Government can't get us off sugar: Glenn Reynolds

Government can't get us off sugar: Glenn Reynolds:
"Should food stamp programs allow people to buy sugary drinks and snacks with taxpayer money? That’s a question that a lot of people are debating, but it raises more questions of its own.
There seems to be little remaining doubt that sugar is bad for you.
I’ve been reading Gary Taubes’ new book, The Case Against Sugar, and he draws a compelling connection between the spread of sugary foods and drinks and the explosive growth of disease like diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
As Taubes notes, “When sugar and sugar-rich products spread around the globe, so did diabetes. . . .
...But what to do?
On the one hand, many would like the government to get involved with new regulation.
But — as Taubes’ history of government nutrition recommendations demonstrates — government involvement is part of the problem. 
Government policies promoting sugar, in no small part, got us into this mess.
Without the government’s recommendations to avoid dietary fat that led to increased sugar consumption, many Americans would probably be thinner, or at least less obese. 
And then there are the subsidies.
If the government doesn’t want to pay for sodas and cookies with food stamp dollars, that’s fine with me.
Taxpayer money should go for essentials, and there’s nothing essential about a Moon Pie washed down with an RC Cola, despite that combo’s popularity in my part of the world..."
Read on!