Yet another flap over the ridiculous salt levels in Western diets, as documented in an article the NY Times. The article alludes to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which claims lowering salt levels (i.e., in processed foods) could have as big a public-health payoff as dramatic reductions in smoking levels.
Much as I love a big crunchy pickle, I've rarely eaten them in recent decades. I'm increasingly uneasy when I resort to something like jarred pesto, tasty and wonderful as it may be. Besides viewing chronically high salt consumption as dangerous, I believe it numbs the tastebuds.
California may impose limits on sodium content. Bravo. Will it happen nationally? Would Canada do likewise?
I have doubts. The U.S. in particular treats almost all products as creatures of the unbridled marketplace, and powerful interests have a very big stake in this absence of regulation -- as we've witnessed, depressingly, in the recent near-collapse of the U.S. financial system. Unfettered capitalism -- including the rights of these powerful interests to treat consumers as dupes, or profitable addicts -- is a sacred cow. Witness the failure of meaningful (or any) healthcare reform. The US government itself has become merely an agent in this closed circuit. Yes, Democrats used to believe in progressive government activism, but even with their current stellar alignment (Senate, House and Presidency), inaction prevails.
Processed foods are extremely profitable, and are predicated on high concentrations of a triumvirate of very cheap, addictive and harmful ingredients -- sodium, hydrogenated oils, and high-fructose corn syrup (the latter is called "glucose/fructose" in Canada). Moreover, the companies that churn them out are parts of very large and powerful companies.
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