No Fruit Juice and Enough Sleep? A Probe Beyond a Panacea

Kate Raworth is coming to Amsterdam januari 8th 2018. We would like to discuss a way to get healthy school meals implemented without the interference of these companies:

We would like to use “The donut” as new paradigm for thinking about public private partnerships.

 

Background

The City of Amsterdam claims to have found the miracle cure for the obesity epidemic. It seems too good and especially too simple to be true, but does it raise eyebrows? Quite the contrary: it gets international coverage. If it’s enough to make a critical reader suspicious; it should definitely have journalists digging deeper into the matter, rather than enthusiastically copying jubilant press releases.

How did we arrive at this point, where Amsterdam gets away with hailing a simpleton panacea as a revolutionary step towards solving a serious problem? More importantly, who gains by presenting it as such? A bit of history.

About fifteen years ago, JoGG/EPODE was created. The names are respectively Dutch and French acronyms roughly signifying “Efforts Preventing Obesity Amongst Children”. The starting point was laudable enough: creating a healthy environment for children to keep them from getting overweight. However, somehow, in the course of the years this crystallized into “drinking water and getting enough sleep”. Now, surely, there is more to it than just that?

Follow The Money

When wondering about the where and why of a situation, it is usually a good idea to follow the money, as Watergate reporters Woodward and Bernstein have taught us. Food, worldwide, is big business and drinking water (instead of fruit juice) and getting enough sleep are comparatively harmless to industrial interests. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at how the Amsterdam ambition evolved over the years. (and the chosen aims of drinking water… zoiets?

In 2013, Amsterdam set itself a lofty goal: by 2033, there would be NO overweight children. Nevertheless, a mere four years later, we find JoGG focusing on a relatively small group of children in an Amsterdam neighbourhood that is far from average—a drastic downgrading of the initial target, which was conspicuously absent from the press handout the City issued a few weeks ago.

A look at the JoGG web site makes one none the wiser—except if one happens to have been following the project since its inception, when it becomes blatantly apparent that all information about previous goals and their funding has been systematically deleted. Of course, there are parties aware of this, but they have no PR budgets, as surely the Guardian is aware.

(Guardian article)

Facts That Did Not Make The Press Handouts

Obviously, a 12% reduction in child obesity in a mere four years (from 2012 to 2015), as the Amsterdam deputy mayor rapturously states, would be no small feat—if it were true. Unfortunately, it isn’t. The figure was obtained through cherry-picking of data. Figures from the Amsterdam Public Health Service clearly show that, until 2012, both obesity and overweight were on the rise in most of Amsterdam, with the exception of two of the “better” neighbourhoods where, whilst obesity was still rising, overweight conditions were on the decline. These were the neighbourhoods the effort was concentrated on.

Normally, one does not get away with such selectivity in results. However, one does when the parties conducting the project are the same ones as the ones charged with evaluating it. This is what happened in Amsterdam, this is the reason why a project costing millions is allowed to go on without any checks and balances. It is easy to see how the municipality gets away with their jubilant and highly uncritical version of the achievements.

But why would they do it this way? Let’s follow the money once more: the project is co-funded by such parties as food giants Nestlé and Danone, who have obvious interests in diverting attention from what is in all likelihood a far more obvious cause of the obesity epidemic.

The Bane of Public-Private Partnerships

Basically, the results as they are presented in Amsterdam’s press handout are a result of circular reasoning. In essence, the system is based on a completely self-sustaining hot air bubble.

The entire JoGG approach provides governmental entities a convenient single point of spending. They can claim they prevent obesity because they are funding JoGG.

JoGG can claim their approach work because the system is purposely built around a system without built-in motivation for results: researchers and reviewers, after all, are the same persons. There is, however, a motivation for bias: it is clear that funding will continue as long as the desired results are delivered.

Precisely which results would be to the taste of the industrial parties funding the results is easy to figure out: they are best served by results that do not adversely impact profitability and that do not point in the direction of taxes on unhealthy industrial foodstuffs. And we all know that it is not advisable to bite the hand that feeds you.

Nothing Out, Nothing In

Any outside party trying to probe into developments receives no meaningful information. Instead, research programmes regularly change names of structures, and public reports are subsequently flushed from web sites.

Meanwhile, JoGG organizes international events—sponsored by Nestlé—where JoGG Amsterdam is showcased as a most successful approach, enthusiastically corroborated by the City of Amsterdam who, after all, shares in the glory. It doesn’t end there: the success is immediately cashed in upon by selling the methodology—in which, needless to say, parents play no role—to extra-European markets, all the way to Dubai.

