The issues of corporate responsibility and research-bias are not new where the pharmaceutical industry is concerned. There really should be no ethical question on the part of the corporation to release all information to the public when also releasing a new “wonder” drug to the same public; yet this question remains.

You are absolutely right that it is unreasonable and impossible for the pharmaceutical industry, and not to mention the government, to expect the public to be able to make informed, rational and objective decisions based on only a small piece of the picture. I would also agree with you that the public is essentially on the losing end of a huge battle in trying to take on such large corporations.

Does the responsibility to provide information to the public rest with the corporation? Or does it rest with the government to enforce the release of this information?

I suppose the easy answer is that there is no easy answer. We are essentially left to our own devices to do as much digging as possible before making a decision.

Please don’t ever feel pressured by the corporation, the government, a marketing campaign, the school, religion, etc. into making a decision. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions that you have. If you’re not satisfied with the response, ask someone else. You have a right to know as much as possible. You have the right to decide for yourself.

Child obesity has only has a few major causes:

* Inactivity (watching television and playing video games rather than playing outside to get exercise)
* Drinking soda and juice instead of water
* Eating sugar, bread, cereal and other grains

Adding to the problem is that parents of overweight children don’t always recognize that their child is overweight. According to one survey, only three percent of parents of severely obese children considered their child overweight, and eight percent of the parents actually considered them to be underweight.

Deadly allergies are certainly no laughing matter - and for those afflicted with such an allergy (especially when it’s a young child who may not know to look out for him/herself), the consequences of exposure can be deadly.

However, I completely agree with your argument on broad bans. They simply don’t work - and give people a false sense of security where there is none.

Banning nuts from schools is a perfect example. While parents rightly have the best interests of the children in mind, kids are kids. They may sneak some Halloween candy to school that contains nuts - and parents who may think the school is a ‘nut-free zone’ may not take the proper precautions with their allergic child.

While I can’t argue that certain bans don’t make sense (i.e. automatic weapons, as I said earlier), I worry that these broad bans not only provide a false sense of security, but also abdicate individuals of their personal responsibilities in society to contribute to the common good in our society - which we can only achieve through education, empathy and understanding - not outright bans.

In any case, I completely agree with you that if the higher cost of food ensures that we are consuming healthier, preservative, pesticide, JUNK-free food, then it may well be worth the cost. I also agree that there are times when food costs cannot be cut any more than they already have been.

However, I also think you have very clearly explained the disparity between the haves and the have-nots and how an individual’s economic wealth directly affects his/her own physical health and wellbeing.

If you can’t afford it and don’t have the resources in the first place, can you ever hope to be as healthy as those who can afford it?

Healthier food options should be more accessible to those on a budget (and even to those who aren’t) but the fact of matter is that healthier usually translates into food that contains less preservatives and all of the other crap we’re used to seeing– the things that make food “cheap” in the first place…

You also have some great online tools that may be used to measure body weight, healthy progress, and diet plans on your website as well.

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