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Comment by dwaltrip | Hacker News Reader

> Warning people that all the food they have access to is poison is not a solution to anything.

It sounds like you are suggesting all food in American grocery stores is equally bad when it comes to sugar. Perhaps I misunderstood you, as that is obviously absurd. While I do wish there were more healthy options, I can assure you that the mainstream grocery stores (Ralph's, Safeway, etc) contain many products with low or no sugar.

Empowering people to make better decisions is actually one of the best things we can do. What is your alternative proposal?

I read nutrition labels, looking at the sugar content. I eagerly await the requirement to list the amount of added sugar, as it will inform my food purchases.

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> While I do wish there were more healthy options, I can assure you that the mainstream grocery stores (Ralph's, Safeway, etc) contain many products with low or no sugar.

What struck me as weird was the sugar in products where I'd never have expected to find it in the first place. In particular bread (most non-absurdly-expensive brands seemed to have added sugar, which would not normally be the case here).

In fact, an Irish court recently ruled that Subway 'bread' wasn't actually bread at all (important for VAT purposes here); too much added sugar.

I'm sure it is _possible_ to get food that doesn't have added sugar in the US, but it does seem to be the default to add sugar in some quite weird places.

Edit: One way to regulate this, less draconian than actually banning added sugar, would be to regulate naming (for instance, banning sale of a bread-like product with added sugar as bread).

>What is your alternative proposal?

Ban over the counter sale of processed food, the same way heroin stopped being sold as Mr. Jims Magical Cure All.

It's not like banning additives that have proven detrimental to health is a radical new idea. We have killed hundreds of industries that killed people before, most of them in much smaller numbers than the food industrial complex.

>Empowering people to make better decisions is actually one of the best things we can do.

Looking at the state of the US, it really isn't. Taking advice from Americans on food is like taking bathing advice from Catholics in 900AD.

What's the definition of processed food?

I think most people will think your proposal is very extreme.

>I think most people will think your proposal is very extreme.

As would most heroin addicts in 1890.

When 73% of your country is losing between 5 and 20 years of life expectancy drastic measures are in order.

We force people to wear seatbelts. We don't let them buy some drugs. We can make certain food illegal.

Post stomach cancer, I can't eat sugar without becoming ill. So I stopped. Regular fruits are now very sweet, and a chocolate bar is inedible.

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