Wakeup Call

One has to be realistic: an in itself worthy goal has been effectively hijacked by parties who are corrupting it because of either profit or political success. Preventing obesity has become big business, and big business invariably focuses on profitability and saleability rather than on effectiveness.

Nor do we need all these millions spent—millions we are essentially providing ourselves every time we buy the food industry’s product. Isn’t the cause of the obesity epidemic staring us straight in the face? We need to eat colours, not processed food items from coloured packages.

Amsterdam deputy mayor Van den Burg claims the food industry is actually doing the right thing by going against their own interests in telling restaurants and sports facilities to sell healthier food and by banning soft drink adverts inside city-owned sports stadiums. The truth of the matter is that Coca-Cola Olympic Moves is still organizing and financing school sports tournaments, with their distinctive colour red all over the place.

Van den Burg is probably right in saying that such events are no longer sponsored by his city. Why should they? By now, the setups profitability is well-proven, and Coca-Cola can be confident that there will be ample returns on the money poured in.

A PR and Marketing Tool

Where a strategy that would obviously work and would moreover cost next to nothing to implement since it involves parent participation is neglected in favour of a strategy that does not work, costs millions and involves participation of financing parties with an obvious commercial interest in having it in place, one should be suspicious about underlying purposes.

At best, we are looking at a PR strategy also known as “healthwashing”. Involve your company in a lofty goal (i.e. reducing child obesity) and it will look the better for it. Consumers will automatically assume that if you care for the health of their children, your products will therefore be good for them.

We are also looking at a marketing tool. Hosting events where your company supplies props which just happen to be in your extremely distinctive corporate colour constitutes subliminal advertising at least.

Funds Appropriation and Tax Evasion

Funnelling money into longitudinal research that has been leading nowhere and shows not perspective of leading anywhere in the future is all the more dubious since part of the money we are referring to is actually government money. By collecting subsidies for showcase research with a hidden agenda (to steer away from recommendations that may be harmful for business) funds are appropriated which could and should be put into the hands of parties devoid of commercial interests.

It is no coincidence that the Netherlands was chosen as the hub of this scheme. We are all aware that there are substantial tax advantages to be gained by setting up activities in the extremely favourable Dutch corporate tax climate—thus, Dutch citizens themselves are financing a counterproductive setup, in which local government bodies are persuaded not to take action against vending machines containing less than healthy items and to discourage a levy on soft drinks loaded with sugar.

How Then?

The Netherlands have seen four decades of endless conferences on the topic of who should be responsible for the contents of school meals. JoGG and EPODE can doubtlessly stretch these meetings for several decades more without tangible results—effectively stalling, in spite of the Dutch Minister of Public Health chairing the meetings.

JoGG have had their turn and have come up with nothing. All their pilot projects and prestigious kick-off parties have failed to achieve anything except provide publicity for their commercial partners. It is our opinion that JoGG’s true goal is to prevent effective policy from becoming effective.

We need to work towards an environment in which people make choices—INFORMED choices, not choices induced by kids marketing in supermarkets, by popular YouTubers gorging themselves on glorified sugar syrup, by sports canteens offering a choice of scantly healthwashed Coca-Cola products.

Most of all, we need to effectively fix a world in which Big Food is invited to participate in policy discussions but where we, the parents, are denied any involvement—whereas we ask no better than to see REALLY healthy meals in schools, based on fresh and seasonal vegetables rather than industrial products supplemented with a token stale apple from a European surplus stockpile.

We are dying to help implement local food with minial CO2 emission. We would love to see unemployed persons re-schooled to the profession of school canteen cook or food and health teacher, empowering future generations to make knowledgeable choices. We would love to see all the money now spent on showcase research to actually stay within the community where it can do some good instead of lining the pockets of the likes of Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone.

They have had their chance. Can we now have our turn, please?

The authors are two concerned parents from Amsterdam who are personally struggling to get healthy food programmes implemented and who have consistently met with deaf ears from politicians and officials.

Greetings!

Doris Voss

Lars Boelen

Message from Dutch PM Rutte to President Trump

Dear mr Trump,

By now you must have learned that we, the Dutch, would like to be second, after the USA. Being first and second brings a special kind of friendship and I am used to share my thoughts with my fellow countrymen so I will do the same with you.
I’ve followed your amazing campaign and first week of power with growing amazement. You’ve made more promises (and broken them) than I have in 6 years. But you have almost 49% of the votes, something I can only dream of because here in Europe we do one man one vote without Electoral College. With such a mandate and such wealth you are in a position to earn trust and get Great Things done.

You are going to solve Big Problems with the flash of your pen you say, but I am an experienced PM and I think that it’s not going to be that easy. I would like to give you some well meant advice.

