Regulation and Incrementally

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/

Regulation Incrementally
It seems that regardless of the attempts by the government and the Center for Disease Control to encourage Americans to eat better we are eating more poorly than ever. Despite regulation and recommendation set forth only 26% of Americans are eating 3 or more vegetables a day. In the New York Time article: Told to Eat Its Vegetables, Americans Order Fries policy regulation is examined and discovered to not be working. As outlined by Lowi as one of the three major types of public policies regulation is “obviously one of several ways government seeks to control society and individual conduct.” (Lowi, 182) The CDC has been working for years to create and adopt policy that will successfully change the diet habits of Americans. In this article the eating habits of Americans is examined and even with a $25 million dollar marketing campaign regarding baby carrots Americans are continuing to eat Doritos. Despite regulation from the government to get American moving as highlighted by First Lady Michelle Obama Americans are not listening. In addition the government “now recommends four and a half cups of fruits and vegetables (that’s nine servings) for people who eat 2,000 calories a day. Some public health advocates have argued that when the guidelines are updated later this year, they should be made even clearer. One proposal is to make Americans think about it visually, filling half the plate or bowl with vegetables.”

Regulation in this situation is very important since it is regarding the health of our citizens. The government is acting purely in the best interest of its citizens. The regulation is an attempt to have citizens eat better and in turn be healthier. If our citizens are healthier then the medical expenses will go down. So in some cases the government is looking out for its citizens but it is also looking out for the bottom line in a decrease in health expenses. Prevention is key and by recommending that Americans consider their vegetables visually much like thinking of your protein serving as the same size as a deck of cards. By putting the regulation in a manner that Americans can understand the government can strive for better eating habits. It is difficult since in many cases it is easier and less expensive to eat non healthy alternatives so the government must continue to regulate the food that is in the schools and the image of health food in America.

Public health officials will have to constantly be shifting their work in the goal of getting Americans to eat better. As covered in this article despite regulation Americans are not getting the food they need and are not making the right food choices. As was quoted above public health officials are hoping that when the guidelines for servings are updated they should be made clearer to the public. Over the years the healthy eating initiatives have had to change and adapt since it is clear that no one can agree on the steps that should be taken, but they agree on the problem and the desired outcome. These changes demonstrate incrementalism and that this movement by the government must be constantly updating taking small steps in order to meet the changing demographics of the United States. The means of this movement are not always clear and as was demonstrated in this article they are not attempting to make carrots more entertaining. Not something that has always been done but the means have had to change in order to regulate the actions of the citizens.

The CDC has a report titled State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 and in this report is outlines the consumption of fruits and vegetables around the country and gives recommendations on how to increase availability and consumption. One interesting step to adapt this process is to “Provide support for farmers markets to purchase wireless electronic benefit transfer (EBT) devices to make it possible for them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and WIC Program EBT cards.” This is a step that is taken to change the direction of healthy eating and bring farmers into the fold by giving them the technology to make fruits and vegetables accessible to a wider population. It may not have been a means in the past to regulate the eating habits of Americans but it is something that can work now and it acceptable now. It is moves like this one that demonstrates incrementalism and the need to adapt to the change in technology and demographics. Eating habits of Americans will hopefully change over time with increased regulation from the government to encourage citizens to eat well.