. I can cook or eat out knowing I AM responsible for my health and welfare. Who cares if PAPA JOHN contributes to one party or the next? At least the 'pizza makers' are adding value to our economy and not adding drag by enjoying government benefits.
STAND UP AMERICA
I guess they are adding value to America by paying low wages and by not contributing to health insurance for their employees. And then the taxpayer is allowed to foot the bill for medicaid and food stamps. We call it privatizing the profits and socializing the costs!
2
Thanks once again Dr Krugmanfor your insight, vision and illuminating common sense. Your columns may be the source for future historian to see or witness what is America today. Probably a lot more accurate and interesting than say, emails in Hilary's account. I do not see a lot of people clamoring to read the 55,000 pages of it. Or even one page.
1
I agree with all the content, but here is a nit to pick: "GOP lean" stopped me with definite although brief confusion."Trend", or "tendency" would work better in view of the theme. "slice of the pie" was telegraphed.
Suggest you run your pieces by the estimable John McPhee, who is at least sometimes, a Princeton neighbor. Or not, and just keep doing what you are doing so trenchantly.
Suggest you run your pieces by the estimable John McPhee, who is at least sometimes, a Princeton neighbor. Or not, and just keep doing what you are doing so trenchantly.
1
I stumbled over that too. Yet Professor Krugman is a talented and fluent writer, unlike many in his field who bombard us with higher-than-expected levels of jargon, strung together prepositional phrases, and marginal grammar and lower-than-expected command of vocabulary, not to mention presenting the reader with headwinds in ease of reading. Perhaps PK was attempting to play with "lean," implying that fast food causes obesity. Or something.
Thanks! Great article and great comments. Now if we can only get more people to read the NY Times online....
3
Lobbyists from Big Agra topped and turned the GOP with extra cheese. The whole story can be read in The New York Times (Nov. 6, 2010), "While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales.
Here is the gist:
------------------------------------------------
"Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies."
"Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign."
"Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times."
"But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease and is high in calories."
"And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting."
Here is the gist:
------------------------------------------------
"Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies."
"Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign."
"Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times."
"But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease and is high in calories."
"And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting."
5
I don't like very cheesy pizza. I can't eat pepperoni. I like some of the "artisan" pizzas with goat cheese, basil, tomato sauce, and garlic on them. What I don't understand is why this is always a zero sum game. Why must the food industry fight every potential regulation that might help consumers consider what they are eating? There are people out there for whom knowledge is a useful thing. As someone who has had severe headaches whenever I consume something with certain food colorings I WANT to know what's in my food. It saves me living through the equivalent of the Big Bang for three days while the offending element works its way out of my system.
Even though I cook I check out what is in the ingredients I use. There are times I've purchased a different brand because the brand I wanted to use had something I didn't want in it. Salt is one item I prefer to add myself. So is sugar. I don't like buying fruit or vegetables that have been heavily waxed; they never ripen properly. I'm old enough to remember walking into a supermarket in July and smelling the peaches, nectarines, and other fresh foods. Today I walk in and the fruit feels like rocks.
Even though I cook I check out what is in the ingredients I use. There are times I've purchased a different brand because the brand I wanted to use had something I didn't want in it. Salt is one item I prefer to add myself. So is sugar. I don't like buying fruit or vegetables that have been heavily waxed; they never ripen properly. I'm old enough to remember walking into a supermarket in July and smelling the peaches, nectarines, and other fresh foods. Today I walk in and the fruit feels like rocks.
5
Intelligent people believe you should have the freedom to choose the best values in your life. Unintelligent people believe you should be forced to only those values that some arbitrary group of "experts" have declared to be "best". PK is in one of these two groups. Hint: this article is about how the pizza industry is wrong to be free about its choices of what to offer.
If you like freedom, you must accept the fact that others like their freedom as well. PK does not accept the latter, and therefore, mathematically, PK isn't on board with the former.
If you like freedom, you must accept the fact that others like their freedom as well. PK does not accept the latter, and therefore, mathematically, PK isn't on board with the former.
1
The article is about information. Information the pizza industry doesn't want their customers to know. If the consumer knows what's in a product they can then decide to eat or not to eat base on intelligence. Knowledge is good for all. I check labels for HFCs and if in a product I don't buy it.
4
Your freedom to flail around in random directions ends roughly where your neighbour's nose begins. "Feedom" is not an unlimited good.
1
Funny, that word "freedom" only comes into play when it involves consuming something, never freedom from economic insecurity because of low wages and lack of healthcare.
2
The Pizza wars are also about the Pizza Kings not wanting to pay their employees a living wage.
I recall Papa John whining about the ACA adding 6 cents to the cost of a pizza. Now that's federal meddling at its worst, costing the millionaire Papa money.
And while he deprives his workers of a living wage and forces them to take food stamps and Medicaid, he rails about the "takers", who work for him.
I recall Papa John whining about the ACA adding 6 cents to the cost of a pizza. Now that's federal meddling at its worst, costing the millionaire Papa money.
And while he deprives his workers of a living wage and forces them to take food stamps and Medicaid, he rails about the "takers", who work for him.
11
Thanks to Bloomberg and Dr Krugman I now know where NOT to buy my pizza.
6
While I normally agree with Paul Krugman, he's missed the boat on this one. The pizza industry's affection for Republicans doesn't have anything to do with nutrition and everything to do with the major pizza purveyors' opposition to raising the minimum wage, providing health care for workers, and unionization.
Yes, pizza can make you fat, but Papa John isn't shoveling tons of money at the GOP because he's worried about people becoming thinner, he's worried about his wallet losing some girth if he's forced to treat his workers like human beings.
Yes, pizza can make you fat, but Papa John isn't shoveling tons of money at the GOP because he's worried about people becoming thinner, he's worried about his wallet losing some girth if he's forced to treat his workers like human beings.
471
Employers don't provide healthcare for workers. Doctors and nurses provide health care. Employers provide tax-sheltered "insurance," which is an oppositeword for pre-paid health services usually subsidized by other people.
Health insurance is not healthcare, and health insurance is not insurance.
Health insurance is not healthcare, and health insurance is not insurance.
Very good point, although the two motivations are not mutually exclusive.
1
100% on the button. It's not about fat -- they don't care. It's about having to pay their workers for services.
Employers don't pay for gas, insurance, wear and tear on the delivery vehicle. THAT comes out of the hourly wage.
In addition, there is NOT ONE STATE in the south that MUST pay it's tipped employees the federal minimum wage. Most pay $2.13 per hour plus tips.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm
Employers don't pay for gas, insurance, wear and tear on the delivery vehicle. THAT comes out of the hourly wage.
In addition, there is NOT ONE STATE in the south that MUST pay it's tipped employees the federal minimum wage. Most pay $2.13 per hour plus tips.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm
1
The oddest thing about this column is how good food--pizza--is given a bad name. There's nothing wrong with cheese (if it's real cheese, not the whipped-oil stuff some pizza joints use), tomatoes and spices, a few veggies, and maybe even a bit of fatty, savory meat. Oh, alright, the crust should be whole-grain, but if it's a thin crust, it won't hurt you. It's all in how you slice it: it's the big-foodness and the bad labor policy that are the problems, not pizza.
100
I disagree with Michael Jacques' opinion that pizza is good food. That "whole grain" crust, because it is made of pulverized "whole grain" no longer is healthful. Flour equals sugar. One of the big problems in the American diet is that bread and flour are ubiquitous. No one realizes that "whole grains" means wheat berries, rye berries, etc. Flour made from whole grains is marginally less damaging than that made from refined flour. Flour = sugar, plain and simple. Your body can't really tell the difference.
2
Sorry, pizza is not healthy. Particularly with
"a bit of fatty, savory meat". Just one of the thousands of foods that are not healthy!!!
"a bit of fatty, savory meat". Just one of the thousands of foods that are not healthy!!!
Bad *labor* policy?
Pul-lease!
Pul-lease!
I like the idea of nutritional information. We used to frequent a particular chain restaurant until we saw the nutritional information. It's foods were loaded with fat and sodium so we stopped going there. We could have eaten their food but without proper information I could not make an informed choice. Others don't care and in my opinion can eat what they want. We should not outlaw food options but knowing that a 72 ounce soda contains about 1200 calories might be helpful to some.
4
Denial, and pithy not-so-clever remarks, like many of those in this comment section, seem to rule the discussion on the American love affair with overeating and eating the wrong foods in general. Obesity is a real problem in America and it's not a disease; it's a lifestyle choice advocated by companies who make money by selling us food. Over the past 35 years the rate of obesity in America has soared at about the same rate as gym memberships. So the issue isn't how much you workout, or even whether or not you workout, the issue is why are we eating so much more? And the answer is: because products like Snickers try to convince us that somehow they're good for us. A Snickers bar is not good for you and is the worst possible way you can intake energizing calories. Pizza is also on the NOT good for us chart. But it could be if pizza makers demonstrated ingenuity in their research kitchens instead of just in their marketing efforts.
3
Ah, the world's most accurate economist, Mr. Krugman hits it out of the park on this column! Although I was never that fond of pizza, it was a cheap meal in college and the local pizzeria was open late nights, so after cramming, I and my fraternity brothers could traipse to it, split the costs of a large pie, and enjoy unlimited refills of coffee so as to stay up even longer to study. When frozen pizzas were introduced, I found them pathetic. But when one could have them delivered, it was often the solution when the larder was bare. And I could try different makers and different toppings, as well. When I learned that Domino's founder, Tom Monaghan, was anti-choice and rabidly conservative, I never ordered again from Domino's. Often, as they were near my San Fran apartment, two Pizza Huts earned my business. And then, a fabulous local pie shop, Pizza Orgasmica, opened two locations in San Fran, with a ribald menu--my favorite pie of theirs was "Doggie Style" and it was delicious! But still, my ordering in was rare. But Krugman's take on this circular entree as it avoids any attempts to be healthy, just kid-filler, shows its allegiance to right-wing, anti-nutrition, obesity-causing, and the enemy of healthful school lunch programs--and the First Lady thrown in for good measure, with lots of Scott Walker's Wisconsin cheese to top it off, to be the Republican cause celebre of cuisine. Yep, I danced in the school gym sock-hop to Dean Martin's "That's Amore," sigh!
4
Good column, good points, but this sentence doesn't work:
"food decisions that aren’t made by responsible adults but are instead made on behalf of children"
Nothing wrong with making decisions on behalf of children, and such decisions can certainly be made by responsible adults.
"food decisions that aren’t made by responsible adults but are instead made on behalf of children"
Nothing wrong with making decisions on behalf of children, and such decisions can certainly be made by responsible adults.
1
If you're a would-be pizza mogul the easiest and maybe only way to make your billions is to treat your workers badly. Maybe that's why Papa John, Dominos, and Pizza Hut are all run by ultra-right wingers.
It's a pretty short step from treating your workers badly to believing they *deserve* to be treated badly (and the rest of the 99% by extension). In fact, it's a necessary step because otherwise you'll be hit by cognitive dissonance (a.k.a. a guilty conscience), an emotionally painful state psychologists say most of us would do anything to avoid.
Massively raising the minimum wage is therefore vital not just as a moral and productive redistribution of wealth, but because doing so can influence people's thinking about the worth of individuals.
It's a pretty short step from treating your workers badly to believing they *deserve* to be treated badly (and the rest of the 99% by extension). In fact, it's a necessary step because otherwise you'll be hit by cognitive dissonance (a.k.a. a guilty conscience), an emotionally painful state psychologists say most of us would do anything to avoid.
Massively raising the minimum wage is therefore vital not just as a moral and productive redistribution of wealth, but because doing so can influence people's thinking about the worth of individuals.
3
I wonder if there's really as much "ideology" here as meets the eye. Entrepreneurs, like academics, tend to think they made it on their own and not like outside regulation. I'm not sure that's more true for pizza than petroleum, maybe less so. If they liked regulation, they'd be lawyers.
Once again, Mr. Krugman misses the point entirely and, probably, intentionally. Pizza chains favor Republican's in general because pizza chains sell franchises and franchises are small business and Republican government favors small businesses and small businesses are the engines of economic growth. I'm guessing (I'm hoping) Mr. Krugman, who is credentialed to teach children economics, knows this and has chosen to ignore it for his usual savagely partisan purposes. It doesn't look good for his team to be seen as a force against small business. Also, isn't it the case that the medical profession traditionally balances the Big Law Democrats with Big Medicine Republicans? The "professor" leaves this one out too. Wouldn't want his team to be perceived as not being love by the kindly family doctor. Everyone loves their kindly family doctor. So, he calculates, let's ignore that, and just try to associate the Republicans with unhealthy food. But it turns out that if you really want to see some truly unhealthy pepperoni partisanship you don't have to look any farther than Papa Paul's.
1
Teach children economics? Most Princeton undergrads are old enough to vote, serve on juries, enter into contracts, marry, sue and be sued. The only things they're too young to do are drink and buy tobacco. And Dr. Krugman probably teaches grad students too.
I cannot say I understand why a political party with encourage personal destruction, but in its quest for cash, it would seem that's exactly what the GOP is seeking. Fatter voters, higher rates of morbid obesity, diabetes, heart disease.....and no health care. Is this a subversive plot of gut Social Security? If our life expectancy drops significantly, then will that enhance the profit margin?
I heard a report on our local PBS last night that pointed out the demographic growing at the fastest rate is the over-90 set. Between Social Security and Medicare, this is expensive stuff. But if large swaths to people stop living that long.......
Hmmmm. Decimate primary education so kids don't learn about rational decision making and personal responsibility. Make college prohibitively expensive so only the elite can afford it, and everyone else is saddled with monstrous debt upon graduation and barely live above poverty. Make sure jobs lack benefits so people can only afford to eat high fat, high calorie processed food. Ship lower skilled jobs overseas so low paid pizza-delivery jobs are the mainstay of the lower and lower middle class economy....
Hey! wait! That's it! Now I get it! This is all about more pizza delivery guys who get no benefits, no insurance, and have to pay for fossil fuel gas.
Wow. Brilliant.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
I heard a report on our local PBS last night that pointed out the demographic growing at the fastest rate is the over-90 set. Between Social Security and Medicare, this is expensive stuff. But if large swaths to people stop living that long.......
Hmmmm. Decimate primary education so kids don't learn about rational decision making and personal responsibility. Make college prohibitively expensive so only the elite can afford it, and everyone else is saddled with monstrous debt upon graduation and barely live above poverty. Make sure jobs lack benefits so people can only afford to eat high fat, high calorie processed food. Ship lower skilled jobs overseas so low paid pizza-delivery jobs are the mainstay of the lower and lower middle class economy....
Hey! wait! That's it! Now I get it! This is all about more pizza delivery guys who get no benefits, no insurance, and have to pay for fossil fuel gas.
Wow. Brilliant.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
5
Pizza has always been a guilty pleasure and everyone who has been to college is familiar with the freshman 20, meaning the 20 pound you gain from eating pizza at all hours in your dorm room while cramming for exams. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Pizza Hut's political contribution profile is most likely about something other than the government regulatory regime since they already publish all of their nutritional information online for those who are interested.
I certainly don't want to be forced to eat nothing but plain green salads, no matter what the weather, but forewarned is forearmed. My conversion to restaurant food labeling came when an IHOP opened in Harlem. Its menu has calorie counts for all its offerings, and at the time of my first meal there it had a special menu of lower-calorie items that let me avoid the thousand-calorie regular menu completely. The special menu is gone, but the calorie counts remain, so with a bit of careful reading you can put together a meal that is both satisfying and reasonably healthy.
Why the need to sneak the bad stuff into the bodies of customers?
Why the need to sneak the bad stuff into the bodies of customers?
"..Nutrition, where increased choice can be a bad thing, because it all too often leads to bad choices despite the best of intentions, is one of those areas — like smoking — where there’s a lot to be said for a nanny state..."
Every now & then, whether it's because he's rushed, distracted, or maybe just tired of keeping his exasperation with the idiots who just won't do what he says they should, Krugman drops his guard and flat-out says it. "It" being of course what all of the liberal intelligiencia elite truly believe in their hearts: average people need to be told what to do and if they won't listen then they need to be made to do it. For their own good & all of course.
It's always fascinating (in a terrifying way that is) when we get a peek behind the curtain. Who can forget his observation about why we shouldn't concern ourselves with ever-higher government debt so long as that debt is denominated in dollars because "we can print the stuff"?
There was a time not so long ago that when asked what it meant to be American, almost any citizen would without hesitation respond, "freedom". Freedom to live as we pleased so long as we didn't harm others. Freedom to make choices even if people smarter, more educated, and "better" than us knew those choices were, in Krugman's words, "bad choices".
Of course, such freedom was tempered by the knowledge that since we were responsible for our choices we had to live with and own the consequences.
But that's another discussion.
Every now & then, whether it's because he's rushed, distracted, or maybe just tired of keeping his exasperation with the idiots who just won't do what he says they should, Krugman drops his guard and flat-out says it. "It" being of course what all of the liberal intelligiencia elite truly believe in their hearts: average people need to be told what to do and if they won't listen then they need to be made to do it. For their own good & all of course.
It's always fascinating (in a terrifying way that is) when we get a peek behind the curtain. Who can forget his observation about why we shouldn't concern ourselves with ever-higher government debt so long as that debt is denominated in dollars because "we can print the stuff"?
There was a time not so long ago that when asked what it meant to be American, almost any citizen would without hesitation respond, "freedom". Freedom to live as we pleased so long as we didn't harm others. Freedom to make choices even if people smarter, more educated, and "better" than us knew those choices were, in Krugman's words, "bad choices".
Of course, such freedom was tempered by the knowledge that since we were responsible for our choices we had to live with and own the consequences.
But that's another discussion.
1
Regulation of food consumption makes sense inasmuch as we were never "free to choose." We are biased to over consume sugars and salts which were scarce over human evolution, but are no more . So let's begin by banning the all-you-can-eat (read barf) buffet.
For those unconvinced by an evolutionary argument, please examine medieval paintings of the first couple. Remember, there was no one else in the Garden 10,000 years ago. No liposuction or tummy tuck for Eve---no local gym for Adam to burn off that fourth slice of the extra cheese Pepperoni Feast pizza.
Nevertheless, in all the artistic renderings--every last one of them----A&E look pretty damn fit. Rejoice! The lack of unhealthy choices is the will of G-d.
For those unconvinced by an evolutionary argument, please examine medieval paintings of the first couple. Remember, there was no one else in the Garden 10,000 years ago. No liposuction or tummy tuck for Eve---no local gym for Adam to burn off that fourth slice of the extra cheese Pepperoni Feast pizza.
Nevertheless, in all the artistic renderings--every last one of them----A&E look pretty damn fit. Rejoice! The lack of unhealthy choices is the will of G-d.
1
The food industry relies on cheap labor to sell products to low to moderate income customers at low margins. The biggest bang for one's calories normally comes in the form of the unhealthiest foods, and the industry is intent on keep things this way. Though government imposed labeling is an enlightened idea, it will do little to alter the advantage of Big Food in packaging its most lethal junk at super-saver prices....
3
Getting people to become diabetic is a lucrative business. America is expert on getting people addicted to certain products (tobacco, fat, sugar, salt) and exploiting weaknesses (compulsive shopping) and that's how the "pushers" get rich.
The addicted complain about a "nanny state" yet they need someone to control their appetites; someone has to teach these addicted people that they are killing themselves.
The addicted complain about a "nanny state" yet they need someone to control their appetites; someone has to teach these addicted people that they are killing themselves.
3
"The pizza lobby portrays itself as the defender of personal choice and personal responsibility."
Whenever I hear about personal coice and personal responsibility from the GOP or a corporation, I instinctivley check to see if I still have my wallet. I'm all for choice and responsbility, but when used by corporations that are supported by Republican free market ideology, the real issue is not freedom. It's profit. Lung cancer and diabetes be damned.
Whenever I hear about personal coice and personal responsibility from the GOP or a corporation, I instinctivley check to see if I still have my wallet. I'm all for choice and responsbility, but when used by corporations that are supported by Republican free market ideology, the real issue is not freedom. It's profit. Lung cancer and diabetes be damned.
6
It's not just pizza. When the USDA and HHS experts suggested cutting back on meat in the U.S. diet for a lot of good reasons, the food industry unloaded on them big time.
Funny how often "Freedom" is about the right to maximize profits before all other considerations, and "Choice" is about being able to ignore anything one finds inconvenient. And increasingly, we we are no longer living in a fact-based world, but rather one that is money-driven and ideology-constrained.
Charles P. Pierce in "Greetings from Idiot America" spelled it out back in 2005 in Esquire magazine.
"The Gut is the basis for the Great Premises of Idiot America. We hold these truths to be self-evident:
1) Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units.
2) Anything can be true if somebody says it on television.
3) Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it."
One need only look at the names being touted on the GOP side for President, look at a dysfunctional GOP Congress, or (as Dr. Krugman keeps reminding us) who the GOP gets their economic advice from to see how powerful "The Gut" has become in America. And you can look at centrist 'third wayers" on the left, attempting to counter Elizabeth Warren, to see "The Gut" reaching across the aisle in bipartisan idiocy.
Gut, meet Big Pizza.
Funny how often "Freedom" is about the right to maximize profits before all other considerations, and "Choice" is about being able to ignore anything one finds inconvenient. And increasingly, we we are no longer living in a fact-based world, but rather one that is money-driven and ideology-constrained.
Charles P. Pierce in "Greetings from Idiot America" spelled it out back in 2005 in Esquire magazine.
"The Gut is the basis for the Great Premises of Idiot America. We hold these truths to be self-evident:
1) Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units.
2) Anything can be true if somebody says it on television.
3) Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it."
One need only look at the names being touted on the GOP side for President, look at a dysfunctional GOP Congress, or (as Dr. Krugman keeps reminding us) who the GOP gets their economic advice from to see how powerful "The Gut" has become in America. And you can look at centrist 'third wayers" on the left, attempting to counter Elizabeth Warren, to see "The Gut" reaching across the aisle in bipartisan idiocy.
Gut, meet Big Pizza.
5
Instead of telling fat people (victims) to stop eating so much crappy food, the government believes they can regulate pizza. At least they're willing to give it the old college try, given enough budget.
1
Only a Republican would excitedly brag about the quarterly returns for Papa Johns, Coca-Cola and Big Food, while lamenting the country's steadily increasing rates of diabetes, strokes and heart attacks...and then callously cite "personal responsibility" to rationalize these outcomes.
Have we not a greater sense of pride in humanity than to religiously commit our lives to such crass, myopic and tasteless endeavors as we progress into the annals of human history? Big Food may make a little bit of money, sure, but at what cost to humanity and the environment?
I think history will view this kind of exploitation of ignorance with disdain and contempt. Thankfully, most Democrats already have.
Have we not a greater sense of pride in humanity than to religiously commit our lives to such crass, myopic and tasteless endeavors as we progress into the annals of human history? Big Food may make a little bit of money, sure, but at what cost to humanity and the environment?
I think history will view this kind of exploitation of ignorance with disdain and contempt. Thankfully, most Democrats already have.
