Food regulations?

[Mumbles]

So I was playing Democracy 2, as I had read on the vidya game section was a decent political sim, which it is. It's definitely made policies more clear to me in what they are, and to some degree who all they please and displease.

But one of the events that happened talked about regulating kid's food for nutritional value. What is the Communist view on this?

I would think that people would want healthier food (as well as wanting something tasty), but from the availability of fast and junk food it's hard to eat healthy without having to pay more for it or having to cook it oneself. So is regulation a good thing? Or would defeating the fast food empires be a better solution? And if so how would that be implemented in a Communist society? Would there be a new chain of supply places that take work credit for healthy meals?

[CartCollector]

I think the Communist view is, at the very least, that an economy where you have to choose between eating expensive healthy food you can't afford and eating inexpensive unhealthy food that will send you to a hospital you can't afford 5 years down the line is a poorly run economy. Meeting all people's needs is one of the fundamental goals of Communism, and access to healthy food is one of the greatest needs.

[OldMoney]

Fast food, brown pop, cigarettes, products like this are designed to turn a profit, no matter the health costs. I dont like to belive that we would see things like this under communism. With progressive education and an abundance of healthy foods avaliable for all it would be ridiculous to see junk foods.

[AK]

Fast food, brown pop, cigarettes, products like this are designed to turn a profit, no matter the health costs. I dont like to belive that we would see things like this under communism. With progressive education and an abundance of healthy foods avaliable for all it would be ridiculous to see junk foods.
Fast foods probably would exist under communism - but not in the sense that we know them today. They might exist purely as nutritional meals that can be prepared and cooked very quickly, if that's even possible.

If not, replace fast food joints with shitty salad bars or something...

[(A)narcho-Matt]

Fast food, brown pop, cigarettes, products like this are designed to turn a profit, no matter the health costs. I dont like to belive that we would see things like this under communism. With progressive education and an abundance of healthy foods avaliable for all it would be ridiculous to see junk foods.


I think we would still be able to get fags post revolution... Smoking might be bad for your health but people should be free to smoke if they want... same with junk food. The difference would be that they wouldnt exist for a profit, so the quality of food might go up...

[AK]

I think we would still be able to get fags post revolution... Smoking might be bad for your health but people should be free to smoke if they want... same with junk food. The difference would be that they wouldnt exist for a profit, so the quality of food might go up...
I reckon they should make ciggies without the nicotine. Epic economy fail ensues.

[mollymae]

I think we would still be able to get fags post revolution... Smoking might be bad for your health but people should be free to smoke if they want... same with junk food. The difference would be that they wouldnt exist for a profit, so the quality of food might go up...

And in this same vein--what about other, more serious recreational drugs, like cocaine for example? Anyone sane knows that these drugs are ultimately harmful to you, but I also agree that you cannot regulate what a person puts in their own body. Under communism, if workers don't produce it formally, couldn't this potentially create a black market?

[Twin City Lines]

I think we need to seperate health issues from the basic premise of socialism. Junk food and fast food exist, at least in part, because people like it, whether or not it's good for them. Production for use, not for profit, may end the enless advertising of these things, which may lower the demand, but I doubt it would ever go away completely.

The Soviet Union planned to make "public catering" (essentially, the equivalent of community soup kitchens, but aimed at the general public, not just the poor and homeless) a major part of Soviet life, but never got very far with it beyond subsidised meals at school for the kids and at work for the adults. Presumably in an advanced socialist state, public catering would probably take health into consideration when planning its menus.

As to recreational drugs, I believe a realistic study in the context of the future socialist society would need to be made regarding each drug (including alcohol and tobacco) and what the optimum stance towards it is from an economic viewpoint: prohibition, varying degrees and types of regulation, or open production and sale. This would include studying both the direct (health, behavioural) and indirect (enforecment) costs vs. benefits thereof.