One of the most counter-intuitive lessons I remember from economics classes is how forcing people to smoke light cigarettes may actually increase smoking.
What happens is when you change the constraints on someone without changing their preferences, you are going to lead to a different outcome, and it will likely be something different than you intended.
The same goes for food. This article makes some good points about French vs. North American attitudes about food. I tend to ignore Francophilia, but the author has a point. The French aren't afraid of butter! No fat-free yogurts for them. But since they are getting wholesome food, they do not overindulge. You could make the argument that the French have all kinds of food regulations, but to my knowledge they are not for dietary reasons but instead for cultural of economic. I am talking regulation intended to make people healthier.
Policies to change peoples' eating habits often does not meet its intended goal.
Is Michelle Obama listening?
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