4
Big Food's reliance on cheap labor is the reason they would back Republicans over Democrats much more so than nutritional standards. Workers all along the supply chain from the farm, to meat processing plants and restaurants are often treated as disposable; paid low wages, have little if any job security and often must deal with safety, wage and hour and a host of other abuses/violations.
9
But please, look at the whole pie.
It isn't about the Nanny State its about Market Brutalism. Minimum wage, boss-driven work regimes, forceful overseas expansion, gutting local zoning policies, and elimination of local competition are a few more issues where Big Pizza wants, needs, and pays for the intrusive police power of the Knuckle State to sustain business growth.
It isn't about the Nanny State its about Market Brutalism. Minimum wage, boss-driven work regimes, forceful overseas expansion, gutting local zoning policies, and elimination of local competition are a few more issues where Big Pizza wants, needs, and pays for the intrusive police power of the Knuckle State to sustain business growth.
3
It is really so simple. When profits are threatened the Republicans oppose it. From climate change to protecting human health the issue always boils down to how will it effect the profits of my donors.
1
Professor Krugman writes: "while there is dispute about the causes, an unhealthy diet — fast food in particular — is surely a prime suspect". One could use a more conclusive language in light of years of research quantity of evidence.
Harvard School of Public Health named few reasons for the great increase in obesity.
Observing:"What’s become the typical Western diet—frequent, large meals high in refined grains, red meat, unhealthy fats, and sugary drinks—plays one of the largest roles in obesity"
It concludes:"no one person behaves in a vacuum. The physical and social environment in which people live plays a huge role in the food and activity choices they make. And, unfortunately, in the U.S. and increasingly around the globe, this environment has become toxic to healthy living: The incessant and unavoidable marketing of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. The lack of safe areas for exercising. The junk food sold at school, at work, and at the corner store"
CDC concluded:"Many toddler snacks and foods contain sodium and sugar levels that are "concerning" for children’s future health" As reported by the CBC.
Anyone who thinks that the causes of obesity are disputable should read a well researched NYT article, 'The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food' by Micheal Moss. Focused on food engineering design to make unhealthy food, addictive. One should also watch a BBC documentary named 'The Men Who Made Us Fat'.
The industry might be more then just a prime suspect.
Harvard School of Public Health named few reasons for the great increase in obesity.
Observing:"What’s become the typical Western diet—frequent, large meals high in refined grains, red meat, unhealthy fats, and sugary drinks—plays one of the largest roles in obesity"
It concludes:"no one person behaves in a vacuum. The physical and social environment in which people live plays a huge role in the food and activity choices they make. And, unfortunately, in the U.S. and increasingly around the globe, this environment has become toxic to healthy living: The incessant and unavoidable marketing of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. The lack of safe areas for exercising. The junk food sold at school, at work, and at the corner store"
CDC concluded:"Many toddler snacks and foods contain sodium and sugar levels that are "concerning" for children’s future health" As reported by the CBC.
Anyone who thinks that the causes of obesity are disputable should read a well researched NYT article, 'The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food' by Micheal Moss. Focused on food engineering design to make unhealthy food, addictive. One should also watch a BBC documentary named 'The Men Who Made Us Fat'.
The industry might be more then just a prime suspect.
153
I've come to realize that the addiction to sugar begins not when a child is a couple of months old, but in the womb, bathed in sugar throughout gestation. Babies emerge addicted to sugar. And it is an addiction, defined as products that are without any nutritional merit whatsoever and for which the body craves and the satisfaction of the craving gives momentary relief to anxiety that is only temporary and must be repeated to regain satisfaction. Sugar. The most pernicious and widespread addictive agent in our lives.
I would also highly recommend Michael Moss's book, "Salt, Sugar, Fat"...
1
I had another reason to laugh while reading this article. Big Pizza delivers a tasteless salt-loaded product clearly designed by cost accountants catering to the tastes of executives and shareholders. Anyone who actually enjoys pizza goes to one of the many mom-and-pop pizza places that are accountable to customers rather than to Wall Street analysts. But I have no idea what their owners' political inclinations might be.
5
I'm having trouble with the right's ideas about "personal responsibility."
On the one hand, re the poor, they use it to condemn any bad behavior that may have consequences. On the other, re their base, they use it to champion habitual bad behavior that may have consequences.
On the third hand (yeah, it's irrational), they pretend that _school lunches_ are about personal responsibility—presumably that of minor children who have no choice in school menus, little nutritional knowledge, and poor impulse control.
Seems to me that it's an excessively acrobatic term.
On the one hand, re the poor, they use it to condemn any bad behavior that may have consequences. On the other, re their base, they use it to champion habitual bad behavior that may have consequences.
On the third hand (yeah, it's irrational), they pretend that _school lunches_ are about personal responsibility—presumably that of minor children who have no choice in school menus, little nutritional knowledge, and poor impulse control.
Seems to me that it's an excessively acrobatic term.
6
"The rhetoric of this fight is familiar. The pizza lobby portrays itself as the defender of personal choice and personal responsibility." I think we on the left need to pay more attention to this. We need to find ways forward that don't end up seeming to encroach on what is, after all, a cherished set of American traits on both sides: freedom, liberty, individual responsibility, self-sufficiency. That's what the Republican party is very successfully tapping into; that's why gobs of people vote for it even though it's actually against their interests on every other count that matters.
3
Every week my mail box has several pizza advertisements. I have not bought one in over a year, there only seems to be one decent one around here, Mountain Mikes, and I have no idea of their politics.
at one time there was a Shakeys Pizza that grew pretty big in California, and in the 1950s-to the 70s, they were pretty good. I learned what god pizza was while stationed on the east coast in the 1950s. I think Papa Johns Pizza is lousy, it just does not taste right to me, but they have run all the god independent pizza makers out, except for a few specialty places that also serve Italian food.
Never thought much about their politics, but as PK points out, these national chains do not want to have to comply with giving us health information. They do not want us to know what goes into their product, we just might lok elsewhere. As we are seeing, McDonalds is trying to improve their menu. When I was at CSU Fullerton, we got the fast food company off the campus. Even then in Orange County, people were beginning to see how detrimental fast food is.
Read "Fast Food Nation" and see just how political it has become. For instance Idaho which supplies the majority of McDonalds French Fries (Bush's freedom Fries.)
As usual, even the smallest cost to business is portrayed a thereat to the business and its employees, even when the employees are some of the lowest paid people anywhere. Notice how the more successful a business becomes, the more they want to kill regulations.
at one time there was a Shakeys Pizza that grew pretty big in California, and in the 1950s-to the 70s, they were pretty good. I learned what god pizza was while stationed on the east coast in the 1950s. I think Papa Johns Pizza is lousy, it just does not taste right to me, but they have run all the god independent pizza makers out, except for a few specialty places that also serve Italian food.
Never thought much about their politics, but as PK points out, these national chains do not want to have to comply with giving us health information. They do not want us to know what goes into their product, we just might lok elsewhere. As we are seeing, McDonalds is trying to improve their menu. When I was at CSU Fullerton, we got the fast food company off the campus. Even then in Orange County, people were beginning to see how detrimental fast food is.
Read "Fast Food Nation" and see just how political it has become. For instance Idaho which supplies the majority of McDonalds French Fries (Bush's freedom Fries.)
As usual, even the smallest cost to business is portrayed a thereat to the business and its employees, even when the employees are some of the lowest paid people anywhere. Notice how the more successful a business becomes, the more they want to kill regulations.
9
It just dawned upon me how yet another way it is the process of 'dumbing-down' Americans, that vacates their ability to be responsible citizens, even for their own sakes, for their own personal safety or well-being.
This process is aided by the kind of deteriorated educational system that exists today, by the mindlessness of media and the way things have to be expedited in order to maintain profits for the institutions of learning, the institutions of the press, which should know better than be subject to the motives & whims of profiteering ... and thus subject the entire nation to their incompetence and shameless leaderships.
Sadly it is really the demise of any real moral leadership, either from what is called in brief, church or state, that has led to a vacuum of morality, consequently, a vacuum of virtue. America has just been asking for this 'nanny state'. But it is result of mistakes all along, result of abrogations of responsibility at all levels of society.
This process is aided by the kind of deteriorated educational system that exists today, by the mindlessness of media and the way things have to be expedited in order to maintain profits for the institutions of learning, the institutions of the press, which should know better than be subject to the motives & whims of profiteering ... and thus subject the entire nation to their incompetence and shameless leaderships.
Sadly it is really the demise of any real moral leadership, either from what is called in brief, church or state, that has led to a vacuum of morality, consequently, a vacuum of virtue. America has just been asking for this 'nanny state'. But it is result of mistakes all along, result of abrogations of responsibility at all levels of society.
1
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore. Thank you Dean Martin.
Food is so much a part of our lives that it can not help but become political or part of our general expression. We eat for more than sustenance. It is a very intimate act and when someone criticizes that act it becomes a very personal thing. It touches on the shape of our bodies and who we think we are. That is why Marie Antoinette lost her head for saying let them eat cake.
In times of deep insecurity people eat more. Should government regulate this? Only to the extent of controlling food's safety and that very carefully and with as little intrusion as possible.
Food is so much a part of our lives that it can not help but become political or part of our general expression. We eat for more than sustenance. It is a very intimate act and when someone criticizes that act it becomes a very personal thing. It touches on the shape of our bodies and who we think we are. That is why Marie Antoinette lost her head for saying let them eat cake.
In times of deep insecurity people eat more. Should government regulate this? Only to the extent of controlling food's safety and that very carefully and with as little intrusion as possible.
I'm not sure the idea that "in times of deep insecurity people eat more". Was that true of the great Depression? Or during WWII? We have a processed food industry that needs folks to consume extra useless calories so they can maintain their profits.
c'mon now. Marie lost her head because she was the king's wife, not because she said "why don't they eat brioche?"
Incidentally, our gov't had no qualms about food rationing.
Incidentally, our gov't had no qualms about food rationing.
It touches on the shape of our bodies and who we think we are. That is why Marie Antoinette lost her head for saying let them eat cake.
I am amazed. that's it. I am amazed!
I am amazed. that's it. I am amazed!
Paul,
Pizza is like sex. When it's good it"s great. When it's bad it's still pretty good.
What will you attack next? Hot dogs? Apple pie? Crackerjacks? Big Macs?
Pizza is like sex. When it's good it"s great. When it's bad it's still pretty good.
What will you attack next? Hot dogs? Apple pie? Crackerjacks? Big Macs?
2
Dr. Krugman is not attacking foods, but rather stubborn people who refuse to read labels, and avaricious people who refuse to put them on their products because not everyone is stubborn. He is quite clear on that. Shall we get rid of those annoying warnings on packs of cigarettes too, or does Eric perhaps like pizza but not cigarettes, so the warning on cigarettes is OK, but no info about pizza on pizza boxes, because Eric likes pizza and doesn't want to be discouraged from eating it? Maybe that is not true about Eric, but it seems to be true about most conservatives. If I like it, then I don't want to be discouraged from consuming it, but if someone else likes it, say, someone on food stamps, that my taxes pay for, then it should be restricted if it makes them sick over time and they end up in emergency room treatment, which my taxes pay for. Ever notice how every conservative argument ends up being about money? I have not eaten a piece of apple pie, or a Big Mac in years. The world has survived. Now and then, however, maybe once every two months, I eat a bratwurst and enjoy it. My weakness is potato chips. Yet if there were no potato chips, we, including me, could get along without them just as well. They are, to put it in conservative terms, not an entitlement. And Dr. Krugman is not asking to ban anything, just to label it, so it's easy to see what it is you're ingesting. Eating something else would maintain jobs and wouldn't hurt anyone except the avaricious.
3
It's like you read but don't understand. The attach is from entrenched, ideological interests uninterested in anything but their profits, which they routinely put over the health of millions of Americans. All we want is the ability to intelligently choose what we eat. What is that an attack on?
so much facepalm
Nutrition a major, and divisive, political issue in the US? Unfortunately, it is. This col. reveals yet another fracture in our society. Is the US just too large, and too diverse, to hold together as one nation? Can our political system, which enables a minority of citizens to maintain a stranglehold on political power over the majority, survive for much longer? The South, the most overweight part of the nation, is also farthest to the right, and a major source of the minority's influence in our politics. It is also that part of the nation that benefits most from the transfer of wealth from richer to poorer states. California and New York are paying for a lot of the pizzas consumed down south. They are hardly getting their money's worth, shipping all those dollars south. How much longer can it last?
22
I usually don't indulge the desire to comment but I am currently taking a micro class where the main text is written by Mr. Krugman. Last chapter "The Rational Consumer". The chapter is based on a principle labeled "Marginal Utility". Marginal utility is basically a metaphor for a mechanism to evaluate/analyze the relationship between how consumers makes choices and how this deliberation corresponds to maximizing their utility. Utility, as I understood it is a metaphor for satisfaction. As I finished the article I found myself confounded by the ironic contradiction between the conclusion of the article and the premises within the "Rational Consumer". The chapter should have been labeled the "Irrational Consumer" and the article should be labeled "The Marginal Utility of Pizza". If free-market fundamentalists in congress want to protect their cultures idealism defined by ignorance is bliss, let them. It makes sense that some capitalists want to prey on ignorance and transparency gets in the way of that. I rationally spend a higher % of my income on high quality, unprocessed mostly organic labeled foods; i.e. handcrafted local pizza once in a while. If consumers were universally logical tomorrow most of our markets would slowly erode. Im with you Prof. Krugman, we should strongly resist the republican parties relationship with corporate penchants to capitalize on propaganda marketing but consuming pesticidal pizza is not partisan its just our version of capitalism.
9
I recently listened to the latest Bloomberg report about Cone Crust Pizza that's now hitting markets in the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/cone-crust-pizza-hut_n_1911029....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/cone-crust-pizza-hut_n_1911029....
1
On a serious note this is probably a topic I was least knowledgeable about when I wrote about the Let's Move! campaign re "food deserts." I think what should have be taken into consideration is the genetic component of any persons' health and having a predisposition to inherit diabetes as one example of individual health concerns. And, I think it's an established fact that Americans waste a percentage of food in comparison to other nations--including whole fruits (fresh fruits and vegetables) that was part of one study.
Actually, with all due respect to our First Lady, I thought her campaign was sloppy because of the population (teens) that the initiatives targeted. The "Age of the mirror" is a fundamental time in adolescent development. And, our young men and women already had a image complexity that behavior psychologists were equally un ethical about.
There you go.
There you go.
The diabetes belt and the pushback against the First Lady's common sense recommendations on diet are merely two examples of a phenomenon that I cannot understand. The stalwart Republican base consistently votes against its own self-interest. Is it out of calcified politics? Ignorance? Hatred? Who knows? But those red state people who benefit most from government assistance in its many varied forms seem unaware of who is buttering their bread when they go to the voting booth. And they clearly are not seeing who is taking their bread away.
25
Have you visited the American south or, really, the rural parts of this country? While there are some smart people there, there are also a goodly number of people who can charitably be labeled fools.
Particularly in the south, education is not especially valued and, in fact, in many areas, getting too much of it is discouraged. This is a region where an undercurrent of authoritarianism, the stifling influence of simplistic religion, and the historic odor of class bias remain very strong, after all, and those in charge can't have people learning too much.
Particularly in the south, education is not especially valued and, in fact, in many areas, getting too much of it is discouraged. This is a region where an undercurrent of authoritarianism, the stifling influence of simplistic religion, and the historic odor of class bias remain very strong, after all, and those in charge can't have people learning too much.
3
I can't speak for the Cornbelt but having been born and raised in the Diabetes Belt/Buckle-on-the-Bible-Belt/former Dixiecrat-now-theocratic-Republican South, I can tell you that the South is as black and white (literally) as you can get. Much of Southerners' ingrained beliefs stem from the simple defiance of "Those Yankees aren't going to tell us what to do."
This is where a lot of the anti-intellectualism, anti-science and anti-personal interest begins. If they do it up North, Southerners want no part of it. A favorite expression in Dixie is "You don't see Southerners retiring to New York."
Only in the South do you see motorized grocery carts because people of all ages don't have the physical stamina required to walk through the aisles.
This is where a lot of the anti-intellectualism, anti-science and anti-personal interest begins. If they do it up North, Southerners want no part of it. A favorite expression in Dixie is "You don't see Southerners retiring to New York."
Only in the South do you see motorized grocery carts because people of all ages don't have the physical stamina required to walk through the aisles.
2
I had been puzzled for the last few years about my sister's ideological move to the extreme right. I had not made the connection that as her pizza restaurant became more successful, she become increasingly conservative.
10
It used to be said that a conservative is a liberal who's just been mugged. More and more these days it seems a conservative is a liberal (or moderate, or independent) who owns a successful business (or wants to). As they acquire more wealth to lose and deal with the regulatory death of a thousand cuts on a daily basis, they start losing their ability to care about anyone they don't know and feeling persecuted.
2
It couldn't be that running a business exposes people to the folly of liberal economics. LOL.
Having been a small business owner in the past (sold business for a modest profit, it was not a hobby but our families income.) FreddyB and Matt, I guess I can't explain how I missed becoming part of the extreme right. I'm sure it relates to the fact that I did not acquire enough wealth. However, I can appreciate how difficult it is to run a successful small business. It is a lot of hard work and commitment.
Big Pizza no doubt is hoping they won't be forced to turn out healthier products, but it also has a huge interest in labor -- keeping it cheap that is. I suspect that all those pizza makers, counter attendants and deliverers make very low wages and Big Pizza no doubt hopes to keep it that way. No support for raising the minimum wage there. The GOP is the party for them on the labor side as well.
21
1. Chris Christie was never a moderate who could reach out to Democrats. He just played one on TV. As a Jersey boy, you know that.
2. Bad health choices impose costs on the economy only because we allow it. Not getting into that here.
2. Bad health choices impose costs on the economy only because we allow it. Not getting into that here.
8
There are precious few domains where the "easy rhetoric of 'free to choose'" *doesn't* ring hollow.
3
The "diabetes belt" metonymy sums up the hypocrisy of these right-wingnuts. I say, put your money where your mouth is: From henceforth, all Federal dollars will be distributed to the States on a per-capita basis. YOU pay for the obesity and increased health care costs brought on by Pepperoni Partisanship and other idiotic and economically destructive policies.
12
Remember revenue sharing under Nixon? That is what he attempted to do, return tax money to states and local governments to use as they saw fit. Some used it for buildings etc, some for social programs. Unfortunately since it was a Nixon program liberal dems in the northeast killed it.
are you kidding??? Red states get vastly more from the feds than they contribute. Who do you think is paying for that?
Since youre unlikely to guess, let me tell you. It's the liberal blue states paying for your "socialist Paradise"
Since youre unlikely to guess, let me tell you. It's the liberal blue states paying for your "socialist Paradise"
1
@Terry,
The problem is that the people who suffer are the CHILDREN in the diabetes belt. The legislators and governors who benefit from the lobbying dollars of Big Pizza couldn't care less if poor children...white AND minorities--are given very unhealthy foods.
Not only will children become increasingly obese, they aren't getting the minimum of nutrition needed for growing brains and other systems in the body. We are seeing incredibly high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart disease, and end stage kidney disease in nine year olds! Our brains need good nutrition as they keep growing and remodeling up to age 27.
And "thanks" to Big Pizza, Big Pharma is seeing a meteoric rise in use of cholesterol lowering statins. There is a push to start elementary school children on lifetime Lipitor and other statins. We have no idea what the long term effects are with taking life long statins...except that Big Pharma (and Republicans) will make lots of money.
Diabetes WILL not only decrease one's life, it is also responsible for the majority of amputations, blindness, and kidney failure in America. You want to make money? Invest in stand alone dialysis centers for all the people who WILL end up in kidney failure...and there aren't enough donors around for transplants.
Say thank you to Republicans who while getting millions of dollars in lobbying money from Pizza can just blame Michelle Obama for her nutrition guidelines and wanting (Gasp!) our children to..move.
The problem is that the people who suffer are the CHILDREN in the diabetes belt. The legislators and governors who benefit from the lobbying dollars of Big Pizza couldn't care less if poor children...white AND minorities--are given very unhealthy foods.
Not only will children become increasingly obese, they aren't getting the minimum of nutrition needed for growing brains and other systems in the body. We are seeing incredibly high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart disease, and end stage kidney disease in nine year olds! Our brains need good nutrition as they keep growing and remodeling up to age 27.
And "thanks" to Big Pizza, Big Pharma is seeing a meteoric rise in use of cholesterol lowering statins. There is a push to start elementary school children on lifetime Lipitor and other statins. We have no idea what the long term effects are with taking life long statins...except that Big Pharma (and Republicans) will make lots of money.
Diabetes WILL not only decrease one's life, it is also responsible for the majority of amputations, blindness, and kidney failure in America. You want to make money? Invest in stand alone dialysis centers for all the people who WILL end up in kidney failure...and there aren't enough donors around for transplants.
Say thank you to Republicans who while getting millions of dollars in lobbying money from Pizza can just blame Michelle Obama for her nutrition guidelines and wanting (Gasp!) our children to..move.
2
There's another dimension to this that Krugman is missing: the executives of some of these (privately held) companies are ideologues. For instance, the founder of Dominoes has long been a major funder of anti-abortion activism, and at times used the corporation's money for this. The chairman of Papa John's is rabidly anti-union and anti-Obama. It's not just a matter of their politics aligning with narrowly defined business interests.
29
It turns out that Krugman's political markets approach to economic analysis yields a lot of interesting insights.
4
Dreamworks giving 99% of its money to Democrats is not a problem, but Pizza Hut giving 99% to Republicans is a problem.
I suppose that makes perfect sense to liberals.
I suppose that makes perfect sense to liberals.
3
Of course all those fat Republicans who eat themselves into having diabetes eventually cost the nation dearly in health care costs. Medicare and Medicaid costs are driven up by people who ignore eating healthy. So promoting unhealthy eating has its costs. Not so much with Dreamworks.
13
Dreamworks is not insisting that 2 tablespoons of tomato paste is a vegetable.
show me one negative outcome of consuming too much Dreamworks content and then we can talk.
1
Let's put this in perspective. BIG PIZZA spent $1.5 million TOTAL in the 2012 and 2014 elections. This is a drop of water in the campaign finance sea.
$750,000 per election will not move the needle.
Here is a link to the Bloomberg article.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-03-03/junk-food-s-last-stand...
$750,000 per election will not move the needle.
Here is a link to the Bloomberg article.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-03-03/junk-food-s-last-stand...
2
I love pizza - and living in upstate New York, not far out from the city, I get to delight in having my choice of about a dozen or more local pizzeria's within a 20 mile radius of my house. Many of them have begun offering no-cheese, veggie pies with whole-grain crust and the like. So it's nice, for me, to benefit from the competition of some smart, local entrepreneurs that know where the wind is blowing. Big Pizza, on the other hand, thinks they can move the wind with their money. something tells me that they will end up watching it blow away instead...
14
We moved to Oregon in 1979 because of a single pizza we had one late night while bumbling around the country. When the pizza shop asked "white or whole wheat", I turned to my future spouse and said "We're moving here".
9
I suspect that part of the chain store Big Pizza attraction to Republicans is that Republicans traditionally oppose the minimum wage which they pay so many of their workers I remember their opposition when the wage was $.75/hour.
And so it goes.
And so it goes.
