To be Cowperthwaitian again

The Food Foundations tells us, via email, that:

"The introduction of mandatory reporting by all large food companies, including takeaway chains, on the healthiness of their food sales is a game changer. This simple act of transparency delivers the opportunity for systemic change - informing better policy design and triggering boardroom conversations. The data will also clearly reveal to consumers which businesses are on their side and making healthy choices easy, and which are making it actively harder for them to eat well. The faster this is introduced, the better"

Another view of the same announcement:

Supermarkets will be ordered to cut up to 100 calories from the average shopping basket under a new “nanny state” drive to tackle obesity.

Ministers are set to impose a “healthy food standard” that will force stores to curtail sales of sugary and salty snacks in favour of more fruit and vegetables.

A third:

Food businesses must make it easier for customers to buy healthy food, under new government plans announced on Sunday.

That third amuses. The supermarkets lay out all that food in near infinite variety and all the shopper has to do is put it in the shopping trolley. How much easier can it get?

At which point, Cowperthwaite. When Financial Secretary to Hong Kong he forbade the collection of GDP statistics - some damn fool will only want to do something with them. We approve. Do not even allow the collection of these figures about calories in shopping baskets. For some damn fool will only want to do some thing with the data. Ah, here we are, the damn fool’s arrived already:

The Food Foundation reported that 1,000 calories of healthy food such as fruit and veg costs £8.80, compared to £4.30 for the equivalent amount of less healthy food, such as ready meals and processed meats.

They’re measuring the expense of food by calorie. Wholly insane. But this is the metric by which our diets are to be measured, modified and finally, do doubt, mandated. Lettuce is more expensive than potatoes because it contains fewer calories for the same £1.

Stop collecting this information, forbid even the idea of it being done. For having this data will only encourage them in their delusions. Measuring the cost of food by calories indeed….madness.

Tim Worstall