Exporting Madness

I read a funny article in the Newsweek site today. The article “Globalizing Health” by Dean Ornish, a medical doctor, is not intended to be funny but it is so foolish that it is laughable. The thesis is that since the world is increasingly eating like Americans, the U.S. should “export healthier ways of living.” Unfortunately, in order to be able to export anything, you have to make it first. What the U.S. has to export is schizophrenia—unhealthy obsession about health and complete negligence of it. There is no middle ground on the matter in North America. You either totally dedicate yourself to the latest diet and exercise fad or eat five meals a day at MacDonald’s. There can be no moderation—life is a chase after either physical perfection or the maximum number of Big Macs. Dr. Ornish wants the major U.S. food companies to produce and sell healthier foods for the world. Well, they are the one who go North American to this point. I suppose he learnt his reasoning from his government: “the only one that can drive you out of a ditch is the guy who drove you into it in the first place.” If you ask me, the quickest way to “export” healthier way of living is to limit market access to the companies he mentioned. Young people in Japan will certainly eat healthier if they have less burgers and pizzas.