11
and it's so easy to make pizza and know exactly what's in it. Of course that would require turning on the oven and picking some vegetables.
We wouldn't want any of that nonsense going on in anyone's home.
We wouldn't want any of that nonsense going on in anyone's home.
9
Fresh ingredients inevitably leads to buying organic food at Whole Foods and voting Democratic.
"It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
The above statement applies to so much of "the toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudice that is making America ever less governable."
The above statement applies to so much of "the toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudice that is making America ever less governable."
10
... but Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of the Yum! conglomerate which includes Taco Bell, KFC and a few other chains. They are defending their right to serve what people love which is greasy, fried and salty food. I am a die hard Dem and fully reject the notion that labeling food with it's nutrition and calorie count will somehow influence people to head to the salad bar (which is chemically enhanced to maintain those fresh bright colors). When food reflects its true cost instead of the ridiculously cheap slop that free trade and inexpensive fuel has made available people will eat less. Until then the scales will continue to tilt upward. The free choice is to drive by the drive thru and cook your own food.
3
Krugman's logic of the day fails the same way that the "Red State Welfare Queen" charges fail. Republicans pay more taxes and get less in benefits but Red States do net more from the federal governemnt. The states are not homogenous and people move. Simpletons like Krugman just don't understand the relevant details.
I don't follow this argument. Red states are less healthy, poorer, less educated and heavier--what am I missing? They are net recipients of Federal aid that their politicians rail against. Is that not a cognitive dissonance of massive proportions? No wonder they are all crazy--they can, demonstrably, believe two conflicting things at the same time: that the Federal government is evil, and that they deserve more Federal money.
9
"Republicans pay more in taxes and get less in benefits but Red States do net more from the Federal Government"? Let's see that logic here - "Red States do net more from the federal government" - yep that's true and we agree on that - they are like welfare states are they not? You know, living off the Blue States because logically somebody has to make up the difference. So then Republicans, pay LESS in taxes and get More in benefits than they otherwise should given what they contribute to the total pie of federal revenue. Krugman points to empirical studies, that demonstrate and support his conclusions. And you? Just a question, whose the simpleton now? Your own words paint a sad picture because they prove that education must be in short supply in Indiana. That doesn't make you a bad person, but is does make one wonder what your biases are and why in spite of knowledge provided in the article you refuse to process it?
1
And you know this how?
1
I come from a family that has the diabetic gene, and has had for several generations. My father died from complications of Type 2 diabetes and he was not obese, never had been. Same with his father.
I know that anecdotal evidence is not proof, but it does make me wonder. Perhaps obesity is a result of an inability for the body to process insulin, rather than diet causing diabetes. Most likely there is a dance going on.
Whatever, I am tired of the immediate causal connection of diabetes to poor diet without any reflection on the possibility that while it is true that diabetics must control their sugar intake, it may not have been the sugar intake that caused the diabetes. The cause may be wholly genetic.
Just had to have my say. Thanks.
I know that anecdotal evidence is not proof, but it does make me wonder. Perhaps obesity is a result of an inability for the body to process insulin, rather than diet causing diabetes. Most likely there is a dance going on.
Whatever, I am tired of the immediate causal connection of diabetes to poor diet without any reflection on the possibility that while it is true that diabetics must control their sugar intake, it may not have been the sugar intake that caused the diabetes. The cause may be wholly genetic.
Just had to have my say. Thanks.
8
The problem can be seen in type 2 diabetes for children:
"Type 2 diabetes used to be practically unheard of in people under 30. That explains the other common name for the disease: adult-onset diabetes. Not long ago, almost all children with diabetes suffered from the type 1 form of the disease, which means their bodies couldn't produce enough insulin. And type 2 diabetes, in which the pancreas may produce normal insulin levels but cells become resistant to it, typically took decades to develop.
But type 2 diabetes isn't just for adults anymore. The number of children and adolescents with the condition (most of whom are diagnosed in their early teens) has skyrocketed within the last 20 years, prompting the journal Diabetes Care to call it an "emerging epidemic." While type 1 diabetes is still more prevalent among children nationwide, experts estimate that type 2 diabetes has grown from less than 5 percent in 1994 to about 20 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of the disease among youth in more recent years."
http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/diabetes-13/misc-diabetes-new...
"Type 2 diabetes used to be practically unheard of in people under 30. That explains the other common name for the disease: adult-onset diabetes. Not long ago, almost all children with diabetes suffered from the type 1 form of the disease, which means their bodies couldn't produce enough insulin. And type 2 diabetes, in which the pancreas may produce normal insulin levels but cells become resistant to it, typically took decades to develop.
But type 2 diabetes isn't just for adults anymore. The number of children and adolescents with the condition (most of whom are diagnosed in their early teens) has skyrocketed within the last 20 years, prompting the journal Diabetes Care to call it an "emerging epidemic." While type 1 diabetes is still more prevalent among children nationwide, experts estimate that type 2 diabetes has grown from less than 5 percent in 1994 to about 20 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of the disease among youth in more recent years."
http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/diabetes-13/misc-diabetes-new...
1
As others have said before, genetics is not destiny. What is in our genes is a range of possibilities, modifiable by both the conditions of our lives and our own choices.
As for those who don't have the diabetic gene in their families: lucky stiffs.
As for those who don't have the diabetic gene in their families: lucky stiffs.
"wholly genetic"? Sure, mind boggling genetic drift occurred over 40 years or so causing our current obesity epidemic....
Somehow this sounds like the earth is only 10,000 years old.
Somehow this sounds like the earth is only 10,000 years old.
Science today has changed it's take on fats and weight gain, cholesterol. For many years now, Atkins and informed diabetics, overweight people, have lost weight, controlled their diabetes by cutting carbohydrates; bread (even whole grains) potatoes cooked in all ways, pasta, legumes. The big problem is not fat but the combination of fat and high carb foods. Soy, red and white meats, fish, eggs, cheeses (including whole milk mozzarella) contain almost no carbs. Leafy green vegetables, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower are all low carb vegetable choices. By eating this diet, my weight went down, my cholesterol went down, and my diabetes has never been in as good control.
The problem with pizza is not globs of fatty cheese, but the combination of high carb pizza crust (wheat) and the cheese, pepperoni. Go into any decent restaurant, and immediately they put bread, sometimes exquisite bread, on your table. Then the main course comes with another carb, potatoes. And then dessert. Intelligent, liberal, high income people also are overweight.
Using pizza, the cheese on it, as a culprit makes a good political, but false metaphor.
The problem with pizza is not globs of fatty cheese, but the combination of high carb pizza crust (wheat) and the cheese, pepperoni. Go into any decent restaurant, and immediately they put bread, sometimes exquisite bread, on your table. Then the main course comes with another carb, potatoes. And then dessert. Intelligent, liberal, high income people also are overweight.
Using pizza, the cheese on it, as a culprit makes a good political, but false metaphor.
6
Thank you. Atkins changed my life and health for the better over 12 years ago, thanks to Gary Taubes column for the NY Times: "What if it's all been a Big Fat Lie".
1
Progressive governments have indeed banned pizza as part of government provided meals and have indirectly attacked pizza with salt and fat content regulations.
For some reason, pizza makers feel the need to defend themselves.
For some reason, pizza makers feel the need to defend themselves.
1
It is useful to put a number on it: My understanding is that a publicly insured person (Medicare or Medicaid) who has diabetes costs the taxpayer $1600 per year. Let's end insulin welfare as we know it!
5
We could also work to end obesity and diabetes which would have the same affect. Just saying.
1
I didn't pay into this system for 45 years to be denied benefits, I paid for, when I need them.
1
It's not surprising that junk pizza makers are trying to influence elections and government policy. The food industry has had a strong influence on what is deemed healthy for at least 40 years. Much of the dogma of low-fat diets, the danger of saturated fat, the danger of dietary cholesterol, etc. was promoted by the food industry and their allies in the healthcare industry. There have been many credible studies in the last 10 years or so debunking these myths although guidelines are just starting to catch-up with science.
It is a positive step for the government to promote healthy food in schools, but one must recognize that much of the science is not close to being resolved. For example, whole grains are certainly not as bad as refined grains, but is it healthy to eat many grains? It helps farmers if people eat grains, but it's not clear that it helps people.
At this point, there is every reason to believe that health can be improved by avoiding sugars and refined grains. Health can also be improved by eating non-starchy vegetables and some fruits. One should also restrict processed meats. Most other issues are unresolved. With respect to pizza, the clear problems are the refined flour used for the dough and the processed meats. It's not really clear what effect the other ingredients have on people although I would have to think that the processed cheese used by Pizza Hut and other junk pizza makers would not be as healthy as real cheese.
It is a positive step for the government to promote healthy food in schools, but one must recognize that much of the science is not close to being resolved. For example, whole grains are certainly not as bad as refined grains, but is it healthy to eat many grains? It helps farmers if people eat grains, but it's not clear that it helps people.
At this point, there is every reason to believe that health can be improved by avoiding sugars and refined grains. Health can also be improved by eating non-starchy vegetables and some fruits. One should also restrict processed meats. Most other issues are unresolved. With respect to pizza, the clear problems are the refined flour used for the dough and the processed meats. It's not really clear what effect the other ingredients have on people although I would have to think that the processed cheese used by Pizza Hut and other junk pizza makers would not be as healthy as real cheese.
5
I find it difficult to comprehend the nature of the problem. Take for example Italy. This is where Pizza originally comes from. In every village, town and city you will find at least one good Pizzeria serving the best home made, wood-fired oven pizza that mama can make. And every night you will find pizzerias bustling with customers - families, businesspeople, groups of young people - everyone goes for a pizza in Italy.
Yet, are Italians obese? In general, quite the opposite. And the same goes for most European countries, where good food and good eating are part of the culture, and where not even the most "socialist" nanny state would ever dream of regulating what people should eat. In Italy and France, this would surely lead to a violent revolution!
The problem is the all-American propensity to to super-size and XXXL everything. Why is it that American pizzas must have five times more fatty cheese and greasy toppings than Italian pizzas? Why is it that American portions of anything are twice the size of what you find in Italy or France?
The problem is not the food. A properly made, real Italian pizza once in a while won't kill you, and neither will a fresh, home made burger, or a filet mignon steak for that matter. The problem is American consumers, who seem to lack the most basic self-control when it comes to ingesting vast amounts of fats and calories. You don't need a nanny state for teaching self-control. You need mature adults capable of making mature choices.
Yet, are Italians obese? In general, quite the opposite. And the same goes for most European countries, where good food and good eating are part of the culture, and where not even the most "socialist" nanny state would ever dream of regulating what people should eat. In Italy and France, this would surely lead to a violent revolution!
The problem is the all-American propensity to to super-size and XXXL everything. Why is it that American pizzas must have five times more fatty cheese and greasy toppings than Italian pizzas? Why is it that American portions of anything are twice the size of what you find in Italy or France?
The problem is not the food. A properly made, real Italian pizza once in a while won't kill you, and neither will a fresh, home made burger, or a filet mignon steak for that matter. The problem is American consumers, who seem to lack the most basic self-control when it comes to ingesting vast amounts of fats and calories. You don't need a nanny state for teaching self-control. You need mature adults capable of making mature choices.
14
pizza is as Italian as fruitcake.
Actually pizza is an american invention..people in Europe walk a lot more than Americans..In Europe they don't allow GMO's of any variety...in Europe they don't dilute there cheese with chemicals and drugs that are allowed in dairy cows...when there are companies solely making a living on using addictive chemicals so you want just one more _________(fill in the blank)...what's wrong with labeling
A) whats in the food you eat
B) processing techniques
C) faux food
Give the consumers more information...I believe if people knew what was in some foods they would not eat them...if we lower obesity by 25% how much would that save in long wrong?
A) whats in the food you eat
B) processing techniques
C) faux food
Give the consumers more information...I believe if people knew what was in some foods they would not eat them...if we lower obesity by 25% how much would that save in long wrong?
"You need mature adults capable of making mature choices."
That sentence is so on the mark for so many of societies ills. We desperately need to find or create millions of these people if there is any hope.
That sentence is so on the mark for so many of societies ills. We desperately need to find or create millions of these people if there is any hope.
The self-styled conservatives always justify their opposition to government regulation of anything – including pizza – by claiming an ideological adherence to protecting free markets and to the principle of laissez-faire. The fact of the matter is that laissez-faire means allowing everything to evolve on its own without interference. As Paul Krugman points out, the modern Republicans do the exact opposite of a true conservative: they are constantly interfering with the ability of consumers to make their own choices in a free market.
We need to call it what it is – gaming the system for no reason other than sheer greed. Republican politicians are greedy for more bribes from corporate lobbyists, and owners of companies are greedy for ever higher profits (and too lazy or dumb to make that happen the old-fashioned way).
We need to call it what it is – gaming the system for no reason other than sheer greed. Republican politicians are greedy for more bribes from corporate lobbyists, and owners of companies are greedy for ever higher profits (and too lazy or dumb to make that happen the old-fashioned way).
15
Interesting that "heavier states tend to vote Republican". This probably produces interesting statistics on life-expectancy of heavier states. I wonder if that produces longer lives for Democrats than GOPers.
3
It would be ironic, ron, if the recent ascendancy of Republicans were cut short by Darwinian survival of the fittest.
The public discussion of the obesity problem, which emphasizes WHAT people eat instead of HOW MUCH people eat, totally misses the point. Obesity is caused by eating too much, not by eating "unhealthful" foods. (Statistically insignificant anecdote; I have a sweet tooth, and at least 1/3 of my caloric intake consists of chocolate, other sweets, and soda; nevertheless I recently lost 20 pounds in two months, reducing my BMI to 24. How did I do it? I ate only about 1600 Calories per day, and most days I exercised strenuously (bicycling) for 30-60 minutes.)
Nutritional studies on humans are very hard to do, and many (most?) published studies have severe methodological shortcomings (see http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.00.... One example of this effect is the changing view of the "healthfulness" of dietary fats.
The current emphasis on "healthful" foods is at best irrelevent and at worst counter productive. To lose weight, you have to eat less (fewer calories) and/or exercise more. It's pure a matter of conservation of mass. No other factors are involved. (It is true that if you don't have enough vitamins in your diet, you will suffer from a deficiency disease, but that is a separate issue, and ingesting more vitamins will neither make you healthier nor help you lose weight.)
The most "healthful" food for a person trying to lose weight is one that has few calories and eliminates his hunger.
Nutritional studies on humans are very hard to do, and many (most?) published studies have severe methodological shortcomings (see http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.00.... One example of this effect is the changing view of the "healthfulness" of dietary fats.
The current emphasis on "healthful" foods is at best irrelevent and at worst counter productive. To lose weight, you have to eat less (fewer calories) and/or exercise more. It's pure a matter of conservation of mass. No other factors are involved. (It is true that if you don't have enough vitamins in your diet, you will suffer from a deficiency disease, but that is a separate issue, and ingesting more vitamins will neither make you healthier nor help you lose weight.)
The most "healthful" food for a person trying to lose weight is one that has few calories and eliminates his hunger.
2
The nutrition quality of food (independent of calories) has a powerful impact of feelings of hunger or satiety, which in turn will affect how soon and how much we eat at the _next_ meal.
Rephrased: what is more filling, 500 cal of soda or 500 cal of fish, olive oil, and vegetables? Which one will keep you feeling full for longer?
Besides, who says we have to balance energy intake consciously? Lots of us lose weight or maintain healthy weights without counting calories or portions.
Rephrased: what is more filling, 500 cal of soda or 500 cal of fish, olive oil, and vegetables? Which one will keep you feeling full for longer?
Besides, who says we have to balance energy intake consciously? Lots of us lose weight or maintain healthy weights without counting calories or portions.
I'm not aware of any reliable data that shows a correlation between the feeling a satiety and what is considered "healthful" in the popular press. For example, a cup of soda has the same number of calories as a cup of orange juice, yet anti-obesity advocates want to ban the sale of soda in schools, while still permitting the sale of orange juice. This makes no sense. Is there any evidence that orange juice is "more filling" than soda? Drinking less soda, or substituting water, will reduce caloric intake. Substituting orange juice will only cost you more money.
Can you cite a study free from the types of errors described in the paper I reference that shows that 500 calories of soda is less filling than 500 calories of fish, olive oil, and vegetables? It might be true, but my point is that there isn't much data showing that the foods considered "healthy" actually are more filling, and the critera typically used to determine which foods are "healthy" are generally quite irrelevent in the context of losing weight.
I envy people who can maintain their weight without counting calories; I could when I was younger, but I no longer can. My 22 year old son can; he has a very small appetite, and a BMI less than 20, although he probably drinks about pint of soda per day.
In any case, I'd rather eat small portions of food I like than unlimited amounts of food I don't like.
Can you cite a study free from the types of errors described in the paper I reference that shows that 500 calories of soda is less filling than 500 calories of fish, olive oil, and vegetables? It might be true, but my point is that there isn't much data showing that the foods considered "healthy" actually are more filling, and the critera typically used to determine which foods are "healthy" are generally quite irrelevent in the context of losing weight.
I envy people who can maintain their weight without counting calories; I could when I was younger, but I no longer can. My 22 year old son can; he has a very small appetite, and a BMI less than 20, although he probably drinks about pint of soda per day.
In any case, I'd rather eat small portions of food I like than unlimited amounts of food I don't like.
You missed the mark again. An informed, educated, free to chose populace is the ideal. It is not an informed, controlling nanny state. To that end we should direct our efforts and not surrender our liberties for the results we all want. Improving our minds through education will lead to making better choices.Seeking governmental control of our choices is not the answer.
4
Dr. Krugman's argument is not at odds with your opinion. The column does say: "Nobody is proposing a ban on pizza, or indeed any limitation on what informed adults should be allowed to eat. Instead, the fights involve things like labeling requirements — giving consumers the information to make informed choices". But labeling the fight as "governmental control of choices" is precisely what the GOP intends.
4
Can you provide a real world example of what you speak?
To me, your vision sounds like some type of Ivory Tower Utopia, totally unachievable in the Real World.
To me, your vision sounds like some type of Ivory Tower Utopia, totally unachievable in the Real World.
If the companiies mis-represent what is in their food how do you make and intellignet choice...doing some sort of work out (play sports bike walk) is a must!
Let's turn the first sentence of this column around. Instead of "If you want to know what a political party really stands for, follow the money" how about "If you want to know what a political party really stands for, follow the regulatory agencies it supports".
Money in politics is increasingly a reaction to the regulatory power of the federal government and federal agencies. Individuals and businesses are finding themselves forced to take (partisan) sides as the government becomes more powerful, involving itself in decisions- dietary for example- that not too long ago were left to the individual.
The rest of Krugman's column is a defense of the nanny state, which he supports because, presumably, he adheres to the 'recommendations' of his Big Government nannies. Good for him. He believes in state interests taking priority over individual behavior in virtually all aspects of behavior. Others believe that state interests trump individual behavior in very limited circumstances, security for example.
Mr. Krugman can smugly tweak those in the 'diabetes belt' but guess what, they realize what he doesn't; it isn't a 'toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable', it is the ever-expanding reach of government that is making America less governable.
Money in politics is increasingly a reaction to the regulatory power of the federal government and federal agencies. Individuals and businesses are finding themselves forced to take (partisan) sides as the government becomes more powerful, involving itself in decisions- dietary for example- that not too long ago were left to the individual.
The rest of Krugman's column is a defense of the nanny state, which he supports because, presumably, he adheres to the 'recommendations' of his Big Government nannies. Good for him. He believes in state interests taking priority over individual behavior in virtually all aspects of behavior. Others believe that state interests trump individual behavior in very limited circumstances, security for example.
Mr. Krugman can smugly tweak those in the 'diabetes belt' but guess what, they realize what he doesn't; it isn't a 'toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable', it is the ever-expanding reach of government that is making America less governable.
7
by "state interests," do you mean the SCOTUS def of it, as in an individual state, which may overturn the ACA, or do you mean the intention of the bill's authors, that is the larger "State?" Not totally sure my comment relates, but I thought your "free-market" drivel constantly referring to the state is quite a contrast to the minutia argument on which the nation's healthcare law is resting. And certainly shows the GOP tendency to waffle. (freedom is paramount unless it is for a woman's right to choose, etc)
What's ever expanding is America's waistline much to the detriment of the communities where it happens (everywhere perhaps?) At the risk of being politically incorrect, let's get real, fat costs money whether it's buying a pizza or hooking up with a dialysis machine. The similarities to smoking are unavoidable. Make no mistake, your pizza bought congressman will make sure no one helps you pay for that dialysis.
1
African Americans have higher obesity rates than whites. A lot of them live in the south and vote for democrats.
6
Regardless of race, poverty and obesity go hand in hand. Good nutrition is not as inexpensive as the alternative. Also, it is well document that many Black Americans live in what has been labeled "food deserts," places where wholesome food at affordable prices is not available.
5
If you have evidence to support your claim of racial disparity in obesity rates, please post a link. Thanks.
Another honest and informative article pointing out how inhuman and inhumane an economy based on growth and consumption is. I am sure the CEOs are concerned with America and its health and prosperity but million dollar salaries blind us to the general welfare. Politics is not partisan in a culture devoted to greed and me firstism. America is not our country as Mitt aptly pointed out it is their country.
4
It's doubtful whether Big Pizza's owners are any more Italian than any other business sector, but symbolically at least, they have forgotten where they came from. As far as diet is concerned, commercial pizza bears little resemblance to a healthy Mediterranean diet. With regard to culture, Italians were once treated as the lowest of the low among immigrants of European descent.
The GOP revealed its true soul after many of its members helped LBJ pass Civil Rights; it welcomed southern Democratic segregationists into its ranks and purged its moderates, to become what it is today.
So it doesn't sit well that Big Pizza, Italian or not, supports a party that stands for ugliness and prejudice.
The GOP revealed its true soul after many of its members helped LBJ pass Civil Rights; it welcomed southern Democratic segregationists into its ranks and purged its moderates, to become what it is today.
So it doesn't sit well that Big Pizza, Italian or not, supports a party that stands for ugliness and prejudice.
9
Politics aside, here is the bottom line for me: I am going to eat as many different pies from as many different pizza chefs as I can in search of that elusive "best pie." Period. Rarely is it ever from Pizza Hut, but they do provide incredible deals to the masses in need of their pizza fixes, and their pizza thick with toppings does have a certain allure. And though no doubt high in calories, I have always felt that pizza was one of the more nutritious, or at least least unhealthy, of all my "vices." But I can only think of a few other foods that give me a comparable rush of sensual consumption.
Food labeling in fast food restaurants does have its merits, if I have to take part, I will try to find the lesser evil, and have been shocked by the number and differences. And as many others have recognized, to the extent the foods contribute to the problem of obesity isn't labeling, it's socio-economic forces affecting food choices in general. And, of course, the politics of money, as Paul hits on.
Food labeling in fast food restaurants does have its merits, if I have to take part, I will try to find the lesser evil, and have been shocked by the number and differences. And as many others have recognized, to the extent the foods contribute to the problem of obesity isn't labeling, it's socio-economic forces affecting food choices in general. And, of course, the politics of money, as Paul hits on.
