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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/31/banning-unhealthy-meal-deals-high-street-retailers-sugar-healthier
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| Banning unhealthy meal deals is not the answer | Banning unhealthy meal deals is not the answer |
| (3 months later) | |
| Tue 31 Oct 2017 15.31 GMT | |
| Last modified on Sat 2 Dec 2017 17.50 GMT | |
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| After conducting research into high street “meal deals”, the pressure group Action on Sugar has warned that some contain more than four times an adult’s recommended daily intake of sugar. It’s a worrying statistic, especially in a country spending £10bn a year on diabetes treatment – a cost that is rapidly crippling the NHS, and was a topic of discussion at last week’s first Vegetable Summit, organised by the Food Foundation thinktank. | After conducting research into high street “meal deals”, the pressure group Action on Sugar has warned that some contain more than four times an adult’s recommended daily intake of sugar. It’s a worrying statistic, especially in a country spending £10bn a year on diabetes treatment – a cost that is rapidly crippling the NHS, and was a topic of discussion at last week’s first Vegetable Summit, organised by the Food Foundation thinktank. |
| There I heard about the difficulty many have in accessing healthy foods and healthy eating, for many different reasons – be it lack of cooking facilities, skills or money. For a not-so-small percentage of the population, the only vegetables they consume are in ready meals and meal deals. | There I heard about the difficulty many have in accessing healthy foods and healthy eating, for many different reasons – be it lack of cooking facilities, skills or money. For a not-so-small percentage of the population, the only vegetables they consume are in ready meals and meal deals. |
| So, if these meals come with no healthy (low-fat, low-sugar) options, many people will not have access to a better dietary alternative. Action on Sugar has suggested high street retailers should be forced to only provide healthy meal deals. With some combinations having as much sugar as 79 chocolate fingers, it’s easy to see its concern. | So, if these meals come with no healthy (low-fat, low-sugar) options, many people will not have access to a better dietary alternative. Action on Sugar has suggested high street retailers should be forced to only provide healthy meal deals. With some combinations having as much sugar as 79 chocolate fingers, it’s easy to see its concern. |
| But forcing healthy options on us cannot be the solution. Adults have to be given the right to make choices, ultimately. They have to be given the respect due to them as individuals, with the right to put what they will into their bodies – we haven’t banned the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, after all, but they are sold under strict licensing laws. Having stricter rules around sugar than tobacco or alcohol would be a little … odd. But there’s no reason high street retailers shouldn’t be required to provide a much higher proportion of healthy options in their meal deals. It shouldn’t be the case that people have to hunt down a low-fat/low-sugar sandwich and a sugar-free drink. They should make up the majority of what’s on the shelves, given higher placement prominence than the “bad” stuff. | But forcing healthy options on us cannot be the solution. Adults have to be given the right to make choices, ultimately. They have to be given the respect due to them as individuals, with the right to put what they will into their bodies – we haven’t banned the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, after all, but they are sold under strict licensing laws. Having stricter rules around sugar than tobacco or alcohol would be a little … odd. But there’s no reason high street retailers shouldn’t be required to provide a much higher proportion of healthy options in their meal deals. It shouldn’t be the case that people have to hunt down a low-fat/low-sugar sandwich and a sugar-free drink. They should make up the majority of what’s on the shelves, given higher placement prominence than the “bad” stuff. |
| Representatives of many high street retailers were at the Vegetable Summit, promising to make healthier choices and greater vegetable consumption easier and more accessible for all. They know, and recognise, there is a problem with the way we eat, and that what we eat isn’t always as simple as “making the right choices”. When the only local shop sells nothing but pasties and meal deals, and a person has no way to get into town to a bigger supermarket, then what choice do they actually have? | Representatives of many high street retailers were at the Vegetable Summit, promising to make healthier choices and greater vegetable consumption easier and more accessible for all. They know, and recognise, there is a problem with the way we eat, and that what we eat isn’t always as simple as “making the right choices”. When the only local shop sells nothing but pasties and meal deals, and a person has no way to get into town to a bigger supermarket, then what choice do they actually have? |
| The retailers and food manufacturers speaking to the Food Foundation pledged to increase the amount of veg in their ready meals, and widen the healthy options available in meal deals. As they willingly take these first steps – they’re small, but at least they’re a start – would it be right to force them to only provide healthy foods in meal deals? Sometimes, after all, everyone wants to have something a bit naughty. | The retailers and food manufacturers speaking to the Food Foundation pledged to increase the amount of veg in their ready meals, and widen the healthy options available in meal deals. As they willingly take these first steps – they’re small, but at least they’re a start – would it be right to force them to only provide healthy foods in meal deals? Sometimes, after all, everyone wants to have something a bit naughty. |
| As a country, we need, desperately, to eat better. Our health is failing, our waistlines are expanding, and our NHS is suffocating under the strain. There are steps being taken in the right direction, but government can do more, without forcing adults into a diet they have not chosen. Why not set limits on the amount of fat and sugar in base ingredients? That’s eminently doable for food manufacturers. Sugar-free drinks should become the norm; hopefully this is something the sugar tax will encourage. And we need more than the current traffic-light system on food. Education must start early so our children grow up automatically making better food choices than we have. | As a country, we need, desperately, to eat better. Our health is failing, our waistlines are expanding, and our NHS is suffocating under the strain. There are steps being taken in the right direction, but government can do more, without forcing adults into a diet they have not chosen. Why not set limits on the amount of fat and sugar in base ingredients? That’s eminently doable for food manufacturers. Sugar-free drinks should become the norm; hopefully this is something the sugar tax will encourage. And we need more than the current traffic-light system on food. Education must start early so our children grow up automatically making better food choices than we have. |
| Above all, we need choice. We need that healthy option to be available, visible and affordable in our local shops. We need more vegetarian and vegan ranges on the shelves, that are both easy to see and affordable. To eat well should be easy; no one should have to hunt for something that is good for them. Good, healthy food should be front and centre, not hidden behind the stuff that is killing us. | Above all, we need choice. We need that healthy option to be available, visible and affordable in our local shops. We need more vegetarian and vegan ranges on the shelves, that are both easy to see and affordable. To eat well should be easy; no one should have to hunt for something that is good for them. Good, healthy food should be front and centre, not hidden behind the stuff that is killing us. |
| Shops have a responsibility to ensure we, as consumers, have the choices available to be able to feed ourselves a diet that will benefit us, our children, and our NHS. But that needn’t mean eradicating all choice from our supermarket shelves. | Shops have a responsibility to ensure we, as consumers, have the choices available to be able to feed ourselves a diet that will benefit us, our children, and our NHS. But that needn’t mean eradicating all choice from our supermarket shelves. |
| • Kathleen Kerridge is an author of LGBT fantasy fiction | • Kathleen Kerridge is an author of LGBT fantasy fiction |
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