No sugar for you!
I was raised in a household, as I’m sure many of you folks were too, where you ate what was on your dinner plate. I mean, you had to eat everything on your plate, because there were starving children in other parts of the world.
I believe that “waste not” mindset somewhat stays with us as we grow older, and I believe that’s at least partially why we have an obesity problem in America.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Don’t Let Them Eat Cake: Bosses Sugar-Shame Office Treats,” the author explores the trend of banning sugary treats from break rooms at work.
While prohibiting sweets in the office, bosses are instead putting out organic fruits and vegetables while encouraging a “sprint around the office or a set of push ups.” I can’t make this stuff up.
In even the best of jobs, morale in the workplace could always stand to be higher. Why take away that potential, especially when some folks find comfort in certain foods? I know that my colleagues are more cheery when I bring in the occasional sweet treat. Thankfully, my boss allows it.
If you don’t want the finer things in life, a.k.a. cupcakes and doughnuts, then don’t eat them. But don’t deprive or shame others if they want to indulge. This is America. We have the freedom to eat or not eat what we want. Thanks to the efficiency of the American farmer, we have the luxury of choosing from a variety of food at a good price.
I can’t help but suspect this trend stems from former First Lady Michelle Obama’s nationwide push to ditch sweets. As part of her campaign to get kids active and eating healthier foods, Mrs. Obama is also largely responsible for redesigning the nutrition facts labels on packaged foods. The new label, unveiled in 2016, has calories in larger font and now includes a line for added sugars.
“Very soon, very soon you will no longer need a microscope, a calculator or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you’re buying is actually good for our kids,” Obama said at the unveiling of the new label. “That’s a phenomenal achievement.”
That’s also a phenomenal way to make folks feel bad for indulging their sweet tooth every once in a while. We have enough to feel bad about in this world. If we’re not being social media shamed for eating something, we’re being shamed by Hollywood or the news media for doing something else.
Even Washington food banks have jumped on Mrs. Obama’s bandwagon. As a result, certain food banks do not accept cakes, cookies or pies. I could understand that if we didn’t have hungry Americans, but we do, and that’s why we have food banks. They would rather give folks nothing than to give them sweets.
We have reached the epitome of “first world problems.” We have too much food, just not the kind we want. That’s America for ya.
Editor’s note: Seymour Klierly writes Washington Whispers for the Journal from inside the Beltway.