6
You must visit Staten Island. The best pizza in America is made in the corner pizza shops of Staten Island. I have even eaten the WORST pizza on Staten Island, and it was ten times better than the best gourmet pizza in Houston.
1
The preponderant majority of our fast food industry is devoted to selling animal products. IMO they are clogging up our arteries while they clog up our world with animal waste, land reserved for grazing (way overgrazing usually), and land spent growing crops to feed animals plus the opportunity costs in water, energy and land because meat is an inefficient repository of the things needed to sustain human life. They are poisoning us within and without and they have corrupted our political process to the point where it does their bidding almost without question. FDR got it right. These are, "the malefactors of great wealth."
11
TR, actually. But your point stands.
1
Quality animal foods have never been demonstrated to "clog arteries." Our arteries are not simple pipes that directly receive bits of digested food.
1
In a country of inequities, where we live in constant chronic stress, where 'time is money', junk food reigns supreme; and whenever some clear minds suggest that a more nutritious diet will improve our health, or at least halt disease, it is bombarded by our ignorant brethren, loaded with prejudices their 'patriotism' dictates, and which the food industry 'supports' wholeheartily. And as you said, the cost must be born not only by the G.O.P.-heavy states (as shown by our obesity index) but by all of us. Obesity has become cultural, a sign we have reached a complacent goal, belonging to the middle class. In the process, we have become less competitive, less content with ourselves and less free to choose. After all, freedom is a heavy burden for too many, the preference being an escape from it, let the 'Pizza' emporium do the picking for us. Let the cheese and pepperoni keep coming.
6
Weight correlates negatively with income, and the red states are the poor states, predominantly more rural and small town. The New Democrats have moved so far right to appeal to Westchester and Citigroup--and in Obamacare to make sure hospitals and doctors are paid for treating the poor--that the poor vote for a Bush who gives them prescription drugs. not cuts them. The food industry naturally supports the more rural party.
And the white working class, which is about 65-70% Republican and anti-Obamacare, resents a party which triples the stock stock while dropping wages for 90% and puts them and their food down while eating its 1100-calorie a pint Ben and Jerry. Since they can't afford expensive vegetables, let them eat rice and potatoes, not fast food that tastes good.
This column is absolutely perfect evidence why Hillary and her supporters have zero chance in 2016. The hubris and elite classism are unbelievable.
And the white working class, which is about 65-70% Republican and anti-Obamacare, resents a party which triples the stock stock while dropping wages for 90% and puts them and their food down while eating its 1100-calorie a pint Ben and Jerry. Since they can't afford expensive vegetables, let them eat rice and potatoes, not fast food that tastes good.
This column is absolutely perfect evidence why Hillary and her supporters have zero chance in 2016. The hubris and elite classism are unbelievable.
14
Puts their food down? That's how you see it when someone tries to point out that there are affordable and healthier options? That there are options that will not shorten your lifespan or get you sick and, therefore, become a burden on your family and community? That's hubris?
Economic stimulus, read government spending on infrastructure and schools, would increase demand for labor and drive up wages. That's why the billionaires who call the shots are against it. And they fund think-tanks to frame the issues in a way that obscures this fact.
Have to say, I don't think anything about this comment is correct. Wall Street contributions are predominantly, almost totally, to Republicans. Yes, the much of the white working class has been convinced Obama care is bad. Just like in times past they were convinced Social Security was bad, and then that Medicare was bad. And the Democrats are not responsible for the stock market - and I have not heard many Republicans say they hope the stock market goes down. And, as Krugman pointed out, Dems are not saying don't eat pizza or other fast food, just be aware of what you are eating (ignorance is not necessarily bliss). There is affordable good fast food available: independent pizza parlors, Subway and other sandwich shops, even healthier options at McDonalds. Etc, etc.
My son started a job in Virginia last spring. Every single person in the 7 person office has diabetes and most of them are grossly obese. For years I had tried to get him to eat healthier to not much avail. But seeing what the office life-style could lead to, he began cooking for himself, taking salads--salads!--to work for lunch, and has actually lost weight rather than gaining. Thank God for a Michigan education that included critical thinking!
22
More likey it was the good values you gave him growing up, Paula, that usually do get expressed in adolescence or early adulthood!
Although Professor Krugman makes great arguments, he may have bitten off more than he could chew. A rather key point is that Republicans promote the freedom of choice, but limit the information needed to make "smart and informed" choices, thus again pulling a double blind. "Yes," they say, "we support Americans freedom to choose ... as long as they choose based on the information we force feed them."
So is that really freedom or just more deceptive rhetoric?
So is that really freedom or just more deceptive rhetoric?
46
You missed Dr. Krugman's point. It's not freedom of choice, it's freedom of information to make a wise choice.
1
Or maybe, as long as they choose based on our marketing rather than on solid information.
Actually, what is making our country more ungovernable is a populace spending too much time eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching football and no time reading about a political class that spends most of it's time raising money from those who sell pizza, sell beer, and sell sporting events.
112
So, people who vote for the "other" party are fat and stupid, presumably if they're white and male. Otherwise, they're fat because they're poor or black or female and stupid because they eat pizza or whatever...
What incredibly biased, offensive demagoguery, aimed squarely at the lowest level red and blue mentality out there, e.g., voters who have yet to tumble to America's plutocratic fake party democracy.
But, keep voting out there and see where it gets you.
What incredibly biased, offensive demagoguery, aimed squarely at the lowest level red and blue mentality out there, e.g., voters who have yet to tumble to America's plutocratic fake party democracy.
But, keep voting out there and see where it gets you.
7
studies show that red states do have the highest rates of obesity and lowest rates of college attendance. since they also disproportionately rely on federal assistance programs, i'd say there are dots we should connect.
19
I hate to have to say this, but that's the stickiness in this sticky wicket. I believe Dr. Krugman's analysis is the good sense more people need to hear, and I support labeling of food, though I don't know what that means for the independent and small-chain eateries where I take most of my restaurant meals.
But on an issue like this, support of sensible eating and food policy can spill over into snobbery. That's what I don't support.
But on an issue like this, support of sensible eating and food policy can spill over into snobbery. That's what I don't support.
2
Don't forget the geniuses who think Republicans won control of the US Senate because of gerrymandering.
The food industry supports Republicans because it needs a pool of cheap, easily controlled labor, whether it's the illegal immigrants harvesting fruit and vegetables, or the minimum wage workers servicing fast food restaurants. In this example, the Republican Nanny State kicks in just fine, with its panoply of "Ag-gag" laws or the fact that conservatives believe it's possible to "libel" a vegetable.
33
Krugman is on target. Economics and politics have always been closely intertwined, and behavioral economics recognizes that personal and social behavior matter at least as much as rational calculation. The naysayers should consider the business practices that led to the first food and drug safety laws over a hundred years ago.
10
To the extent that obesity actually imposes economy-wide costs, that is only so because Democrats have socialized those costs.
1
Unless we want doctors to not treat patients who arrive in the emergency room unless they have insurance, then all of us bear the burden of caring for people who end up in emergency care due to their eating habits.
29
A bit simplistic, but there is some truth to that. However, we are faced with a choice here. Are we as a country in favor of allowing those without the means to buy insurance to simply suffer from their injuries and illnesses?
We can dismantle the social safety net, get rid of the indigent health plans that cities, counties and states have, eliminate the requirement that doctors and hospitals treat the critically injured or donate a certain percentage of their services as charity, and every other program/policy that aids those without the means. If we do that, are we as a country prepared to watch these people suffer and die if the charitable organizations can't handle the load?
I understand there is a cost of all the programs, and virtually none of us truly understand the full cost of all of the programs. However, we could eliminate all of the city, county and state programs, ACA and the exchanges, together with Medicaid and its overhead by doing one simple thing. Medicare of All, single payer that covers everyone at a basic level. Let the insurance companies sell those who want them policies that cover more generous benefits.
We can dismantle the social safety net, get rid of the indigent health plans that cities, counties and states have, eliminate the requirement that doctors and hospitals treat the critically injured or donate a certain percentage of their services as charity, and every other program/policy that aids those without the means. If we do that, are we as a country prepared to watch these people suffer and die if the charitable organizations can't handle the load?
I understand there is a cost of all the programs, and virtually none of us truly understand the full cost of all of the programs. However, we could eliminate all of the city, county and state programs, ACA and the exchanges, together with Medicaid and its overhead by doing one simple thing. Medicare of All, single payer that covers everyone at a basic level. Let the insurance companies sell those who want them policies that cover more generous benefits.
14
Health insurance, which is a form of socializing costs, was not invented by the Democrats. And did it ever occur to you that people who are in poor health are less productive economically, so that even if there medical costs weren't "socialized", having large numbers in poor health could still be a drag on the economy?
6
" Nobody is proposing a ban on pizza, or indeed any limitation on what informed adults should be allowed to eat. Instead, the fights involve things like labeling requirements — giving consumers the information to make informed choices"
All that is true, but come on: it's much more fun to throw a temper tantrum, isn't it? As the GOP knows, it's certainly more politically expedient, as it gets you plenty of free publicity.
All that is true, but come on: it's much more fun to throw a temper tantrum, isn't it? As the GOP knows, it's certainly more politically expedient, as it gets you plenty of free publicity.
9
Dr. Krugman, it's not about pizza bans, labeling or nutrition. You had the real factor in your second paragraph.
Labor.
The pizza lobby needs to suppress labor in order to boost its bottom line.
Labor.
The pizza lobby needs to suppress labor in order to boost its bottom line.
28
"For one thing, free-market fundamentalists don’t want to hear about qualifications to their doctrine."
It's been a while since I took an Econ class, but I seem to remember that free market efficiency depends on the availability of accurate information.
It's been a while since I took an Econ class, but I seem to remember that free market efficiency depends on the availability of accurate information.
15
I have struggled with weight since my mid 20's. By the time I retired at 67 I weighed between 265 and 280 lbs and had a 56 waist. I had breakfast a coffee break with danish and lunch at a large salad bar and steam table, or pizzas or bacon cheese burgers and fries. Diabetes hit when I was 60 together with sleep apnea and high blood pressure. When I retired I felt awful and did not think I would reach 70.
I am now 80 and I have a 43 waist and weigh 202 lbs and will likely break 200 lbs by summer. What happened? After retirement I prepared my own meals (I am a good cook) no fast food, pizza only when my granddaughter visits. I usually skip lunch and my diabetes is now borderline.
I now read labels carefully. I gave up fast food when I saw that one meal had more calories, sodium and fat than I would consume in 2 days. I know the salt content and fat content and calories of things I buy in the market because I do the shopping.
I know that if the food industry had its way I would be in the dark and not be able to make an informed decision. I used to think that a slice of pizza was 150-200 calories, thanks to the nanny state I know better now.
The problem in parts of America is laziness and childish, id motivated behavior. Instant gratification. To pizza you can add guns to the fear that big brother government might make you healthy and disarm you to be ruled by those godless east coast elites.
I am now 80 and I have a 43 waist and weigh 202 lbs and will likely break 200 lbs by summer. What happened? After retirement I prepared my own meals (I am a good cook) no fast food, pizza only when my granddaughter visits. I usually skip lunch and my diabetes is now borderline.
I now read labels carefully. I gave up fast food when I saw that one meal had more calories, sodium and fat than I would consume in 2 days. I know the salt content and fat content and calories of things I buy in the market because I do the shopping.
I know that if the food industry had its way I would be in the dark and not be able to make an informed decision. I used to think that a slice of pizza was 150-200 calories, thanks to the nanny state I know better now.
The problem in parts of America is laziness and childish, id motivated behavior. Instant gratification. To pizza you can add guns to the fear that big brother government might make you healthy and disarm you to be ruled by those godless east coast elites.
52
Congrats Sheldon. Yes, personal agency is important, but only those who are motivated and intelligent will make good use of that freedom.
Congratulations.
Excellent job, Sheldon, taking care of yourself! You are an inspiration for all of us labor ing under the weight of the food situation in this country. Remember Pollan's food summary: "Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And you showed us how that works to be healthier! Its easy to eat badly, and its much harder, and takes more effort, to eat well and healthy.
It is a sad day for the nation when taking responsibility for oneself has to take a back seat. And then that tends to carry over to anything else. ... Where are those responsible anymore for what government does?
For as the population may be trending, in its abdication of any real sense of responsibility, the government will tend to lapse also, in that way.
So at the same time a government that acts as if it can be the responsible one in a land where people appear to need a 'nanny state' to influence their decisions as to personal matters like controlling weight, avoiding drugs or tobacco, etc. ... that same government necessarily consists of people too, who then may be sidetracking their responsibilities on matters of a more serious nature. It's a problem of backsliding at all levels of society.
Just 'knowing' what is good for other people, is easy, when the program has already been laid out. Actually taking upon oneself the heavy lifting of being a responsible government, may be a virtue people are sadly losing, whether in government or in civil life.
So the matter of exerting any responsibility is not really addressed today.
Some institutions need to address it. They too, like any sense of responsibility are discounted and caused to go out of 'style' and into a dustbin of history. This is a sad thing for a nation to undergo. It also may explain why the U.S. more and more is acting like a barbarian in its foreign wars and in its matters of state.
For as the population may be trending, in its abdication of any real sense of responsibility, the government will tend to lapse also, in that way.
So at the same time a government that acts as if it can be the responsible one in a land where people appear to need a 'nanny state' to influence their decisions as to personal matters like controlling weight, avoiding drugs or tobacco, etc. ... that same government necessarily consists of people too, who then may be sidetracking their responsibilities on matters of a more serious nature. It's a problem of backsliding at all levels of society.
Just 'knowing' what is good for other people, is easy, when the program has already been laid out. Actually taking upon oneself the heavy lifting of being a responsible government, may be a virtue people are sadly losing, whether in government or in civil life.
So the matter of exerting any responsibility is not really addressed today.
Some institutions need to address it. They too, like any sense of responsibility are discounted and caused to go out of 'style' and into a dustbin of history. This is a sad thing for a nation to undergo. It also may explain why the U.S. more and more is acting like a barbarian in its foreign wars and in its matters of state.
4
It is sad, and alas, it is, quite often, a sadness driven by poverty. The problems of poverty, limited opportunities, the stress of trying to survive on an inadequate income, are deliberately exploited by large corporations including fast food corporations. Freedom of choice really only applies if on has sufficient economic resources to recover from bad choices. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/your-brain-on-povert...
9
I love this talk of responsibility, when one party is out to excuse the food industry from any responsibility for the nutritional quality of the food.
3
Nonsense. Dont blame the victims, us, for the sad state of industrial, processed, unhealthy food with the old canard of "personal responsibility." If you are surrounded by unhealthy food choices and bombarded with advertising and psychological and physiological ploys to get us to buy and consume it, what is the percentage of personal responsibility thats responsible for that food choice. Read through the comments. It takes immense effort to exert personal choices to control the crap entering our bodies. Some people can do it consistently. Most of us need help from the government to improve the quality of the industrialized food available to us, and the government is where we get that help improving our lives, since industry wants you fat stupid and unquestioning and personally responsible, with no protections. Nothing wrong with wanting the government to do its job, which is to regulate industries who seek to harm us. Thats not a nanny state, it the basic job of government. Is a 50 mph speed limit a "nanny state" law.? Or does it keep millions of people from dying needlessly over the years? Hmmm? The right wing propaganda you have swallowed is toxic waste, my fellow citizen. Wake up, and breathe the fresh air of the truth.
1
President Obama, members of Congress, somebody please, force decisions on me. I am so helpless, I can't think for myself.
Tell me what to eat - no force me to eat what's good.
Don't let me rent out my room for cash.
Demand I wait for a taxi that has paid homage to the state.
Force my underprivileged kids from their charter into an inferior public school whose teachers has paid homage to the state.
Force me to buy the healthcare that is best for me, as you deem it so.
The Internet is failing me so please fix it.
Raise my electricity rates lest I be tempted to use it.
Tell me what kind of car to drive, and punish me financially if it's the wrong one.
Tell me what to eat - no force me to eat what's good.
Don't let me rent out my room for cash.
Demand I wait for a taxi that has paid homage to the state.
Force my underprivileged kids from their charter into an inferior public school whose teachers has paid homage to the state.
Force me to buy the healthcare that is best for me, as you deem it so.
The Internet is failing me so please fix it.
Raise my electricity rates lest I be tempted to use it.
Tell me what kind of car to drive, and punish me financially if it's the wrong one.
11
Or, half a century or a century ago:
"Please Mr. President and Congress, force decisions on me because I'm so helpless. Force me to drive within some newfangled notion called a 'speed limit', and demand that I buy liability insurance when I do drive. Use big government to push electricity into my county, instead of waiting decades to let individual decisions combine into a sufficient market force. Some streets and road still aren't paved, so please fix them - we're so helpless. Force me to contribute to Social Security and Medicare lest I be tempted not to save enough to get me through today's unprecedentedly long retirement lifespans. Have your federal courts and national guard de-segregate my town's schools and businesses despite the desires of local voters. Demand that I remove or seal the lead paint in my house, as though renters living in it - and their children - have no personal responsibility or ability to protect themselves. And for heaven's sake, tell the nanny IRS to deduct taxes from our paychecks lest we spend the money first or be tempted to cheat!"
"Please Mr. President and Congress, force decisions on me because I'm so helpless. Force me to drive within some newfangled notion called a 'speed limit', and demand that I buy liability insurance when I do drive. Use big government to push electricity into my county, instead of waiting decades to let individual decisions combine into a sufficient market force. Some streets and road still aren't paved, so please fix them - we're so helpless. Force me to contribute to Social Security and Medicare lest I be tempted not to save enough to get me through today's unprecedentedly long retirement lifespans. Have your federal courts and national guard de-segregate my town's schools and businesses despite the desires of local voters. Demand that I remove or seal the lead paint in my house, as though renters living in it - and their children - have no personal responsibility or ability to protect themselves. And for heaven's sake, tell the nanny IRS to deduct taxes from our paychecks lest we spend the money first or be tempted to cheat!"
18
People like you won't rest until this whole planet is a dead and inert toxic waste dump.
4
Except, of course, as the article states, no one is trying to make pizza decisions for you, or force/prohibit any choices you want to make.
But nice try!
But nice try!
3
It's a shame that Prof. Krugman has chosen to broaden his interests from economics, where he can legitimately claim a great deal of expertise, to social issues in general, where his opinion weighs no more than anyone else's.
The essence of the PC stance into which he has fallen is encapsulated in the phrases "free to choose rings hollow", "increased choice can be a bad thing", and "there's a lot to be said for the nanny state". One does not have to be a "conservative" to be alarmed by such sentiments and the social movement that increasingly lives by them. They know how I should behave and if they cannot persuade me to adopt their views, they will try to find ways of coercing me into acting properly in my private life.
So there seem to be no benign major social forces in today's US. One either has to believe in the "market" or yield to the edicts of the PC brigade.
The essence of the PC stance into which he has fallen is encapsulated in the phrases "free to choose rings hollow", "increased choice can be a bad thing", and "there's a lot to be said for the nanny state". One does not have to be a "conservative" to be alarmed by such sentiments and the social movement that increasingly lives by them. They know how I should behave and if they cannot persuade me to adopt their views, they will try to find ways of coercing me into acting properly in my private life.
So there seem to be no benign major social forces in today's US. One either has to believe in the "market" or yield to the edicts of the PC brigade.
4
The free market only works well for people when individuals have accurate information about the products they buy. In that respect, the Pizza Lobby is trying to make the free market fail for those people who are concerned about the health consequences of the food they buy.
You can't expect children to make intelligent choices about their lunch, so what to feed them must be based on adult understanding of healthy foods.
Your argument is is simply an echo of right wing propaganda and has nothing to do with sound economics.
You can't expect children to make intelligent choices about their lunch, so what to feed them must be based on adult understanding of healthy foods.
Your argument is is simply an echo of right wing propaganda and has nothing to do with sound economics.
8
Labeling this article a "PC stance" is either naive or cynically obfuscatory. Such a statement pretends that the massive advertising industry has no effect whatsoever on the choices consumers make, that the equally massive lobbying industry has no influence at all on our legislators, and that wealthy, self-interested corporations and individuals never seek to manipulate the public for their own selfish benefit. The concept of humans as completely rational actors able to ignore all outside influences and coolly determine our own choices is - perhaps unfortunately - a fantasy, and has been convincingly debunked by scientists like Daniel Kahneman (Thinking Fast and Slow) and many others, who have demonstrated through actual experiments with large numbers of people that our perceptions and memories are not at all reliable, and that none of us are immune to manipulation.
Not that the discussion of pizza and other fattening foods is a simple, clear-cut discussion. A big reason these food are popular is that they are cheap and filling, which makes them extremely appealing to people who do not have much money to spend on food. Unless you are a creative and disciplined shopper and cook, eating well often means spending more. It is also not always the easy path to take when you're tired from work and the children are whining. The solution to that problem is difficult.
Not that the discussion of pizza and other fattening foods is a simple, clear-cut discussion. A big reason these food are popular is that they are cheap and filling, which makes them extremely appealing to people who do not have much money to spend on food. Unless you are a creative and disciplined shopper and cook, eating well often means spending more. It is also not always the easy path to take when you're tired from work and the children are whining. The solution to that problem is difficult.
8
I believe in adult's freedom to chose food, but that shouldn't apply to children. States with slimmer populations prohibit food advertisements on television during children's programs.
2
My comment might not reach the gravamen of this article, but it needs to be stated. Some laws are dumb, like listing nutritional information on pizza. Most people don't read the information and anyone who does not know that pizza -with double cheese and pepperoni- is not a healthy choice will not be swayed by knowing the exact number of calories, fat and carbohydrates contained in that tasty pie. The real challenge is to make healthy food taste better.
4
So what's the harm in providing the information. Those who choose to remain fat, dumb, and happy can ignore it and those who want to know can make more informed decisions. Sure, everyone knows there are pizza options that are a dietary minefield, but knowing the numbers can help those who care to make better choices.
42
No, requiring nutritional information on pizza is not dumb. I've struggled with my weight, like so many Americans, my entire adult life. I'm doing pretty well right now, but the only way for me manage my weight is to track my calorie intake and exercise to make sure I'm not eating more than I'm burning off. And, I need the information to be able to do that.
I don't want the government to tell me I can't have a slice of pepperoni pizza if I want it, but I also don't want the food industry to withhold information that might help me make better choices if I choose to use it.
I don't want the government to tell me I can't have a slice of pepperoni pizza if I want it, but I also don't want the food industry to withhold information that might help me make better choices if I choose to use it.
9
Sorry, but I don't want you deciding for me what laws are dumb. And one has to wonder why the "Pizza industry" would fight labeling nutrition with vast lobbing sums if it was irrelevant to their business. IVe purchased exactly one Pizza in the last 5 years. And this came about from my own research on nutrition. Putting the information out there is good whether people choose to use it or not. Knowing Pizza Hut and Pappa Johns donates primarily to the GOP makes even easier for me to resist.
3
Although much of this is undoubtably correct, it is largely an effect on the margin of that from the bipartisan promotion of vegetable oils as a 'healthy' alternative to saturated animal ones. Ever since the invention of trans fats, on through McGovern's dietary goals, to the present day.
