Small Business News
July 2004 | Online Edition
Now the State Wants to tell Us
What Kind of Milk to Drink
By Malia Zimmerman, HawaiiReporter
Hawaii state government already is the most over-regulated in the nation, according to numerous national surveys, leaving residents and business owners barely room to breathe. The state government tells businesses who we can hire and what kind of benefits must be offered, how to operate, how to be safe, how to spend money, not to discriminate, how to provide access to the handicapped and how to treat customers. The state and county governments also tell residents not to smoke, not to drink if we are pregnant, not to drive without our seatbelts, to buckle up kids, to eat right, to exercise, not to litter, and not to drink and drive. Oh, and let's not forget "how to be a parent" by telling our kids about the hazards of smoking, drinking and drugs.
Now, not only do we have to worry about these regulations as well as these messages coming at us on television, radio, in the newspapers and in news reports, but now we have to endure a campaign on what kind of milk to drink. And don't expect the mainstream media to complain — they will get paid big bucks by the federal government to run these ads.
According to the state Department of Health's press release issued in mid-June, we are all supposed to toss out our Vitamin D and 2 percent milk, because some scientist somewhere working for big bucks in federal government determined "1 percent is best."
The campaign, which started June 15, is called, guess what — "1 Percent or Less Is Best," and it is supposed to provide the public with "valuable information" on the benefits of drinking low fat milk. And to top off this condescending message (I mean can't we read the back of the milk carton?) we have to use our taxpayer dollars to pay for the campaign, dollars we have been assured are in short supply.
Not one private group is involved in this effort. Couldn't a non profit take on an "education campaign" like this if some scientist somewhere feels the "1 percent is best" story must be told, rather than spend taxpayer dollars? But no private group is mentioned anywhere in the state press release, though the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine - Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology, the Hawaii State Department of Health's Healthy Hawaii Initiative, are all included as partners.
Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, is even heading up the effort. She says this campaign supports her Administration's efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents. "Doing something as simple as drinking low fat milk can make a difference in a person's long-term health," Lingle says. Now come on, doesn't she have anything else better to do, like run the state of Hawaii with an annual operating and special funds budget of $7 billion and thousands of state employees to manage?
Sure, milk is an important source of vitamins A and D, protein and calcium, and all milk, regardless of fat content, contains the same amount of vitamins, minerals and protein. But now the state is telling us that in addition to all the good things in milk, whole and 2 percent milk are also leading sources of saturated fat. The state says studies, which the state does not cite, have shown that diets high in saturated fat are associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.
So how does the state Department of Health justify telling us what we can and cannot drink? Too many people in Hawaii are dying because they are too fat, in part because they don't drink 1 percent milk, the release says. "In 2001, 71 percent of all adult deaths in Hawaii aged 25 years and older were due to nutrition related diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes). Heart disease was the leading cause of death, accounting for 41 percent of all adult deaths in Hawaii (CDC, 2001). Therefore, the 1 Percent or Less Is Best campaign focuses on one specific health-behavior that can be changed without any additional effort or cost to the people of Hawaii. Since nearly half (41 percent) of Hawaii residents drink whole or 2 percent milk, switching to lower fat milk products is an excellent way to cut saturated fat from our diets."
Hey, state officials — its called Kalua Pig and Rice, spam musubi, chicken katsu, poi, beef stew and rice, plate lunches with macaroni salad, candy, mochi and all the other yummy local delights that are much higher in fat than 2 percent milk — 1 percent or 2 percent just doesn't matter when we have this kind of local diet. These foods are what makes us fat, if we don't excercise enough. The only explanation for not listing all these foods too in this get healthy campaign is either the campaign against Kalua Pig and other tasty favorites would not be federally funded (state gets federal funds to run these silly ads) or the Kalua Pig lobby in the state is really strong.
Rather than telling us what to eat and drink, what if the state lowered our taxes and fees so we can work less and exercise more? How about if the state reduced the regulations us business owners must abide by so we lower our blood pressure too? How about those actions over "health campaigns?" These would make more sense and no tax dollars would have to be expended.
The final insult issued yesterday in the health department release: "Studies show that small changes can have incredible effects on our health. By taking the first initial step and then slowly incorporating good habits into our lifestyle, we can effectively integrate healthier choices without major life changes. The key is to just start living healthy."
Start living healthy? I need my government officials to tell me to "start living healthy?"
Get real.
That is what my mother is for.
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