Oh, I'm So Glad They're Going to Regulate...

the Salt content. That's right. Salt content in foods.

They say salt leads to higher rates of hypertension.

Are you freaking kidding me? No. Here's the scoop:

The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products.

The government intends to work with the food industry and health experts to reduce sodium gradually over a period of years to adjust the American palate to a less salty diet, according to FDA sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the initiative had not been formally announced.

Officials have not determined the salt limits. In a complicated undertaking, the FDA would analyze the salt in spaghetti sauces, breads and thousands of other products that make up the $600 billion food and beverage market, sources said. Working with food manufacturers, the government would set limits for salt in these categories, designed to gradually ratchet down sodium consumption. The changes would be calibrated so that consumers barely notice the modification.

I have two points of contention with this:

1.) People who have hypertension and heart disease should already know to watch the salt content. Which is why ALL major food manufacturers offer a low-sodium alternative. The point here is that the government obviously doesn't think we can make diet decisions on our own. We're a bunch of children in their eyes.

2.) Could it possibly, even the teensiest bit possible, that hypertension is exacerbated by THE UNPARALLELED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE? If they actually cared about people they would be helping them by cutting taxes so that companies would hire them bring back some dignity to their lives by making a wage and not taking some government hand-out.

3.) Salt is the main preserver of foods. You eliminate salt from the process and either the food companies will be using a chemical that is truly unhealthy and you also reduce the shelf-life of foods. Which also raises the costs to consumers. (Which is what they want anyways.)

But this is all under the guise to keep people healthier and longer. But I have a secret, and this is a big secret. Are you ready for it?

People die.

I KNOW! Isn't that amazing! It's terrible only if you don't believe that your soul is eternal and that our actions here on Earth have no impact on the afterlife. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ we know that life here is not all there is.

This is just one more public policy designed to bring people over to Humanism as their religion. And that is why religion and politics are mixed. What people believe about the human condition determines what they believe the role of government should be.