1
Keeping Americans ill-informed, uninformed, misinformed--this is the agenda of the anti-education party. How else can such an anti-intellectual party exist? There was a time not so long ago when Americans honored education. Parents who were denied the opportunity worked hard so their children could get a better education.
Today, Republicans glorify ignorance (Rand Paul stating vaccines cause mental debilities), denigrate education (working hard to de-fund, destroy public education) and celebrate stupidity (blocking and shutting down government to end governance).
It may not mean much, but I won't be eating at Pizza Hut...ever again.
Today, Republicans glorify ignorance (Rand Paul stating vaccines cause mental debilities), denigrate education (working hard to de-fund, destroy public education) and celebrate stupidity (blocking and shutting down government to end governance).
It may not mean much, but I won't be eating at Pizza Hut...ever again.
153
Americans used to be proud of the quality of their companies and products, too.
Now, instead of improving the product, they put their efforts into denying reality. Instead of being proud of their pay and benefits, they defend endless and inhumane cost-cutting and expect us to nod sympathetically.
Now, instead of improving the product, they put their efforts into denying reality. Instead of being proud of their pay and benefits, they defend endless and inhumane cost-cutting and expect us to nod sympathetically.
3
The US was founded to birth fresh suckers every minute.
It amazes me how retailers who depend on all the public to patronize them marginalize half of their potential customer base. We've seen it from companies like Olive Garden, Papa John's, Domino's and now Pizza Hut. I, for one, will not patronize any of those companies thanks to their near total support of the right wing and their lack of desire, especially by the pizza companies, to protect the health of their clientele. They also fight to prevent their employees from receiving good health care. They apparently don't want my business or that of anyone who considers themselves liberal or progressive.
90
It's important to add that the Republican Party is also the anti-regulation party while Democrats (perhaps with the exception of Hillary) are the party of freedom of information. Big Pizza, like Big Business, wants no regulations whether it be from the EPA or the FDA. We've had highly-publicized battles across the country by Big Agriculture, especially by Monsanto, to prevent telling consumers that there's is GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) in their food which appear to be causing honey bee colony collapse and threatens the extinction of Monarch butterflies. It's impossible for consumers to make healthy choices without proper nutritional information. It's like asking them to buy a car with no information about safety and gas mileage. This is one small slice of information that may not only save our lives, but also save the planet.
27
Big business loves some regulations. Like favorably unbalanced tax policy.
From some old reports on the Coucil for Environmental Quality, it seems as if many of the cases were brought by competitors. Of course, these were undertaken only for the protection of the environment.
!
From some old reports on the Coucil for Environmental Quality, it seems as if many of the cases were brought by competitors. Of course, these were undertaken only for the protection of the environment.
!
3
I'm sure nutritional regulation is only a small part of their agenda. How about federal subsidies for agribusiness, low minimum wage, low corporate taxes. . . Our government is for sale to the highest bidder. The protections we once took for granted are now being labeled as radical socialism, I wonder how far the pendulum will have to swing before we return to some semblance of sanity.
42
It is important to differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 (formerly known as juvenile-onset) is an inherited genetic disorder that causes the body to attack healthy tissue; in this case the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 diabetics still have a functioning pancreas but for a variety of reasons the red-blood cells cannot absorb the insulin to process carbohydrates. The most common, but NOT the only reason is too many fat cells interfering in the process.
When I was working at a chapter of JDRF I read that all diabetes care and maintenance costs lead the nations health care expenditures.
So while Type 1 researchers are looking for a cure to auto-immune disorder, Type 2 researchers are generally looking for healthier patients.
Also, if I had the proverbial $billions to donate to research, I would dedicate it ALL to auto-immune; if even one auto-immune trigger is figured out all the others will also be cured.
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2013/high-lifetime-costs-for-type-2-diabetes
"The goals of the study were to understand the financial return on preventing or delaying onset of type 2 diabetes and to get a sense of the long-term financial impact of new cases of diabetes and its complications"
"The model revealed that a man diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 25 and 44 can be expected to incur related costs of $124,700 over his lifetime. A woman diagnosed at the same age may incur related costs of $130,800 over her lifetime."
Type 1 (formerly known as juvenile-onset) is an inherited genetic disorder that causes the body to attack healthy tissue; in this case the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 diabetics still have a functioning pancreas but for a variety of reasons the red-blood cells cannot absorb the insulin to process carbohydrates. The most common, but NOT the only reason is too many fat cells interfering in the process.
When I was working at a chapter of JDRF I read that all diabetes care and maintenance costs lead the nations health care expenditures.
So while Type 1 researchers are looking for a cure to auto-immune disorder, Type 2 researchers are generally looking for healthier patients.
Also, if I had the proverbial $billions to donate to research, I would dedicate it ALL to auto-immune; if even one auto-immune trigger is figured out all the others will also be cured.
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2013/high-lifetime-costs-for-type-2-diabetes
"The goals of the study were to understand the financial return on preventing or delaying onset of type 2 diabetes and to get a sense of the long-term financial impact of new cases of diabetes and its complications"
"The model revealed that a man diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 25 and 44 can be expected to incur related costs of $124,700 over his lifetime. A woman diagnosed at the same age may incur related costs of $130,800 over her lifetime."
8
As Lavoisier said "la vie est donc une combustion". Thus the best argument to convince these non-scientist politicians is that all those obese people are really a store of potential greenhouse gases. Since they don't believe in global warming then they should be ready to get the population to slim down and release all that carbon dioxide, currently trapped in their fat stores, and thus "disprove" global warming once and for all. But maybe not, Lavoisier was a scientist so they probably will not believe him or any other scientist. But at least they are not saying "Nous n'avons plus besoin des savants ni des chimistes" which sent Lavoisier to the Guillotiine.
3
Krugman: "It is, instead, a case study in the toxic mix of big money, blind ideology, and popular prejudices that is making America ever less governable."
In addition to being a "toxic mix" making the country "less governable," the mix also makes for a glorification and celebration of selfishness as being the authentic "American" way, a way one writer recently debunked in a letter to the editor -- http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/01/1367872/-My-Letter-to-Editor-refu....
In addition to being a "toxic mix" making the country "less governable," the mix also makes for a glorification and celebration of selfishness as being the authentic "American" way, a way one writer recently debunked in a letter to the editor -- http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/01/1367872/-My-Letter-to-Editor-refu....
17
Except Republicans love the nanny state just look at their position(s) on a woman's right on virtually all things related to her reproductive healthcare including contraception. Republicans love the nanny state just like they love deficit spending, just look at their record.
74
"Pundits and the Public are often deceived." I would say so. Is it any coincidence that the states with the greatest obesity and diabetes rates are also the greatest recipients of nutritional assistance (food stamps) and federal tax dollars. Yet these are the reddest states in the Union. It is astounding that the people who are most reliant on the help of the federal government vote for those that oppose such help. It is the same with pensioners in Illinois many of who have self funded pensions through the unions or government pensions. They vote Republican and put in a governor who is now trying to institute Right to Work and pension reform legislation . If implemented it would put their pensions in jeopardy.
I use to think it was a cutoff your nose to spite your face scenario. Today I believe it is that most people still believe the Republicans are still the party putting on the brakes to stop the liberals from spending too much. But they are really the put the car in reverse and gun it backwards all the way to the oligarchy that we fought against in the Revolutionary War. They truly believe in the Ubermensch and where does that leave the rest of us including the pizza guys. Who do they think buys their pizzas? The very people who do will lose the means when the nutrition programs are cut. So pizza guys who's your Daddy and who is about to pull the rug right out from under you. Don't be deceived.
I use to think it was a cutoff your nose to spite your face scenario. Today I believe it is that most people still believe the Republicans are still the party putting on the brakes to stop the liberals from spending too much. But they are really the put the car in reverse and gun it backwards all the way to the oligarchy that we fought against in the Revolutionary War. They truly believe in the Ubermensch and where does that leave the rest of us including the pizza guys. Who do they think buys their pizzas? The very people who do will lose the means when the nutrition programs are cut. So pizza guys who's your Daddy and who is about to pull the rug right out from under you. Don't be deceived.
20
Let's not forget about labor in the fast food industry.."Papa John's" whose owner has decreed a distaste for the Affordable Health Care Law and whose operators have in lock step trimed back hours to limit obligation to health care. And no doubt aqs well fight increases in the minimum wage.
14
Congers. Congress subsidizes fat cats to keep candy, soda pop, and pizza cheap, so agri-biz and food corps. generate huge profits around the globe. These groups then avoid taxation, gobble up small farms and food-makers, help dumb down our schools, and fight all asking for healthy lunches. So who suffers? Everyone who pays taxes to support hospitals and doctors to treat the obese, the diabetic, and those with cardio-vascular disease. Bottom line: agri/fastfood CEOs fatten us up on subsidized cheese and sugar, while, praising mis-education and "freedom of choice". And then they fight Michelle and ObamaCare. It's leading sheep to slaughter.
43
Should you not have included a Big Pizza pie chart to help us understand?
14
and a (salad) bar chart.
The entire economy is a smoke and mirrors, house of cards, that will collapse under it's own weight. The rape started under Reagan and the LBO era. Today, the Fed prints money and hands it to corp America to do buybacks. Less than 10% finds it's way to meaningful asset investment. The heartland has been hollowed out, while TV lauds real estate pimps ( here's the bedroom, here's the bath) make a million bucks a year bowing and scraping to people who make a living on reality TV. They buy with monopoly money in Beverly Hills and Manhattan.
Yep, let 'em eat pizza.
Yep, let 'em eat pizza.
6
When the human being is shallowly regarded as a profit center to be exploited rather than as a uniquely created individual deserving of respect, then food and health providers and many other manufacturers of products that are designed for instant gratification, don't really care about anything as much as what their next ninety day profit and loss statement looks like. They don't care about the conditions that animals are subjected to on farms, about the cleanliness of the produce we eat, or the bad effects of the medicines that are being sold. Those driven by greed have long ago self lobotomized their conscience, and the rest of us are made to pay the price.
17
Don't take away my right to drink, smoke, shoot and eat my way to oblivion.
That's the mantra of the corporate-controlled politician.
Just ask Sarah Palin the next time she uses a "Big Gulp" cup as a prop at her next speech.
I know it's been said many times before; however, Walt Kelly was dead-right.
That's the mantra of the corporate-controlled politician.
Just ask Sarah Palin the next time she uses a "Big Gulp" cup as a prop at her next speech.
I know it's been said many times before; however, Walt Kelly was dead-right.
17
If it were not for our elected official from down south- almost entirely Republican- the laundry list of problems we face in this country could be solved in a matter of hours; at least on the road to solution.
Never has a such small group of ignorant, self-absorbed, Luddite-like people held back and hurt so many tens of millions.
The Republican Party- America's worst enemy.
Never has a such small group of ignorant, self-absorbed, Luddite-like people held back and hurt so many tens of millions.
The Republican Party- America's worst enemy.
45
Could not agree more. I consider today's Republican Party enemies of the State: distorters of truth, deniers of science, brainwashers of the ignorant (who unfortunately still have a say in their election).
21 months from now we will again be confronted with "the most important election in our lifetime." With the R's in control of 2 branches of government and the Supreme Court up for grabs, this time that may not be an exaggeration.
Electing a Democrat may not be the best choice -- but's this time around it's the ONLY choice.
21 months from now we will again be confronted with "the most important election in our lifetime." With the R's in control of 2 branches of government and the Supreme Court up for grabs, this time that may not be an exaggeration.
Electing a Democrat may not be the best choice -- but's this time around it's the ONLY choice.
17
good column. Oligarchs use their wealth to pick the political leaders of a country in order to maximize their industries' profits. Which country is this--Russia, the U.S. or both? Extreme monopoly capitalism overwhelms democratic rule and commonsense regulations for the common good such as good nutrition, healthy food, and environmental goals.
17
The "GOP lean"? No anti-pun intended?
4
Many of the "big pizza" places are in liberal leaning areas. I say we should boycott them until they make their products healthier and stop trying to turn our schools into factories for new customers.
11
I don't feel the need to force pizza places to offer options healthier than what they arleady do. But posting the fat/calorie counts for their current offerings would help me to better control my own behaviour.
82
Isn't it funny how companies like Papa John's and Walmart (among many others), who have benefited tremendously from doing business under the American system, are the most reluctant to do anything that actually helps Americans?
26
No, Ken, it isn't funny. Not anymore.
1
Nice play on words, but what else would one expect from Paul Krugman? Must add Papa Johns to the list, an anti labor owner who cut worker hours to keep from having to pay health insurance. Add in the sandwich Jimmie Johns on that count. What is sad is that Peyton Manning, a union member which has helped make its members multi millionaires, crosses the line and shills for Papa Johns. And what is even worse, while volunteering to help conduct a union election I was fed Papa Johns Pizza at lunch. Needless to say I told them about the Papa Johns situation and at the last one we went with a local owner. Most people just don't pay attention. Ignorance is bliss. The big biz owners count on, and it keeps adding up to green.
25
We overestimate our capacity to make good choices about what to eat, we overestimate our capacity to design computer software adequately that will be used properly and meet real life circumstances, we overestimate our capacity to use technology successfully or medicine wisely -- and while we've always had the flaw from which these behaviors stem, I think we've escalated the risk and size of the possible damage through our human innovations in spheres like food, technology, and medicine.
On the subject of food: I am sure starving to death in a hunter-gatherer society was not pleasant. While farming and big farming have benefited a lot of people in a lot of ways, we seem to be swinging to a different extreme with the consumption of junk food and its sequelae, including increased incidence of diseases like diabetes (not to mention their complications). We have brought a different type of misery to ourselves. As I said above, I think part of it is that we overestimate how typical human beings will respond to new circumstances involving new choices, new pleasures, and new costs. We design for some idealized human, I think, and while some people may come closer to that ideal, most of us are constrained from doing so by things like limited thinking and limited food budgets and limited time when we encounter these new choices (like junk food and highly processed food).
On the subject of food: I am sure starving to death in a hunter-gatherer society was not pleasant. While farming and big farming have benefited a lot of people in a lot of ways, we seem to be swinging to a different extreme with the consumption of junk food and its sequelae, including increased incidence of diseases like diabetes (not to mention their complications). We have brought a different type of misery to ourselves. As I said above, I think part of it is that we overestimate how typical human beings will respond to new circumstances involving new choices, new pleasures, and new costs. We design for some idealized human, I think, and while some people may come closer to that ideal, most of us are constrained from doing so by things like limited thinking and limited food budgets and limited time when we encounter these new choices (like junk food and highly processed food).
2
Hunter-gatherers had generally better health and food security compared to early agriculturists.
One of your greatest editorials, Professor Krugman! I am old enough to remember St. Ronnie Reagan, the grade B (and that is being kind) movie actor who lead us to 35 years of "trickle-down economics" which really means that the corporations and 1% pay NO taxes also was a champion of ketchup as a vegetable in school lunches. I teach in an Arizona middle school and I see childhood obesity every hour of the school day in each of my classes! We just finished a section on global climate change and I had to call the Republicans a political party (cannot name them by name) that does not believe in global climate change or science. They are truly the "know nothing" party of the 21st century!
46
don't forget his contribution to school nutrition, labelling ketchup as a vegetable.
1
What thought provoking article!
Of course the Republicans love pizza and pizza loves them. First they subsidize the growth of soybeans and corn (to the exclusion of other vegetables). Then they use the cheapened products to grow cattle. But the people eating less of this subsidized beef, so now the cows produce cheese. Cheese, cheese cheese. It's cheap and it's tasty. Unfortunately it is also disastrous to America's health. The saturated fat and excessive calories wreak havoc on our bodies. But multi-billion dollar problem doesn't phase the powers that be. Politicians will do anything to earn a campaign contribution for themselves, even hurt Americans. It's silly and it's time for state sponsored elections and campaign finance reform, to stop all this sleazy cheese business.
Of course the Republicans love pizza and pizza loves them. First they subsidize the growth of soybeans and corn (to the exclusion of other vegetables). Then they use the cheapened products to grow cattle. But the people eating less of this subsidized beef, so now the cows produce cheese. Cheese, cheese cheese. It's cheap and it's tasty. Unfortunately it is also disastrous to America's health. The saturated fat and excessive calories wreak havoc on our bodies. But multi-billion dollar problem doesn't phase the powers that be. Politicians will do anything to earn a campaign contribution for themselves, even hurt Americans. It's silly and it's time for state sponsored elections and campaign finance reform, to stop all this sleazy cheese business.
13
A large part of the equation is also the quantities and types of preservatives used in all the ingredients of pizza and fast food in general. It's pretty much poison, just in small quantities. McDonald's profits show that Americans are finally waking up and trying to eat healthier, no thanks to Big Food Producers.
4
Processed soy and corn will do more damage to health than cheese. Saturated fat "per se" has never been demonstrated to cause any health problems, but of course there are many types and qualities of fatty foods.
1
Not coincidentally, unhealthy pizza also supports and provides profit to the dairy industry, perhaps the industry most cruel to animals. Babies are taken from their mothers at days old; mothers are deprived of the only possible joy of pleasure in their suffering lives. Anyone who eats dairy-based pizza is contributing not only to his/her own ill-health, but to the needless suffering of millions of cows. Oddly, I was once told by a food industry executive that much pizza is actually made with soy instead of cheese, but the consumer wouldn't know. They pizza "industry" could easily appeal to consumers' health consciousness and consciences by offering low-salt, soy "cheese" pizza. Of course, that would only happen in a business interested in looking beyond a quick buck at the expense of the health of a nation.
6
I think what "Big Pizza" fears most is that the public is actually modifying its diet. For the first time in a very long time, obesity rates among children stopped increasing. The rate hasn't dropped yet, but at least it leveled off. Among adults, obesity is starting to decline very slowly as more and more people shift to healthier diets (more fruits and vegetables, less meat especially beef, more fish, and, of course, less pizza and soda). This trend has been gaining momentum since at least the 1970s among the more educated of the population. But, like all trends, there is a slow diffusion to other groups (even in the South).
Sure, there is a political dimension to it. When Republicans control the White House, people eat more beef (and probably pizza) and less so when Democrats do so. However, BIg Pizza attacking Michelle Obama for pushing healthier diets is only transitional politics that won't change the long-range trend towards healthier eating. After all, everyone has a vested interest in staying healthy, even the managers of Big Pizza.
Sure, there is a political dimension to it. When Republicans control the White House, people eat more beef (and probably pizza) and less so when Democrats do so. However, BIg Pizza attacking Michelle Obama for pushing healthier diets is only transitional politics that won't change the long-range trend towards healthier eating. After all, everyone has a vested interest in staying healthy, even the managers of Big Pizza.
12
I am on the DASH diet (sort of paleo for older women, good for weight maintenance, heart health and diabetes prevention). I was missing pizza, but this information helps ease the pain of loss! I'm sure there are plenty of blue staters enjoying their artisanal local pizzas, not giving a cent to the likes of Papa Johns, Dominoes and Pizza Hut.
3
It is remarkable too that in these mostly southern counties, sometimes referred to as "the diabetes belt" but in other rural places of the United States as well, many of these people who will benefit from health care vote republican in droves.
Why do people vote against their own interests? " What's wrong with Kansas?"
Why do people vote against their own interests? " What's wrong with Kansas?"
39
Maybe because free people are entitled to assess and appreciate their own interests, rather than being told by PK, you, the NYT and other "great" minds what is in their best interest.
1
Because they hate "libruls" and "Big Guvmint", which are responsible for all the country's problems.
1
A lot of those Siuthern states also have signifcant African-American populations, who are more prone to diabetes. But hey,do not let facts get in the way of left-wing memes.
Professor Krugman has forgotten the Cola wars, where Pepsi and Republicans gave that company's franchise for Russia, and Coke finally found a champion in Jimmy Carter because they funded him in the beginning. Carter payed his debt by delivering the Coke Democratic franchise to China. The issue for citizens can come down to favoring one business over another that promotes their own interest. I never buy anything from Home Depot because of the policies of the company. By the same token, I only buy groceries from union stores. I made the mistake of buying a non union made car, Honda, that is a piece of junk, and has hadseveral recalls, tires that lasted 32.000 miles and my battery 42,000. I will never buy another non union made car. It is because of the lack of unions that wages and working conditions are so low. If workers want better protection, the only way they are going to get it is through unions. If workers and citizens do not begin assisting unions that are being attacked by Republicans at the Federal and State levels, Walmart wages and worker abuse will be the only choice we have. There is certainly a war against citizens waged every day by Republicans, and the influence of the political culture of the South will continue spreading until it consumes us all. While Krugman laments special interests control, that system was built into the Madison Constitution, and detailed in Federalist 10. And the only corrective is to create counter interests.
26
"At a still deeper level, health experts may say that we need to change how we eat, pointing to scientific evidence, but the Republican base doesn’t much like experts, science, or evidence. Debates about nutrition policy bring out a kind of venomous anger — much of it now directed at Michelle Obama, who has been championing school lunch reforms — that is all too familiar if you’ve been following the debate over climate change."
Think about what we eat? What a crazy "liberal" or socialist idea that is. Big Ag is one of evil ones in our country, but hey, who cares? Freedom of choice remember. For example, I choose not to wear my seatbelt in my car, get in an accident and die. Freedom of choice, remember. Oh, its against the law to not buckle up. But isn't that taking away our freedom?
Think about what we eat? What a crazy "liberal" or socialist idea that is. Big Ag is one of evil ones in our country, but hey, who cares? Freedom of choice remember. For example, I choose not to wear my seatbelt in my car, get in an accident and die. Freedom of choice, remember. Oh, its against the law to not buckle up. But isn't that taking away our freedom?
16
So called nutrition experts are little better than astrologers. Avoid that cheese and fat, don't use butter instead use margarine, the list goes on and on. Spare me the experts.
1
skeptic, I think you're on to something. Free-enterprise cultists don't want the rest of us to listen to scientists, the ones who are warning us about global warming and earlier warned us about tobacco.
I had a doctor tell me more than 50 years ago that my blood had the exact same chemical composition as spare ribs.
Since that time, I have outlasted four doctors who were lean as sticks.
And here I still stand, a proud, G-d fearing American, about 25 pounds "overweight", with a hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread dripping with Russian dressing waiting for me for lunch, along with cole slaw, a kosher pickle, a heaping plateful of onion rings and a Dr. Brown's Black Cherry, made with good-old-fashioned real cane sugar.
My cholesterol and triglyceride readings are still hurtling skyward, but I remain cheerful and contented, a proud rebuke to every scientific study ever conducted to discourage good eating.
FWIW, I take my breakfast pizzas with pepperoni and anchovies.
Since that time, I have outlasted four doctors who were lean as sticks.
And here I still stand, a proud, G-d fearing American, about 25 pounds "overweight", with a hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread dripping with Russian dressing waiting for me for lunch, along with cole slaw, a kosher pickle, a heaping plateful of onion rings and a Dr. Brown's Black Cherry, made with good-old-fashioned real cane sugar.
My cholesterol and triglyceride readings are still hurtling skyward, but I remain cheerful and contented, a proud rebuke to every scientific study ever conducted to discourage good eating.
FWIW, I take my breakfast pizzas with pepperoni and anchovies.
4
If this is true, it's likely that you have your parents/grandparents/great grandparents to thank for giving you a constitution that's able to withstand constant insult.
