Statist New York Times: Government Must Urge People to Drink Water When Thirsty

February 27th, 2015 12:47 PM

Via James Taranto, we learned that New York Times nutrition writer Mark Bittman is making another display of his ultraliberal tendencies. In a piece on national nutrition guidelines that are at odds with the capitalist pigs of “Big Food,” Bittman offered this statist takeway:

It tells you to drink all the coffee you want, up to something like five cups a day, which makes some people ecstatic. But far more important is this statement: “Strategies are needed to encourage the U.S. population to drink water when they are thirsty.” Imagine if that were official policy.

Pause. Read that sentence again. “Strategies are needed to encourage the U.S. population to drink water when they are thirsty.”

You can lead an American to water....but they might be dumb enough to have a Pepsi.

Bittman is one of those liberals who has constructed an odd amalgam of our “rights” and “needs” on food. It’s industry “needs” versus the people’s “rights,” and yet – Bittman is a liberal, so he thinks the people aren’t smart enough to exercise their “rights” to eat healthy (or drink water) without being badgered by government bureaucrats:

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think it would help if we had an overarching statement defining “food” and our rights regarding it, something like “All Americans have the right to nutritious, affordable, sustainable and fair food.” That would signal intent, and a recognition that although the science may never be entirely clear, people’s rights should trump industry’s “needs.”

Policy can make things much simpler. Michael Pollan’s justifiably famous seven words — “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” — get at the root, and a more detailed explanation could be executed in just a couple of paragraphs. Many other countries are learning from our mistakes, and beginning to develop national food policies that have some teeth.

Food policy pits the profits of the very few against the needs and rights of many. We can whittle away at those profits, but it would be faster, healthier and even more delicious if we brought about a transition with more urgency.

In reality, Bittman doesn’t want to really offer people the “rights” to eat just anything. They "need" to eat more plants and cut back on the burgers. Big Media is just as bossy and manipulative as Big Food. On meat, he really thinks our “needs” to eat less meat mean less than our freedom to enjoy it:

It’s unlikely some meat is “bad” for you, but what’s clear is that the industrial production of livestock takes way more resources than producing any other food, and that there is simply not enough land, water, chemicals or anything else to produce unlimited meat for everyone who can afford it. Acknowledging that is a big step.

Earlier (from Clay Waters):

New York Times Foodie Mark Bittman Uncoils String of Leftist Inanities Disguised as Sunday Review Piece

Left-Wing NYT Food Writer Bittman Apologizes for Offensive Obit of Chick-Fil-A Executive: 'Speaking of Pigs...'

NY Times Food Writer Mark Bittman Wants Big Government to 'Fix' Your Diet with Higher Taxes