Kind of like being able to spend without thinking when one has millions in the bank due to a family inheritance.
But, eventually, if not husbanded well, the money runs out. And if one is really not careful, bankruptcy looms.
It can be the same with the inheritance of a strong constitution.
Unfortunately, even if you don't "pay the piper", it's likely that the next generation, or the one after that, will not have the same ability to withstand a lifetime of poor eating, without paying dearly for the "privilege" of dancing to this particular tune.
Kind of like being able to spend without thinking when one has millions in the bank due to a family inheritance.
But, eventually, if not husbanded well, the money runs out. And if one is really not careful, bankruptcy looms.
It can be the same with the inheritance of a strong constitution.
Unfortunately, even if you don't "pay the piper", it's likely that the next generation, or the one after that, will not have the same ability to withstand a lifetime of poor eating, without paying dearly for the "privilege" of dancing to this particular tune.
6
Is this supposed to mean that your personal experience disapproves health research or are you just gloating about your apparently great genes?
3
For one thing, I doubt most Italians or Italian-American would Identify the product of then Pizza Republicans as Pizza. I suspect quite a few don't even see it as food.
30
Look at the bright side of this, more dead, stupid people equals fewer Republican voters.
17
Be careful what you wish for; somebody has to pay for your Liberal utopia...
I suggest a new required course for high school juniors nationwide: influence and politics, a symbiotic corruption.
Case studies could include PK's column today, alongside the article elsewhere in the Times today about NM Senator Tom Udall's increasingly cozy relationship to the chemical industry.
It would be a great introduction for future generations of would-be voters.
Case studies could include PK's column today, alongside the article elsewhere in the Times today about NM Senator Tom Udall's increasingly cozy relationship to the chemical industry.
It would be a great introduction for future generations of would-be voters.
8
"It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." This may be true, but it fails to explain those of us who regularly vote against our best economic interest. Easy examples are police officers who vote for right wing candidates who would like to cut their pay, pensions and positions. The same may be said for teachers and municipal workers. The anti-tax austerity crowd includes many who will become losers if that policy is followed. Anyway, an aside seems in order. When "Pizza-Hut," had store closings, were they based on politics rather than economics? Or, how much did politics play in their decision to close certain stores?
4
That's not hard to understand. Did you the Ferguson report?
As far as the police are concerned, I think that a lot of cops would rather have the freedom to abuse power and be corrupt, than to have legal improvements to their income. Republicans are more likely than democrats to allow them to perpetuate that corruption and abuse.
1
"The pizza lobby portrays itself as the defender of personal choice and personal responsibility. It’s up to the consumer, so the argument goes, to decide what he or she wants to eat."
What is the problem with that? Here's how Dr. Krugman answers.
"anyone who has struggled with weight issues ...knows that this is a domain where the easy rhetoric of “free to choose” rings hollow. Even if you know very well that you will soon regret that extra slice, it’s extremely hard to act on that knowledge."
No one with half a brain thinks that making choices is, or should be, easy. I've done many stupid things in my life, like smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes/day, but when I kept reminding myself how stupid it was, I quit. Not easy, but it is a choice. And as a firm believer in evolution I think it's not a bad thing at all for people who are too dumb to not take the extra slice, or the extra drink, to contribute less to the gene pool.
"heavier states tend to vote Republican"? Q.E.D. The free choice of how well one treats his/her body corresponds to how well one decides to vote.
What is the problem with that? Here's how Dr. Krugman answers.
"anyone who has struggled with weight issues ...knows that this is a domain where the easy rhetoric of “free to choose” rings hollow. Even if you know very well that you will soon regret that extra slice, it’s extremely hard to act on that knowledge."
No one with half a brain thinks that making choices is, or should be, easy. I've done many stupid things in my life, like smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes/day, but when I kept reminding myself how stupid it was, I quit. Not easy, but it is a choice. And as a firm believer in evolution I think it's not a bad thing at all for people who are too dumb to not take the extra slice, or the extra drink, to contribute less to the gene pool.
"heavier states tend to vote Republican"? Q.E.D. The free choice of how well one treats his/her body corresponds to how well one decides to vote.
2
Oddly, my favorite pizza is Papa John's, with Pizza Hut, coming in second. I haven't bought either one for over a year, they can take their stuffed crust and stuff it!
6
I had no idea that opting out of commercial pizza and making my own was a politically driven act. After leaving New York and not able to get the artisinal variety you can get there and left with only the puffy dough based variety overwhelmed with bad cheese and meats were enough to make me figure out how to make pizza. Smaller with very thin crispy crust, with grilled veggies and a bit of really good cheese, I found it's better than even California Pizza Kitchen. I make one with gorgonzila spinich and asparagas that is to die for. Now that I've read this article, every choice I made does follow the democratic party line. Republicans are out courting big money lining up for 2016; Could the foodie lobby be big enough to have any weight for democrats?
17
Make me a pizza, please.
1
thanks, blue. never thought i'd get a great recipe from the comments to a kruman article.
1
It is a fact that our politics suffers from a polarization - we need to get away from the good-guys/bad-guys stuff. But the Republicans certainly make it difficult to do so. They seem to insist on playing the"heavies." (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
21
Ah politics and pizza. While I love pizza - I don't like any of the so call pizza made by big commercial companies. Now I know why.
10
It's because you have taste buds.
1
That seems to be the consensus here in New York City - local pizzerias rule!
The rhetoric of personal choice and responsibility spouted by the Right conveniently overlooks that we human beings—Americans, in particular—are bombarded 24/7 on TV, radio, internet, highway billboards, milk cartons. billing inserts, and on ad nauseam. It's asinine to think that any one of us can take the time to sit back on every item and ponder its safety and value to us personally. All the more so because the ads—the 'hidden persuaders' and those not so hidden—are designed to push us in one direction and that direction isn't necessarily to our benefit, despite the advertising claim that it is.
182
Advertisements on TV, radio, internet, highway billboards, etc act as reality filters between the world and our brains.
This constant inescapable background noise that denies the world can't be good for our mental health. Its effect is similar to religion during Dark Ages.
This constant inescapable background noise that denies the world can't be good for our mental health. Its effect is similar to religion during Dark Ages.
6
So true. Even when I go to the gym, there are ads plastered inside the bathroom doors. I can't even urinate without having ads shoved in my face.
Dictators always have excuses why the people are too stupid to govern themselves, so they have to be told and forced by their betters to do what their betters want them to do. Of course, this and the other comments to this column show the falsity of Krugman's contention this is only about labeling. Believe me, the goal of the food dictators is to force us to eat what they want us to eat.
Was waiting for you as an economist to discuss "Big Pizza's" employment practices. No minimum wage hike. No health insurance. No benefits. The GOP recipe for cheesy goodness.
40
The theory of markets requires fully informed consumers as a key to market functioning yet the supposed champions of free markets always fight efforts to label products to give consumers what they need to make informed choices. This is not hypocrisy, it is deliberate dishonesty.
47
This is insightful and a bit tongue in cheek. At the end of the day all politics is money. That is why we have lobbyist. Yes, if the Republicans are really about freedom and choice, let the consumer decide by the power of the purse. On the other hand the Democrats should learn that we cannot legislate good eating habits, just as we cannot legislate morality. The lesson in point was the recent changes to the school lunch program that is being rejected by many students. Lunch programs are losing money, so the "market forces have won." We should eat healthier and that is a realizatiion that some people never reach. I enjoy pizza but perhaps eat it 4 or 5 times a year, it is not the healthiest of choices for me. It does not matter how many commercials Papa John's, Pepsi or Pizza Hut run during the Super Bowl, I am careful about what I eat. Don't waste your money on me!
3
A few years ago, study showed that eating at McDonalds could be cheaper than going to the market and buying more healthy food: Being poor could increase your odds of dying of a heart attack.
So, you may have missed another factor in the delivery of pizza men's money into the coffers of the Poor People Deserve It and Probably Worse party: The minimum wage. According to glassdoor.com, a delivery driver at Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's makes less than $8 per hour. An assistant manager at those three stores makes less than $13 per hour.
Were the minimum wage be hiked to something like $10 per hour, either the three pizza magnates would either have to survive on fewer profits or hike the price of pizza. Not long ago, in a statement about how Papa John's would respond to Obamacare, CEO John Schnatter warned that he might have to cut employees back to under 30 hours to avoid offering them health care.
Either that or raise the price of pizza. “I got in a bunch of trouble for this,” Schnatter said. “That’s what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.”
As long as the pizza industry can pay its workers rock-bottom salaries it can maintain more than its fair share of the food services market. It can stay both cheap and wildly profitable.
Remember, had the minimum wage kept pace with inflation, it would be well above $10 per hour today. Income redistribution is only odious to Republicans when it's downward.
So, you may have missed another factor in the delivery of pizza men's money into the coffers of the Poor People Deserve It and Probably Worse party: The minimum wage. According to glassdoor.com, a delivery driver at Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's makes less than $8 per hour. An assistant manager at those three stores makes less than $13 per hour.
Were the minimum wage be hiked to something like $10 per hour, either the three pizza magnates would either have to survive on fewer profits or hike the price of pizza. Not long ago, in a statement about how Papa John's would respond to Obamacare, CEO John Schnatter warned that he might have to cut employees back to under 30 hours to avoid offering them health care.
Either that or raise the price of pizza. “I got in a bunch of trouble for this,” Schnatter said. “That’s what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.”
As long as the pizza industry can pay its workers rock-bottom salaries it can maintain more than its fair share of the food services market. It can stay both cheap and wildly profitable.
Remember, had the minimum wage kept pace with inflation, it would be well above $10 per hour today. Income redistribution is only odious to Republicans when it's downward.
198
That is when i quit buying Papa John's pizza!
4
You remember John Schattner, he of Papa John fame. He railed against Obamacare because it was estimated, by his own team nonetheless, that they'd have to raise the price of an average pizza by 10-14 cents, an amount most people wouldn't even notice. Instead what did he threaten to do? You guessed it - cut his worker's wages.
You don't remember or believe me. Read on:
http://www.diversityinc.com/leadership/papa-johns-ceo-blames-obamacare-f...
You don't remember or believe me. Read on:
http://www.diversityinc.com/leadership/papa-johns-ceo-blames-obamacare-f...
56
Well you know John's got expenses. It costs a lot to maintain that personal golf course he has next to his house.
2
Dear Mr. Krugman,
Pizza? I must admit, I am a pizza non-eater, don't like tomatoes or marinara sauce so most of my extra weight comes from one of the other "bad boys" nutritionally, chocolate. Milk, dark, white, turquoise it all tastes really good to me.
Has chocolate become "politically involved"? Please don't tell me that the "Chocolate Lobby" is lined up behind the GOP/TP/KOCH AFFILIATE.
I can understand a multimillionaire like "Papa" John supporting anything that doesn't examine exactly what goes into his $2.00 pizza (At cost); I guess, like sausage, one really doesn't want to see how a pizza is made. He seems like such a nice guy though somewhat "long" in the ego department (His name is on the pizza box and he appears in all of his ads; I'm guessing he hasn't really "made" a pizza since his first million or so).
Changing "how we eat" is a tall order. Since the average, overweight American watches something like 5 hours of television daily and since pizza can be "delivered' and since most of these pizzas are heavily promoted in TV commercials, that's an awful lot of change for an electorate that can't even get up and vote (36%, the percentage of registered voters in 2014 who voted; 64% stayed home and, I assume, watched TV and ate a delivered pizza).
It seems the GOP/TP/KA's plan is working just fine!
Forget exit polls; let's see how much pizza is delivered in the 2016 presidential campaign, an early clue as to the winner of that battle.
Pizza? I must admit, I am a pizza non-eater, don't like tomatoes or marinara sauce so most of my extra weight comes from one of the other "bad boys" nutritionally, chocolate. Milk, dark, white, turquoise it all tastes really good to me.
Has chocolate become "politically involved"? Please don't tell me that the "Chocolate Lobby" is lined up behind the GOP/TP/KOCH AFFILIATE.
I can understand a multimillionaire like "Papa" John supporting anything that doesn't examine exactly what goes into his $2.00 pizza (At cost); I guess, like sausage, one really doesn't want to see how a pizza is made. He seems like such a nice guy though somewhat "long" in the ego department (His name is on the pizza box and he appears in all of his ads; I'm guessing he hasn't really "made" a pizza since his first million or so).
Changing "how we eat" is a tall order. Since the average, overweight American watches something like 5 hours of television daily and since pizza can be "delivered' and since most of these pizzas are heavily promoted in TV commercials, that's an awful lot of change for an electorate that can't even get up and vote (36%, the percentage of registered voters in 2014 who voted; 64% stayed home and, I assume, watched TV and ate a delivered pizza).
It seems the GOP/TP/KA's plan is working just fine!
Forget exit polls; let's see how much pizza is delivered in the 2016 presidential campaign, an early clue as to the winner of that battle.
12
We've all heard this before and I understand that most people who follow politics and the news are quite familiar with what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway: "Money has so thoroughly corrupted our government so as to render our democracy essentially null and void."
We no longer live under a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". Now that the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has ruled that "money is speech", money has supplanted higher principles and common sense as the common denominator driving our legislation and political agendas.
Republicans as a whole seemed to have embraced this ominous change. Those with the most money now have the loudest voice. "Strength in numbers" no longer refers to people but to currency and the currents are running rather strongly in favor of those who have most of it.
Eventually, the injustices that naturally follow from such change will take their toll and "we, the people" will reach an emotional tipping point fueled by the inequities that naturally follow from politics that is largely driven by greed and power.
As is the case with all injustices, nature has a way of restoring order and balance. Call it karma, call it whatever you like, but justice ultimately prevails because nature has a natural preference for balance and order.
I am an eternal optimist. There is always hope. Eventually, if things get bad enough, remedial action follows shortly thereafter. It's the natural order of things.
We no longer live under a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". Now that the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has ruled that "money is speech", money has supplanted higher principles and common sense as the common denominator driving our legislation and political agendas.
Republicans as a whole seemed to have embraced this ominous change. Those with the most money now have the loudest voice. "Strength in numbers" no longer refers to people but to currency and the currents are running rather strongly in favor of those who have most of it.
Eventually, the injustices that naturally follow from such change will take their toll and "we, the people" will reach an emotional tipping point fueled by the inequities that naturally follow from politics that is largely driven by greed and power.
As is the case with all injustices, nature has a way of restoring order and balance. Call it karma, call it whatever you like, but justice ultimately prevails because nature has a natural preference for balance and order.
I am an eternal optimist. There is always hope. Eventually, if things get bad enough, remedial action follows shortly thereafter. It's the natural order of things.
10
This ridiculous if comforting optimism is readily contradicted by history.
There has been no re-balancing for the genocide of the native Americans, for example, and never will be. Thousands of other examples of injustices that will never be put right (try Googling "genocide")are easily found, if one overcomes the wishful thinking and sentimentality of the "karma" theory.
Justice is rare and precious, I wish there were more of it.
There has been no re-balancing for the genocide of the native Americans, for example, and never will be. Thousands of other examples of injustices that will never be put right (try Googling "genocide")are easily found, if one overcomes the wishful thinking and sentimentality of the "karma" theory.
Justice is rare and precious, I wish there were more of it.
19
seattle expat, I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying...Constructive change -- a restoration of balance -- involves the active engagement of people and principles...People generally don't stand idly by while they are being used and abused. In our particular case, people need to organize and vote -- in huge numbers. And if artificial barriers are erected that are designed to "silence the majority", then those barriers must be torn down. This is not a passive process that the word "karma" may have implied...Ultimately, I believe, justice will eventually prevail...To me, it's almost a mathematical principle.
5
Our dysfunction as a nation can last longer than you can stay alive.
Thanks Maynard.
Thanks Maynard.
Dr. Krugman may sound surprised about Big Pizza giving almost exclusively to Republicans, but I'm not. The Republican Party has become the party of low wages and no benefits, and Big Pizza, indeed, "have a good ideas of what they are buying."
161
Thank you Mr. Krugman we need more people like you with influence in the mass media.
20
A wild departure from your usual economic analysis, funny, and all true. How many of us now are suffering the hibernation syndrome, what with the crazy winter and the challenge presented by just going out the front door. But other than the issue of nutrition in public schools- which is very important and deserves tight controls- we face so many more critical concerns today than Corporate Food- like Citizens United, legalized tax avoidance on the Corporate level, perpetual war to end war, our drug Gulag, crippling cost of higher education, inadequate minimum wages, and the swelling of the waste line.
11
The "nutrition wars" are being waged on many fronts, from federal panels issuing dietary guidelines to writers who fancy themselves to be nutrition experts, such as Nina Teicholz, who took up arms against decades of nutrition research while promoting her new book, "The Big Fat Surprise." Dismissing decades of solid research by Dr. Dean Ornish with an arrogance that defies belief, this newcomer to the nutrition wars gives her readers the green light for eating more fat--more eggs, more meat, chicken and cheese. This kind of enticing message earned her the privilege of writing an Op-Ed article in The Times. It may be just a coincidence but her message is so in line with Big Food propaganda that she could pass as a paid spokesperson. As the nutrition controversies intensify and conflicting messages increase, the path to a healthy lifestyle has become a greater challenge to the public than ever before.
10
Lots of us were fat, sick, and pre-diabetic on the officially recommended "low fat, eat more whole grains" diet. Lots of have found health, strength, and weight loss by eating more quality meats, eggs, fish, and shellfish. These foods are both nutrient-dense and quite satiating to the appetite, and humans have been eating these foods since forever. Let's not blame new diseases on old foods.
1
Without doubt the foods you suggest, and the ones recommended by Teicholz, are healthy and enjoyable--for some people. I object to dietary advice that ignores individual differences, as though one size fits all. The problem, as I see it, is not whether eating meat, eggs and cheese is healthy, but whether unqualified generalizations about diet do more harm than good.
@William:
Ornish promotes his own brand of unqualified "one size fits all" generalizations, which is very low-to-no fat, low protein, and high carb.
Ornish promotes his own brand of unqualified "one size fits all" generalizations, which is very low-to-no fat, low protein, and high carb.
Yes the "Confederate" states, the fatest states, the least educated states, the poorest public school states, the diabetic and renal failure states are also the reddest states. Hallelujah! they are also the states with voter oppression id requirements and fervent efforts to ignore the First Amendment prohibition against government religion separation. I should mention women's rights, pro-embryo, anti-immigrant concentrations common to the "Southern strategy" bastions of "individual choice" for white men.
To paraphrase Fred Sanford: "Beauty may be skin deep but" stupid "goes to the bone". Now we know it's fat, sick, and uneducated that is a policy for major donors to the "Cause".
To paraphrase Fred Sanford: "Beauty may be skin deep but" stupid "goes to the bone". Now we know it's fat, sick, and uneducated that is a policy for major donors to the "Cause".
266
Failure to regulate pizza is now the biggest problem facing the USA? Really?
Owners and operators of pizza shops have to work hard. Every day they make their living by earning one customer and selling one pizza at a time. They can't coerce anyone into buying their product. No one ever has to eat a pizza. It is the free market at work.
What about Big Unions? They are violent and coercive organizations by their very nature, which is why they are so easily controlled by organized crime and why they need unjust laws to coerce members to pay dues in non-right-to-work states.
Big Law? The class action law industry is one of the biggest hidden taxes on productive American industry. Many of the nation's leading class action attorneys have served felony convictions and been disbarred for criminal fraud.
If I have to choose between a country run by Big Unions, Big Law, and Big Pizza, I'll take Big Pizza every time,
Owners and operators of pizza shops have to work hard. Every day they make their living by earning one customer and selling one pizza at a time. They can't coerce anyone into buying their product. No one ever has to eat a pizza. It is the free market at work.
What about Big Unions? They are violent and coercive organizations by their very nature, which is why they are so easily controlled by organized crime and why they need unjust laws to coerce members to pay dues in non-right-to-work states.
Big Law? The class action law industry is one of the biggest hidden taxes on productive American industry. Many of the nation's leading class action attorneys have served felony convictions and been disbarred for criminal fraud.
If I have to choose between a country run by Big Unions, Big Law, and Big Pizza, I'll take Big Pizza every time,
4
Owners and operators of pizza shops do not sell one pizza at a time by earning one customer at a time. Most of them are franchises of the big pizza chains that advertise heavily on TV using methods that strongly resemble propaganda.
Unions, on the other hand, have to succeed in a landscape of laws that make it almost impossible for them to organize in large companies that pay anti-labor law firms huge amounts of money to defeat them. Our government doesn't do that to pizza franchises.
Unions, on the other hand, have to succeed in a landscape of laws that make it almost impossible for them to organize in large companies that pay anti-labor law firms huge amounts of money to defeat them. Our government doesn't do that to pizza franchises.
27
What a willful misreading of a column!
34
So are workers better off at the mercy of an employment-at-will, no-benefits, minimum-wage, unknown-future-schedule employer? Explain.
2
The efficient market theory of capitalism really only works under governments that make sure that all costs of products are fully reflected in their prices. Otherwise the hidden subsidies distort the allocation of resources.
41
This is really about addiction. The archetype is the tobacco industry which for decades adjusted nicotine content to ensure its products were addictive thus making its products very hard to stop using. The public reaction in such a situation is predictable, addicts fight like crazy to hold onto their supply of a substance. So you might say that food isn't or can't be addictive but new research into carbohydrates, which pizza certainly is, suggests that one can become addicted to them. That extra slice is so tempting precisely because people crave the little molecule that splits off gluten and goes to the brain to cover endorphin receptors. There is a lot of money to be made in selling people increased access to their own joy molecules like dopamine, adrenalin, and serotonin. Corporate pushers know this.
13
Generally, those who make things are pro-Republican, and those who don't ... aren't. The Professor may call them "extractive industries" and pepperoni-peddlers, but it seems if you talk or represent or write or act for a living, that you're more likely to list left.
That's not to suggest that those who make things are superior to those who don't; but I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of what John Edwards once did for a munificent (and protected) living.
Yet it's a very Republican thing to expect people to make choices in life and live with the results, while it's a very Democratic thing to insist that elites be allowed to make choices FOR people. Hence, we have pepperoni-peddlers preferring Republicans to Democrats, and holding their noses not so much at too little cheese but more at Michael Bloomberg in his incarnation as a member of that elite that wishes to dictate good health to the multitudes.
But I love the Professor's "diet isn't purely a personal choice". It's by this conviction, claiming that every personal decision has a broader social impact, that liberals claim authority to superimpose government dicta on individual liberties. Liberals might consider that America's electoral rejection of them has more to do with contempt for this conviction than for any other reason.
Finally, the Professor's distaste notwithstanding, a ton of Americans aren't too concerned that America is becoming less "governable", as they eat their cheesy pizza and vote Republican.
That's not to suggest that those who make things are superior to those who don't; but I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of what John Edwards once did for a munificent (and protected) living.
Yet it's a very Republican thing to expect people to make choices in life and live with the results, while it's a very Democratic thing to insist that elites be allowed to make choices FOR people. Hence, we have pepperoni-peddlers preferring Republicans to Democrats, and holding their noses not so much at too little cheese but more at Michael Bloomberg in his incarnation as a member of that elite that wishes to dictate good health to the multitudes.
But I love the Professor's "diet isn't purely a personal choice". It's by this conviction, claiming that every personal decision has a broader social impact, that liberals claim authority to superimpose government dicta on individual liberties. Liberals might consider that America's electoral rejection of them has more to do with contempt for this conviction than for any other reason.
Finally, the Professor's distaste notwithstanding, a ton of Americans aren't too concerned that America is becoming less "governable", as they eat their cheesy pizza and vote Republican.
4
People who leave a lot of waste in their wakes tend to be Republicans.
11
"...a ton of Americans aren't too concerned..."
And if they eat a lot of pizza, that would equate to about 8 to 10 people.
And if they eat a lot of pizza, that would equate to about 8 to 10 people.
6
No one is making the choice for you, just asking that the information be available to make an informed choice.
15
Great column, Paul.
How ironic is it that some of the plutocrats who became rich encouraging Americans to eat an ungodly amount of unhealthy food were among the first to object to implementation of the ACA?
Our American emphasis on high carbohydrate, high calorie junk cuisine is absolutely part of the reason why we are having trouble competing in a globalized economy in which most of our competitors eat less, eat better, receive access to affordable health care, yet work fewer hours at higher wages.
How ironic is it that some of the plutocrats who became rich encouraging Americans to eat an ungodly amount of unhealthy food were among the first to object to implementation of the ACA?
Our American emphasis on high carbohydrate, high calorie junk cuisine is absolutely part of the reason why we are having trouble competing in a globalized economy in which most of our competitors eat less, eat better, receive access to affordable health care, yet work fewer hours at higher wages.
122
Makes financial sense, if you think about it. Save money by not adequately funding schools, hire poorly-educated people at low wages for a couple of decades, encourage them to eat badly and avoid doctors, then they die young before you have to pay out Social Security and Medicare for them. Limit access to contraceptives and abortion, and there's a steady stream of low wage workers who are too desperate and misinformed to object to their own exploitation.
33
Matthew....."most of our competitors eat less, eat better, receive access to affordable health care, yet work fewer hours at higher wages."
Thank you. This comparison is little discussed on our op ed pages, except sometimes by commenters. That's how we know about it.
Thank you. This comparison is little discussed on our op ed pages, except sometimes by commenters. That's how we know about it.
9
Glassyeyed, you really summed it up! This is exactly what the Republithug policies exploit.
1
Big Pizza sounds very much like a revived StaPuf Marshmallow Man toddling up toward the Capitol, intent on destroying every American's health through wallowing in non-nutritive garbage. Since I don't "do" that kind of food, eschewing it for the local Whole Foods offerings or my own kitchen's, it's easy for me to turn my back on Fast Food Inc. I cringe whenever I see McDo or Pizza Hut in France, where the customers look uniformly sheepish and ashamed, as if they were going into a sex shop. Maybe if we can stigmatise the production and consumption of non-nutritive garbage that relies hugely on USDA subsidies for corn, sugar and dairy products to be profitable, we may accomplish something after all...
6
Whole Foods - their chairman is against the ACA, too.
1
John Schnatter, the papa Johns guy, once said something along the line that the Affordable Care Act would raise the cost of his pizza by around five cents and he'd have to lay off thousands. He also is quoted as saying that a pizza cost him two dollars to make and he sells it for ten and that is why he is a billionaire. Bad food. Bad politics, bad person. Buy locally, or make it yourself.
310
I did!
3
We can't fault campaign finance because groups -- representing for-profit businesses and not-for-profit entities -- try to get their views heard by legislators. Legislators are then free to do as they choose. The pizza guys want to sell more pizza. We know this.
The government should do more to regulate what goes INTO our food -- antibiotics, GMOs, pesticides, herbicides, "pink slime", fillers, etc. -- and less about how much of it we choose to eat. I can do almost nothing to make a good choice other than look over limited "organic" or "no GMO" food in my rural area. There's not much that protects us in the mass market and that's the food most of us buy at the grocery. When it comes to my food choices, the quantity or calories, I can choose not to eat (French fries, come to mind), eat some (half of a big bagel and cream cheese), or none (the love child of a croissant and a doughnut). I have readily available information and many years of common sense.
As for the overweight. the obese or those on their way? The research seems to indicate that on average, people tend to make WORSE food decisions when menus display calorie counts. Maybe they underestimate the effect of four decisions to eat the 100 calorie higher alternative from the menu. I don't know. I do know that there's no research that extensive menu displays of calorie content works (and some reports of adverse results) and that that nobody in government is minding the food purity store very carefully.
The government should do more to regulate what goes INTO our food -- antibiotics, GMOs, pesticides, herbicides, "pink slime", fillers, etc. -- and less about how much of it we choose to eat. I can do almost nothing to make a good choice other than look over limited "organic" or "no GMO" food in my rural area. There's not much that protects us in the mass market and that's the food most of us buy at the grocery. When it comes to my food choices, the quantity or calories, I can choose not to eat (French fries, come to mind), eat some (half of a big bagel and cream cheese), or none (the love child of a croissant and a doughnut). I have readily available information and many years of common sense.
As for the overweight. the obese or those on their way? The research seems to indicate that on average, people tend to make WORSE food decisions when menus display calorie counts. Maybe they underestimate the effect of four decisions to eat the 100 calorie higher alternative from the menu. I don't know. I do know that there's no research that extensive menu displays of calorie content works (and some reports of adverse results) and that that nobody in government is minding the food purity store very carefully.
2
There's no research that extensive menu displays of calorie content work. Maybe they don't influence the choices of everyone, maybe not even a majority. But some people use them and that's good enough. Maybe the calorie info isn't displayed very well. I went to Shake Shack the other day and had trouble reading the calorie content info which was printed in light gray on a white background while the menu choices were written in black. But it was there and I read it and used it. I choose the lowest calorie option on the rare occasions when I go to places such as these. And, no, I didn't get the ice cream.
2
Blind ideology and popular préjudices that have been mired in the American political system since the advent of Ronald Reagan at the White House. Politics is reduced to the slice of Pizza.It is no surprise. It is laughable for some and cry for others.That the World greatest democracy imbued with lofty ideals of liberty,freedom and pursuit of hapiness as envisaged by the 'Founding Fathers' is marred by vested interests dominated by one aim-'to grab power'.
The debate to decrease inequality,to educate children and to meet the challenge of the climate change which are the real challenges of America,nay of the World, seems to shifts on the slice of Pizza,how nutritious or toxic it is!!!
Eighty Americans have wealth equivalent to half of the global wealth.What are they doing with the accumulated wealth when the life prospects of the children in millions are most sharply determined by the income and education of their parents.Almost a quarter of American children younger than five are living in poverty.Deprivation of the present generation shall be visited upon the next.Hence,it is time now to bring and end to ever widening existing inequality,malnutrition and deprivation amongst children of America.
The median incomes in American household are lower today than they were a quarter of century ago.Money that was supposed to 'trickle down' as promised by neo-liberal Pundits have gone to safe heavens.
To stop the wealth the riches can store in safe heaven is real political challenge.
The debate to decrease inequality,to educate children and to meet the challenge of the climate change which are the real challenges of America,nay of the World, seems to shifts on the slice of Pizza,how nutritious or toxic it is!!!
Eighty Americans have wealth equivalent to half of the global wealth.What are they doing with the accumulated wealth when the life prospects of the children in millions are most sharply determined by the income and education of their parents.Almost a quarter of American children younger than five are living in poverty.Deprivation of the present generation shall be visited upon the next.Hence,it is time now to bring and end to ever widening existing inequality,malnutrition and deprivation amongst children of America.
The median incomes in American household are lower today than they were a quarter of century ago.Money that was supposed to 'trickle down' as promised by neo-liberal Pundits have gone to safe heavens.
To stop the wealth the riches can store in safe heaven is real political challenge.
19
Slather on the ketchup. It's a vegetable in Reagan country.
6
I never go to Pizza Hut and thankfully I don't since they are big doners to the looney Republican Party's campaign coffers.
And while I enjoyed your use of pizza to illustrate the stark political divide in America, there is another more striking and frightening illustration of the huge political divide in our nation.
Just take a look at the 2012 Presidential electoral college state vote map and what you see is almost the same divide among our states that existed at the start of the Civil War. It's truly alarming.
Sadly, the Republican Party has become the party of hate, intolerance, bigotry, discrimination and anti-worker and foe of the middle class and poor.
And while I enjoyed your use of pizza to illustrate the stark political divide in America, there is another more striking and frightening illustration of the huge political divide in our nation.
Just take a look at the 2012 Presidential electoral college state vote map and what you see is almost the same divide among our states that existed at the start of the Civil War. It's truly alarming.
Sadly, the Republican Party has become the party of hate, intolerance, bigotry, discrimination and anti-worker and foe of the middle class and poor.
57
Gresham's law warns that there is only a race to the bottom if no regulator puts a floor under business practices.
6
The inclination to "own" people runs deep in the Grand Old Prevaricator party (I must acknowledge Socrates for that perfect moniker). I was disgusted by Rand Paul stating during his defense of not vaccinating children that we "own" them. Nobody owns any body. We don't own children, we are charged with their care and upbringing, but we don't own them.
Making your product partisan is such a great idea. The consumer gets to exercise his political feelings by when shopping for products. We can also presume that somebody eating Pizza is a Republican. Perhaps in addition to allowing business owners not to serve customers who have a lifestyle their religion doesn't approve of, imagine the store that requires that you show your political party membership before being allowed in the store.
I always thought that capitalists were about making money not playing politics. Apparently businesses are capable of making a living from customers of a single political party. Great idea - that will work.
I always thought that capitalists were about making money not playing politics. Apparently businesses are capable of making a living from customers of a single political party. Great idea - that will work.
59
Now I understand why Mayor DiBlasio eats pizza so gingerly.
3
Capitalism can't extract money at the rates it weeks without controlling the levers of government regulation. "Deregulation" actually means regulation in ways that permit maximum short-term gain for a few. I believe it's less obvious in the example Mr. Krugman gives, but it's clear that monetary firepower buys you a government, and the government that bought and paid for is less likely to rule against the tiny minority doing the buying.
8
I think New Yorkers would throw DiBlasio out of office if they ever caught him eating Pizza Hut or Papa Johns. Not because of politics, but because of pizza.
4
Food is deeper than religion, from my experience, and religion is a huge problem in and of itself, in the word and in the US, as the recent events in Alabama, as an example, illustrate only all too well. Depending on where you live and where you shop, I suppose, a trip to the local supermarket can be an eye opening experience, as you wait on line at the checkout and take a gander at the contents of the carts around you. It becomes pretty obvious that they are not listening to Ms. Obama. That is a certainty, but you almost wonder if these people are just making poor choices to be spiteful, as if everyone has regressed to the level of a school child. Even more depressing is looking at the contents of the carts of older citizens. To some degree it is almost frightening, when you think of the sacrifices these people are making in their food choices just to afford to stay alive. And then we have businesses like PaPa Johns that is anti Obamacare and anti worker, and the Chicken people who are anti gay, and the apparently burgeoning effort in some states to enact laws to permit businesses to refuse to serve certain types of customers on religious grounds. Exactly how that type of law would work in practice is not clear. Nor is anything in our society today, which appears more and more like a rag tag bunch of misfits, who are incapable of helping themselves, and these are the people who preach independence and self reliance, as if we were still on the 18the Century.
14
Papa John CEO John Schnatter CEO famously railed against the ACA and was a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser.
He claimed that health care reform would force his company to increase pizza prices by 10-14 cents a pie and would cost his $1.4 billion pizza company $5 to 8 million annually; a Forbes analysis claimed the real cost was less than 10 cents a pie and less than a 1% increase in costs.
Schattner also vastly overstated the number of his employees that would be impacted since most of his profits come franchisees who employee well under the 50 people threshold covered by the ACA.
And of course many Papa John employees are poor part-timers struggling to make ends meet who can least afford healthcare.
So Big Pizza is no different than Big Energy, Big Money (Banks and Wall St), Big War, Big Guns and Big Cable and other craven supporters of the Greedy Old Party - they want no oversight, no rules of the road, no regulation, no 'public' information and no responsibility for their systematic strip-mining of the American consumer and American worker for maximum psychopathic greed.
And it's not just that GOP supporters don't want Americans to have any information about how they're being ripped off by Big Pizza and Company, these nefarious actors want Americans to have the WRONG information so they can continue to deceive them and take their money, their health, their employee rights, their safety and their futures away from them for 0.1% profit.
Greedy Old Prevaricators
He claimed that health care reform would force his company to increase pizza prices by 10-14 cents a pie and would cost his $1.4 billion pizza company $5 to 8 million annually; a Forbes analysis claimed the real cost was less than 10 cents a pie and less than a 1% increase in costs.
Schattner also vastly overstated the number of his employees that would be impacted since most of his profits come franchisees who employee well under the 50 people threshold covered by the ACA.
And of course many Papa John employees are poor part-timers struggling to make ends meet who can least afford healthcare.
So Big Pizza is no different than Big Energy, Big Money (Banks and Wall St), Big War, Big Guns and Big Cable and other craven supporters of the Greedy Old Party - they want no oversight, no rules of the road, no regulation, no 'public' information and no responsibility for their systematic strip-mining of the American consumer and American worker for maximum psychopathic greed.
And it's not just that GOP supporters don't want Americans to have any information about how they're being ripped off by Big Pizza and Company, these nefarious actors want Americans to have the WRONG information so they can continue to deceive them and take their money, their health, their employee rights, their safety and their futures away from them for 0.1% profit.
Greedy Old Prevaricators
753
It's time Fat became a political issue. There's something about food stamps as the only resource that contributes to all of this. Stuck unemployed in a diabetes belt state two years ago I finally succumbed and accepted food stamps. For the first time in my 50 years, I had trouble watching my weight. I bought healthy food too, not just fat and carbs. It creeped on my awareness that the only way I could reward myself was with food. I literally had no cash to buy anything else. Every penny I could scratch together went to bills and the occasional roll of toilet paper, soap and shampoo and other essential toiletries that you can't buy with food stamps. Once I realized what it was, I chose other things like the right to get up from looking for a job to go for a walk or a bike ride. I choose smaller plates from the cupboard, the pretty ones I never used to add pleasure rather than calories. I found a cardio glider a generation behind what's popular now at Goodwill on half off day.
I hate to say it but maybe obesity needs to become politicized. Not attacking obesity but the enabelers of it from Big Pizza to sedentary jobs that won't let you get up from your desk without checking in and out of a data tracker system, anything that adds to habits that enable obesity. Big money republicans are going to the bank on the correlation between obesity, poverty and just trying to evade despair, usually with food and liquor.
I hate to say it but maybe obesity needs to become politicized. Not attacking obesity but the enabelers of it from Big Pizza to sedentary jobs that won't let you get up from your desk without checking in and out of a data tracker system, anything that adds to habits that enable obesity. Big money republicans are going to the bank on the correlation between obesity, poverty and just trying to evade despair, usually with food and liquor.
9
Why is it that the problems come top down like Big Pharma Agra and Pizza and the solutions are always bottom up? Like an individual choice to eat more healthy when it takes more effort to evade the only food available when you forgot or were too busy to bring your lunch on the half hour you get to eat it and do personal business?
5
Schnatter is a regular attendee to the Koch brothers annual soiree. No surprise there: no minimum wage increase and the right to make American obese.
5
Sometimes I feel like the Republican must think that the American people are dumb as pitchfork handles. And if American people pickup the newspaper and read the headline "Republicans have Plan" and believe it...Well, the proof is in the pudding and so far there is no plan and no pudding, sadly..
8
Pizza Hut boycotted...CHECK!
14
You left out that guy from Papa Johns. You know the guy pushing that rubber he calls pizza? He is so worried that someone that works in one of his sweat shops will get health insurance that he may have to sell one of his 10 houses or whatever. My motto for the next election is "Who votes for these guys?"
PS: Does the GOP stand for the Grand Obese Party? Me thinks so.
PS: Does the GOP stand for the Grand Obese Party? Me thinks so.
12
Isn't it amazing how the free-market restricts our choices by giving us less information on which to decide? And how some in government want to protect these restrictions to keep us uninformed?
There is a knowledge cost in this country, and the absence of information is being turned into profit, whether by charter schools or pizza companies or through basic investment decisions about health and life. In markets, wealth and knowledge have a negative correlation. The wider the gap, the greater the ability to exploit.
In the political economy right now, the politics are dominating the economy and the politics has taken square aim at consumers. Strip the wage, restrict the choice, call it freedom, extract the wealth, and treat death as another GM recall.
The political economy has turned work into a commodity, made investors into a royal class, the wealthy into imperial overlords, while restricting the ways knowledge of all kinds is received and used. The dumb shall be poor and overweight, more valued as consumers than producers.
There is a knowledge cost in this country, and the absence of information is being turned into profit, whether by charter schools or pizza companies or through basic investment decisions about health and life. In markets, wealth and knowledge have a negative correlation. The wider the gap, the greater the ability to exploit.
In the political economy right now, the politics are dominating the economy and the politics has taken square aim at consumers. Strip the wage, restrict the choice, call it freedom, extract the wealth, and treat death as another GM recall.
The political economy has turned work into a commodity, made investors into a royal class, the wealthy into imperial overlords, while restricting the ways knowledge of all kinds is received and used. The dumb shall be poor and overweight, more valued as consumers than producers.
33
Evidently this is how corporate persons pursue happiness.
4
Don't try analogies to win an argument about campaign finance reform. It's too complicated for the conservative mind to equate. You mention their food and the reasoning stops. In my short lifetime I have witnessed the American people become extremely unhealthy, uneducated and close minded. The manipulation of the masses is beyond disturbing, it's frightening.
10
The idea that bad food is cheaper is one of those falsehoods that is repeated endlessly. The least expensive food is the least processed, the common fruits, vegetables, meats, whole grains, nuts and dairy products. But it requires home preparation, which might actually be one of the bigger underlying problems.
Once food is processed, boxed and bottled in eye catching packaging, the cost, additives and carb count goes up and nutritional benefit goes down. But the convenience factor has shifted our preferences. Think of the popular Lunchables that millions of kids have taken to school, full of highly processed food and additives like sodium nitrite.
And it turns out the science behind low fat and high cholesterol was deeply flawed. The 2014 documentary "Fed Up" traces the big USDA cheese campaign to the shift to low fat milk, which created a huge dairy fat surplus, aka cheese.
Thats how pizza became a school lunch mainstay.
Once food is processed, boxed and bottled in eye catching packaging, the cost, additives and carb count goes up and nutritional benefit goes down. But the convenience factor has shifted our preferences. Think of the popular Lunchables that millions of kids have taken to school, full of highly processed food and additives like sodium nitrite.
And it turns out the science behind low fat and high cholesterol was deeply flawed. The 2014 documentary "Fed Up" traces the big USDA cheese campaign to the shift to low fat milk, which created a huge dairy fat surplus, aka cheese.
Thats how pizza became a school lunch mainstay.
6
Sadly, Look Ahead, preparing a meal from fresh meat and fresh vegetables is often more expense per portion than using frozen prepared meals. Check the supermarket prices.
2
The love handle choice as we see
Is the hallmark of democracy,
An excess of cheese
Is certain to please,
As waistlines roam boundless and free!
Is the hallmark of democracy,
An excess of cheese
Is certain to please,
As waistlines roam boundless and free!
184
Larry - One of your best! Particularly enjoyable : "The love handle choice" and "As waistlines roam boundless and free". Loved that last image.
Keep cooking these up please. Boundless appetites await your next confection!
Keep cooking these up please. Boundless appetites await your next confection!
Thanks you Larry! It's been a while since I saw you in these threads. You have been missed!
@Larry Eisenberg:
Good one, particularly the last line.
Good one, particularly the last line.
Misinformation, disinformation, no information.
That's the Republican way.
That's the Republican way.
16
We could wait a generation or so for nature to, shall we say, run it's course. That should assist in the demographic shift too many Democrats are counting on to correct our political drift to the right.
Or look forward to the blow back when the diabetics, their friends and families figure out where their recently acquired insurance went, assuming the Democrats (Remember what Roy Rodgers said) can articulate a message about who to blame.
Meanwhile, I resolve to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
And Granola.
Or look forward to the blow back when the diabetics, their friends and families figure out where their recently acquired insurance went, assuming the Democrats (Remember what Roy Rodgers said) can articulate a message about who to blame.
Meanwhile, I resolve to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
And Granola.
2
There's gold in them thar slices. When I was growing up in the D.C. suburbs, there was no such thing as pizza delivery. My mother was a lousy but passable cook; my father could cook okay over a campfire. My parents rarely had spare money for eating out, so it was the rare treat to go to McDonalds, where today's "small" l coke is larger than yesterday's "large" If we saw a grossly obese person in those days, my mother would say that they had a "glandular problem." Now we see them everyday. I knew two fat kids all the way through high school—where there were no vending machines. It was considered wrong. Now schools depend on the revenue from them. It's just good capitalism.
Big Pizza is as much metaphor as synecdoche for our current political polarization, as Dr. Krugman points out. But, unlike other politically charged "debates," where the issue can be straightforward even when disinformation abounds, the sources of diabetes, obesity and overweight are less easy to know. Big Pizza would prefer to keep it that way, and apparently the Republicans are more than willing to be the "party of stupid." Not the Kochs et al—no stupid there—but the rest of us. Long as we're stupid—and it's exceedingly difficult to understand what the heck we're supposed to eat—everything will be fine.
In a perhaps bitter irony, Ray Kroc, McDonalds founder, and his daughter both died of diabetes. More a coincidence than a result, but it should give us pause.
Big Pizza is as much metaphor as synecdoche for our current political polarization, as Dr. Krugman points out. But, unlike other politically charged "debates," where the issue can be straightforward even when disinformation abounds, the sources of diabetes, obesity and overweight are less easy to know. Big Pizza would prefer to keep it that way, and apparently the Republicans are more than willing to be the "party of stupid." Not the Kochs et al—no stupid there—but the rest of us. Long as we're stupid—and it's exceedingly difficult to understand what the heck we're supposed to eat—everything will be fine.
In a perhaps bitter irony, Ray Kroc, McDonalds founder, and his daughter both died of diabetes. More a coincidence than a result, but it should give us pause.
307
You nailed it.
A few years ago, three McDonald's CEOs die from heart attacks. Wendy had two successive CEOs also die from heart problems.
Money must be important.
Money must be important.
I've never seen the word, "synecdoche" in a letter to the editor. I'll bet hundreds of people learned a new word today...
2
Most corporations are conservative by their very nature and I don't expect corporations to for the ordinary working people. The only corporation I can think of that ordinary working people look up to is Costco, only one, which is really sad. Maybe folks can think of some more?
4
Google?
1
Pundits and the public are often deceived; remember when George W. Bush was a moderate, and Chris Christie a reasonable guy who could reach out to Democrats? Major donors, however, generally have a very good idea of what they are buying, so tracking their spending tells you a lot.
[ Elegantly clear and cogent passage. ]
[ Elegantly clear and cogent passage. ]
70
"Fat, dumb, and Republican is no way to go through life, son."
658
I laughed out loud at this. "Knowledge is Good."
3
Legal bribery is our system.
We must desire this, since we refuse to elect people who advocate reform, and reelect people who love the status quo.
We must desire this, since we refuse to elect people who advocate reform, and reelect people who love the status quo.
10
I don't vote for these people. I don't "deserve" them.
5
I suspect that the Pizza lobby also opposes Obamacare, and hikes in the minimum wage. I know that the founder of Papa John's has come out swinging against the Affordable Care Act.
27
Thanks, unpaid pundit. I have been getting pizza at Papa John's, partly because of the political positions of the owner of Dominos. I will now also take Papa John's off my list. And, it looks like I'll also have to take Pizza Hut off my list.
Ah well, there are a couple of small owner-operated pizzerias in my neighborhood.
Ah well, there are a couple of small owner-operated pizzerias in my neighborhood.
6
Lots of your columns, Paul, concern VERY BIG topics; this one concerns a topic small enough to matter to almost everyone.
An argument no corporation or group has *ever* made is this: "If this were to become law or policy, I would make less money." That sentiment is easy to understand. It does *not* brand the one who says it as "evil" -- merely as human.
But no one ever, ever makes it. One cannot imagine why.
An argument no corporation or group has *ever* made is this: "If this were to become law or policy, I would make less money." That sentiment is easy to understand. It does *not* brand the one who says it as "evil" -- merely as human.
But no one ever, ever makes it. One cannot imagine why.
9
So people who eat pizza devolving/mutating into giant obese diabetic Repulicans?
2
Just an other example of corporate money poisoning the political process. Corporations definitely are not people
17
Democrats were a labor and union party, but not for a while, obviously. But where else can working, salaried voters go, with 2 parties, both needing millions to run? Decades ago it was cheaper to campaign, so the Dems could afford to be for unions. You might stress this contrast.
Now the nation now waits in suspense---how much will Hillary stay tethered to her big money backers, or will she frankly come out for the ‘common people’ in a campaign?
The biggest scam on voters is this ‘Nanny State’ idea, flattering people that regulation of business is interferes with their ‘choice’, independence, & freedom itself. Only dictatorships regulate business, so it’s un-American.
Convincing millions of voters of this has shown how gullible voters can be--- led by the nose, swallowing the flattery that they’re too smart to need govt to 'interpose' itself for their benefit.
So privatize, starve public budgets, underpay taxes. This makes the transfer of wealth upward easier. Then voters cling stubbornly to the very policies that undermine them.
That is exactly how the 1 percent elites now own more of the country than ever. And why the earnings, education, health and retirement are all up for sale to profit centers. That’s how we stay ‘free’.
Krugman might tackle the taboo topic of campaign finance reform, directly related. Contrast our costly system with publicly funded elections abroad, free media time and multi parties giving voters some choice and representation. Boring?
Now the nation now waits in suspense---how much will Hillary stay tethered to her big money backers, or will she frankly come out for the ‘common people’ in a campaign?
The biggest scam on voters is this ‘Nanny State’ idea, flattering people that regulation of business is interferes with their ‘choice’, independence, & freedom itself. Only dictatorships regulate business, so it’s un-American.
Convincing millions of voters of this has shown how gullible voters can be--- led by the nose, swallowing the flattery that they’re too smart to need govt to 'interpose' itself for their benefit.
So privatize, starve public budgets, underpay taxes. This makes the transfer of wealth upward easier. Then voters cling stubbornly to the very policies that undermine them.
That is exactly how the 1 percent elites now own more of the country than ever. And why the earnings, education, health and retirement are all up for sale to profit centers. That’s how we stay ‘free’.
Krugman might tackle the taboo topic of campaign finance reform, directly related. Contrast our costly system with publicly funded elections abroad, free media time and multi parties giving voters some choice and representation. Boring?
67
The food purveyors in the ' diabetes belt ' don't want any discussion about the free jumbo sodas the come with super-sizing, nutritional content, or school lunch slim-downs that would make it harder for football players to get through practice.
Why, the next thing will be a discussion about how there are more ' white ' people on food stamps:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/28/food-stamp-demographics_n_67719...
which undermines the entire ethos and raison-d'etre of being a GOP'er !
Outrageous facts/lies and their durned lib'rul bias must be shouted down.
Why, the next thing will be a discussion about how there are more ' white ' people on food stamps:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/28/food-stamp-demographics_n_67719...
which undermines the entire ethos and raison-d'etre of being a GOP'er !
Outrageous facts/lies and their durned lib'rul bias must be shouted down.
18
Whenever Republicans start talking about a "nanny state", or "personal choice", or "entitlements", it's time to turn on the lie detectors. What invariably follows is bombast directed against any action by government that might just possibly benefit some actual living, breathing person as opposed to some corporation like Pizza Hut or a thousand others.
Understand, to the Republican mind, the "nanny state" is fine when it comes to corporate subsidies, like those for Big Ag and Big Oil, or eliminating corporate taxes, it's just these 99% slackers looking for handouts like the Social Security they paid for, that are causing all these deficits. And, of course, "personal choice" is a great way to wreck public education, while creating a few more crony capitalists in the charter school industry.Or to defend the American diet, which is literally killing people. Not to mention exploding our already outrageous health costs. What's really amazing is anyone that still listens to their mindless propaganda.
Understand, to the Republican mind, the "nanny state" is fine when it comes to corporate subsidies, like those for Big Ag and Big Oil, or eliminating corporate taxes, it's just these 99% slackers looking for handouts like the Social Security they paid for, that are causing all these deficits. And, of course, "personal choice" is a great way to wreck public education, while creating a few more crony capitalists in the charter school industry.Or to defend the American diet, which is literally killing people. Not to mention exploding our already outrageous health costs. What's really amazing is anyone that still listens to their mindless propaganda.
328
Can you imagine a country that votes in leaders who allow corporations to undermine their security and health, that dismantles laws that protect unions, min wage, and food safety? That lets health care costs soar beyond the reach of most? That underfunds schools and lets rapacious food producers take over school lunches for profit? The record is there, yet voters are trained to distrust their own elected govt—enabling a coup in a democracy.
11
Or the biggest handout of all - the $1 Trillion per year wasted on endless Wars benefiting the Merchants of Death, the Oil companies and multinational Corporations for their access to resources and profits, and the Southern states who disproportionately house military bases and have huge sums of money siphoned from progressive states to them. This is ignored because neoliberal Democrats, allegedly progressive, do not want to lose their own handouts from the endless War machine even if they actually cost their States money overall. At some point this has to end...
6
The nanny state is also fine when it comes to shouting down anything but Christianity and telling women what to do with their bodies and increasingly with their lives. It's also fine when allowing the NRA to tell us all we must have a gun so more children are murdered.
8
The only pie we have to fear is the chart showing that the world's 80 richest billionaires own as much wealth as half the global population. Or the one showing that the Waltons have as much money as the bottom 40% of American families. Or the fat cat CEO scarfing down the deluxe topping, forcing the workers to compete for their 1/300th share of leftover crust.
Fresh healthy food is expensive. Despite decreasing costs of petroleum, which is used for food production and packaging, you don't see your grocery bill coming down, do you? If you rely on food stamps, which were cut yet again in another "bipartisan" deal by the millionaires of Congress, you quickly find that frozen pizza or mac n cheese fills hungry bellies better than a couple of sacks of applies and oranges sold at the same price.
And it's not just junk food that causes weight gain. It's lack of sleep. People working unsteady shifts might have to close late and open up early. Or they have to feed their kids on the fly because they work two or three jobs. The sleep-deprived have higher cortisol levels, which stimulate appetite. This makes them less sensitive to insulin, putting them at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Workers forced to stay awake just to stay alive tend to eat cheap foods that help them function.
It's the plutocratic Domino effect: precarious jobs, low wages, no time, no hope... and a big smirking goodbye kiss from the GOP to all the tumble-down disposable people.
http://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/
Fresh healthy food is expensive. Despite decreasing costs of petroleum, which is used for food production and packaging, you don't see your grocery bill coming down, do you? If you rely on food stamps, which were cut yet again in another "bipartisan" deal by the millionaires of Congress, you quickly find that frozen pizza or mac n cheese fills hungry bellies better than a couple of sacks of applies and oranges sold at the same price.
And it's not just junk food that causes weight gain. It's lack of sleep. People working unsteady shifts might have to close late and open up early. Or they have to feed their kids on the fly because they work two or three jobs. The sleep-deprived have higher cortisol levels, which stimulate appetite. This makes them less sensitive to insulin, putting them at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Workers forced to stay awake just to stay alive tend to eat cheap foods that help them function.
It's the plutocratic Domino effect: precarious jobs, low wages, no time, no hope... and a big smirking goodbye kiss from the GOP to all the tumble-down disposable people.
http://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/
498
Karen....I love it, the plutocratic Domino effect, distorting our pie chart. But what do the pie charts look like in other advanced democracies with better wealth distribution? Even Krugman once admitted there are other nations with better middle class security--I think it was on the Bill Moyers show. That's the visual pie comparison we need to grasp how unhealthy our big money political ingredients are. We get continual ain't it awful columns with no contrasting examples to offer concrete antidotes to our sick system.
5
"The sleep-deprived have higher cortisol levels"
Thank you for mentioning that, Karen. Sleep deprivation is a very important concern.
Even without the findings of science, it's obvious that without enough sleep, it's easy to resort to junk food to maintain the energy to do one's job.
As for home cooking on top of everything else one has to do - forget it.
But it's so much more comforting to see the poor as lazy and gluttonous.
Thank you for mentioning that, Karen. Sleep deprivation is a very important concern.
Even without the findings of science, it's obvious that without enough sleep, it's easy to resort to junk food to maintain the energy to do one's job.
As for home cooking on top of everything else one has to do - forget it.
But it's so much more comforting to see the poor as lazy and gluttonous.
4
Surprised there's no mention here of the other big federal issue for big pizza: the ACA. The employer mandate doesn't hit small companies (<50 employees) and it doesn't matter much to big companies that already offer health benefits (which is almost all of them). The main impact has been on really big companies with a lot of low-wage labor, viz the pizza giants. Which is why they've been whining, adding 10-cent "health insurance surcharges" to pizzas and muttering darkly about imposing 29-hour workweeks.
87
Science, data! We don't need no stinking science. This seems to drive right wingers today. Forget food, the GOP base still thinks the Universe is less than 10,000 years old and evolution is a plot from Satan. This is what gets me about trying to discuss the issues today, a huge part of the electorate does not live in the real world. The problem for the right and why they fight it:
Reality has a liberal bias.
Reality has a liberal bias.
940
I am a big fan of science. My husband is a working scientist (PhD) in physics. I am a great fan of Dr Krugman. Having said that I think it is fair to say that the science behind nutrition is not quite at the level of, say, evolution. Yesterday, eating cholesterol rich foods was bad,bad. Today, not so much. Yesterday fat of any kind was the great demon. Today, refined sugar is rapidly replacing it in the pantheon of evil. This is not to say that the best diet is 100% fat or refined sugar. Obviously. However, there might be a shed of common sense employed here in nutrition. I volunteer in one of our local public schools and many of the students I see are very down on the new school lunches. OK, school lunches have never been great favorites but still the usual complaint is that the lunches have changed, and changed for the worse. This leads to leaving school for chips and sodas. I am with you, "reality does have a liberal bias," but I am not sure that enough facts (as opposed to even "expert" opinion) exist in this area to be quite certain of the ideal diet.
3
Religion. Particularly christianity is the basis for these attitudes. And the conservative right wants it to intrude even further into our lives. It is a virus. See also the attitude about vaccination.
2
That's 'stinkin' science to you. Progress and justice have a liberal bias.
3
We can assume, then, that the Republican dominated congress will soon be extending an invitation to have the head of the Corleone family come and speak to a joint session of congress on the virtues of eating pizza, all pizza, all the time, without making any deference to the President.
Recently a fake news/comedy show demonstrated how Australia (I think it was) puts pictures of diseased lungs or rotted gums on the package of cigarettes. Perhaps something on that order could be done in the Junk Food industry. Instead of having nice logos outside Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Arby's, Burger King or McDonalds, have a picture of some people who are suffering from morbid obesity.
I do believe that would be in the realm of the possible, if we had publicly financed elections, and perhaps like Australia, mandate that forces everyone to vote. Fat chance (I couldn't resist myself, but then if I could, I'd never eat pizza) of that ever happening here.
Recently a fake news/comedy show demonstrated how Australia (I think it was) puts pictures of diseased lungs or rotted gums on the package of cigarettes. Perhaps something on that order could be done in the Junk Food industry. Instead of having nice logos outside Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Arby's, Burger King or McDonalds, have a picture of some people who are suffering from morbid obesity.
I do believe that would be in the realm of the possible, if we had publicly financed elections, and perhaps like Australia, mandate that forces everyone to vote. Fat chance (I couldn't resist myself, but then if I could, I'd never eat pizza) of that ever happening here.
23
The main reason the pizza and junk food industries fight smart childhood nutrition programs, especially in the schools is conditioning.
They know the profitability of conditioning children to prefer their products which are high fat, salty and full of sugar.
They know the profitability of conditioning children to prefer their products which are high fat, salty and full of sugar.
54
They haven't seen the pizza in the cafeteria!
2
I heard of study yesterday that lab mice who had been previously introduced to cocaine for a period of time quickly abandoned the cocaine when sugar and salt were placed in their food dishes. what does that tell you.
I would have liked to have heard which party 'big money' gives their wealth to. I think it's clear, but having facts can help the argument. I'm from Arkansas, and want to ask some of the low-income folks in the South why they vote just like the richest Americans. Do they think their issues (primarily abortion, guns, state's rights, culture) really have any clout when compared to the issues of the rich (taxation of wealth, income, property; with corresponding de-emphasis on social safety net and equality)? Me thinks not.
At my father's funeral, the only Hispanic speaker said, 'Don, was the only stockbroker I knew that was a Democrat.' Many folks chuckled. But, as his son, I felt proud, and heard a truth. We Democrats care for the 'lesser of mine', that should be our rallying cry. We are our brother and sister's keeper. We're here to love.
As committed humanity we must stand up stronger to 'big money' that pushes for more and more inequity and disrespect and ultimate destruction of life and lives. Sorry that's our lot; no choice. Maybe the next generation can benefit from our fight for the basic survival of an actual 'civilized' nation. A great dream it is.
At my father's funeral, the only Hispanic speaker said, 'Don, was the only stockbroker I knew that was a Democrat.' Many folks chuckled. But, as his son, I felt proud, and heard a truth. We Democrats care for the 'lesser of mine', that should be our rallying cry. We are our brother and sister's keeper. We're here to love.
As committed humanity we must stand up stronger to 'big money' that pushes for more and more inequity and disrespect and ultimate destruction of life and lives. Sorry that's our lot; no choice. Maybe the next generation can benefit from our fight for the basic survival of an actual 'civilized' nation. A great dream it is.
109
Religious voters vote for the betterment of their afterlives.
8
ha...funny...maybe that's what they're told and how they see it....
Too bad the religious "right" will have to wait until they are dead to learn they voted for the wrong party, and God is holding them responsible for the demise of a great country like America, and that their votes harmed countless millions.
4
The people defending personal choice and responsibility have already limited the food choices of low income people. Namely they can afford pizza and other high calorie foods but not healthier foods. So labeling the high calorie stuff is only part of the issue. The high calorie stuff is ubiquitous and addictive. If cows and pigs were treated better across America then people claiming the right to extra cheese and pepperoni would pay more. On a positive note McDonalds say they are only going to buy antibiotic free chicken in future.
122
Low income people ea poorly because they don't cook. The elimination of Home Economics classes is the cause of this buying of packaged meals and poor spending habits. Students take out loans without consideration of the cost to borrow because they cannot compute it. Ask you nearest college student if he's heard of the rule of 72? Shoppers don't buy sale items to build up a larder to hold costs down. My Mother had 8 children and got 2-3 meals out of one pot of chicken soup and a fourth from croquettes. A bowl of rice with milk or pastina made with eggs thrown in instead of boxed cereals. Why can't SNAP recipients live on what they get? Just look at what they buy.
8
Sorry, Home Economics isn't on "The Test", and in addition to that, education is being de-funded, especially in republican states, not the other way around. Oh, and SNAP? Look for that to be taken from all of those "moochers" who should get off the couch and look for a job. Maybe Pizza Hut is hiring. Unless of course some destructive minimum wage is implemented.
20
When it comes to McDonalds, its recent announcement about chicken is comparable to telling Wall Street that it's decided to move on from making buggy whips. Far, far too little; far, far too late!
3
The "diabetes belt" caught my attention. It is in so many other measurable ways the most disadvantaged region in the country; government program funds flow in that direction, intended to solve many of those problems and providing a net surplus in the tax trade; and yet the Republicans have found their "base" there, from which to argue that government and taxes are bad, like the Devil's instruments. Common sense tells us what is wrong with this picture, but what will it take to change it?
719
Another major factor which is probably the biggest obesity contributor outside of junk food is Auto Addiction. And no doubt those Southern counties also have the least Green public transit options.
See this study:
http://news.illinois.edu/news/11/0511obesity_SheldonJacobson.html
"...After analyzing data from national statistics measured between 1985 and 2007, Jacobson discovered vehicle use correlated "in the 99-percent range" with national annual obesity rates.
"If we drive more, we become heavier as a nation, and the cumulative lack of activity may eventually lead to, at the aggregate level, obesity," he said.
Jacobson chose annual vehicle miles traveled as a proxy for a person's sedentary time because inactivity is most obvious when you are sitting in a car."
Of course it costs way more money and resources and causes more pollution to support Auto Addiction only as well as lives - cars are the major source of deaths for young people in the US.
But somehow this nevers gets mentioned...
See this study:
http://news.illinois.edu/news/11/0511obesity_SheldonJacobson.html
"...After analyzing data from national statistics measured between 1985 and 2007, Jacobson discovered vehicle use correlated "in the 99-percent range" with national annual obesity rates.
"If we drive more, we become heavier as a nation, and the cumulative lack of activity may eventually lead to, at the aggregate level, obesity," he said.
Jacobson chose annual vehicle miles traveled as a proxy for a person's sedentary time because inactivity is most obvious when you are sitting in a car."
Of course it costs way more money and resources and causes more pollution to support Auto Addiction only as well as lives - cars are the major source of deaths for young people in the US.
But somehow this nevers gets mentioned...
5
Stop gerrymandering congressional districts is what it'll take. The elections are rigged by them, and don't reflect the true will of the citizens. Divide by gerrymander and conquer.
5
More people will have to get sick & die from causes directly related to "food." Hospitals should be required to put contributory causes on death certificates in large block letters.
2
Maybe it is the other way around, the spam investment rate is the same everywhere, but democrats don't eat junk food because they are not prone for cheap advertising or election campaigns.
My grandmother cooked and baked with lard and butter. We lived in Wisconsin, America's Dairyland, and she wouldn't allow margarine in her house when it went on the market --- it wasn't good for Wisconsin's dairy farmers. She understood solidarity, another thing we've lost. She never had a weight problem and ate bacon and eggs fried in rendered bacon fat every day. But she didn't have a car, walked to the grocery store and the bus stop and washed with a wringer washing machine. So don't be so quick to stigmatize the diets of others. There's more to it than we understand.
25
Evolution. Pizza Politics also touch on Evolution.
A primatologist, Richard Wrangham, explains how eating cooked tubers has affected hominid brain size. I have not contacted him, but I assume that his next study is to assess the causes of the devolution of Republican cognition. Presumably he could tie research into pizza eating together with his work on Demonic Males.
A primatologist, Richard Wrangham, explains how eating cooked tubers has affected hominid brain size. I have not contacted him, but I assume that his next study is to assess the causes of the devolution of Republican cognition. Presumably he could tie research into pizza eating together with his work on Demonic Males.
7
The Big Food forces are managing a fairly convincing campaign:
"Circulating photo set accurately compares school lunches from other countries with American offerings that are paltry due to the interference of Michelle Obama." (Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/education/lunchphotos.asp#IIh70wjjeWu7ljK... )
That Big Food campaign is successful enough that Snopes felt they had to step in and present the truth. Silly Snopes: the people who demand children's right to eat junk for lunch (and pay for it, TANSTAAFL) proudly proclaim that everything on Snopes is a left-wing lie, no matter how much proof or evidence Snopes puts up (since the advocates of junk lunches never read proof or evidence, for the reasons Mr Krugman quotes Mr Sinclair as stating).
"Circulating photo set accurately compares school lunches from other countries with American offerings that are paltry due to the interference of Michelle Obama." (Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/education/lunchphotos.asp#IIh70wjjeWu7ljK... )
That Big Food campaign is successful enough that Snopes felt they had to step in and present the truth. Silly Snopes: the people who demand children's right to eat junk for lunch (and pay for it, TANSTAAFL) proudly proclaim that everything on Snopes is a left-wing lie, no matter how much proof or evidence Snopes puts up (since the advocates of junk lunches never read proof or evidence, for the reasons Mr Krugman quotes Mr Sinclair as stating).
10
If the republicans "know what's best" for America, how come republican states are the worst places to be?
464
More employment and less poverty is "worse?" Net migratation flows to the "worst" states? Come on...
2
The recent behavior of many of these pizza companies has become rather embarrassing (e.g., John Schnatter on the PPACA), but they are only taking after so many others who continue to pollute society by hiding behind the "free to choose" rhetoric. They always avoid the real question, which is not do Americans have the "freedom" to eat the unhealthiest food possible (particular pizzas would qualify for the title) but do other Americans have the right to ask, "Hey, I'm paying for your health care, now and later, so shouldn't I have a say in this? Shouldn't you know what you are buying and consuming before you do? And don't you care what your kids are eating at school?" Republican venom directed toward school lunch reforms has also become a less-than-subtle way of personally attacking the First Lady. It's increasingly crude and nasty. "The Republican base doesn't much like experts, science, or evidence." Indeed.
141
The problem with this type of argument is that people who eat badly (or smoke) die younger and therefore have much LOWER overall costs to the healthcare system. I am in favor of people eating healthy food (and not smoking) even though I know it will cost much more in my taxes going to their full-life healthcare costs. One cannot decide on goals based on money.
5
Expat - You claim that "people who eat badly (or smoke) die younger and therefore have much LOWER overall costs to the healthcare system."
Would you please give some references on this.
My experience watching people dying "young" is that their care as they approach death is extremely expensive. (Yes, I know this is mere anecdote, and that is why I am asking you to give some backup to your assertion.)
Would you please give some references on this.
My experience watching people dying "young" is that their care as they approach death is extremely expensive. (Yes, I know this is mere anecdote, and that is why I am asking you to give some backup to your assertion.)
16
seattle expat: dying represents one of biggest health care costs.
2
The point would seem to be money, the astonishing amounts of money gobbled up in campaigns for election so that on any issue no matter the actual clarity what counts is where the money will be coming from to influence legislators on deciding the issue.
27
Well at least it's not unconstitutional. The pizza that is, not the tax-payer fubded diabetes treatments.
2
The other thing is that it seems, based on what you said about the South, the food and diabetes, I guess the market really will decide. These are invariably the states that reject the ACA, so, to paraphrase Marie Antoinette: "Let them eat pizza".