About that Wall

It’s already there, I checked, it’s huge! It’s already separating families because father (or mother) was deported after forgetting to blink a light or forgetting to smile friendly at a police officer. I would advice to build it not too high because the (political) climate in your country is causing more and more hard working Mexicans to go home, don’t make it to difficult for them!

But if you insist on completing the full 2000 miles, and you say you do, then you have to think about the reality of financing the darn thing. Because money (or lack thereof) is what makes the world go round. We, as a world community, can’t afford to have more Greek situations on the other side of the Atlantic, so please organize the funding BEFORE you start building. Saying “The American People are going to pay the 15 billion dollars needed (for starters), but I, the President will take care to get it back from the Gringos Mexicans”. Sorry, but your track record shows that you are a serial defaulter (i.e. Wasting investors money) and you still owe Deutsche Bank 300 million dollars. Not a very trustworthy starting position. So I would like to propose you a better solution. 

We, the Dutch, invented the share (look it up) and I advice that you crowdfund the Wall. This has several advantages:

* you need to quantify the benefit for your Shareholders  

* “We the People” can then participate in your venture (just $312 per Trump Supporter!)

* Before being allowed to crowdfund a round a Due Diligence is needed so you can finally show your Tax Returns 

* Crowd Funding is really 2017, just like Management by Tweet

After the wall is completed your shareholders will receive your promised dividend. It may be a good idea to make a glossy prospect with measurable goals, shareholders are allergic for baked air. If you sell baked air make sure it’s the best baked air by the way.

Just a few more issues before I finish:

* Ending economic relations with a Mexico will destroy their economy. This will lead to an explosion of immigrants, we have much experience with that in Europe. Sad!

* Are you willing to back your Presidential Orders with your personal wealth? There are quite a few people who are afraid that your desire to re-coalify your economy may prove more destructive than your facts suggest.

* I tragically lost my bet for a bottle of wine with Angela, because I said it would take two weeks before you would insult a neighbour…….but it took you only six days. We are good neighbours though, she invited me to uncork the bottle and celebrate our friendship.

* China will quicky fill the void you create by slamming the door shut, the Dollar will be the Greatest little currency.

Greetings from your friend,

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Best Kingdom of the Netherlands

Satire, No Joke!

Lars Boelen & Doris Voss

It’s complicated

Obesitas and the PPP-machinerie around it is a money machine for talking suits. We, Interested citizens, are NOT happy with this. Nor are numerous newspaper articles and late night shows.  What the interested public has learned so far:

– the matter is complex
– because JoGG works “integrally” this has to work
– they self evaluated and found that they were on the right track.

So much on the right track that it is OK even though the JoGG-method was proven ineffective (Obesitas got worse in neighbourhoods where JoGG was active in Utrecht and Amsterdam) it was OK to send more money into research looking for effects until 2030. JoGG and Epode profile themselves as the “Together Partners” but in reality aren’t they preventing a true “integral method”?
What the hornets on social Media are arguing is that JoGG is a Coca-Cola/Nestlé vehicle to push PPP (public private participation) JoGG-copies worldwide through their Epode network. Because governments are out of ideas (and also out of civil servants to implement) ideas they love to join PPP-tables and large amounts of public money is transferred to what in effect are lingering clubs that have a hidden agenda of delaying effective policies against sugar products. Example of how much industry is mingled with the policy table: the Industry big food/big drink lobby FNLI director Philip den Ouden is also boardmember of JoGG.

In yesteryear (before BigFood) companies paid taxes and governments hired experts to make effective policies for problems. If you think of how the Tabacco problem was eventually contained by ever increasing taxes, banner policies and campaigns you get an idea of what we mean. But now that new-liberal governments want small public sectors and industry on the helm it is in effect BigFood that is making policies. And so we have JoGG/Epode that prove themselves to be very successful because they self evaluate, or have “independent” (Nestlé co-funded) research showing effectiveness. If results are negative (two recent examples show obesity rates going up in neighborhoods of Utrecht and Amsterdam when JoGG gets involved) the self evaluation reports call for more money for longitudinal research projects. (You need to do our programs for 20 years in order to get measurable results).

Enough is enough.

JoGG and Epode should seize to exist. They’re occupying costly offices in CSO-green washing Firms that also house dozens of “healthy food label programs” and other food policy lingering clubs. And results are not there, nothing, nada, zip.

So is there a way out of obesity? Yes, but it’ll be a shock to many:

– BigFood Will be removed from all policy negotiation tables
– the funds for JoGG/Epode will be used to hire expert civil servants to research the problem
– results will quickly show that civilians paying at Petrol stations need to do a “healthy choice” Mars obstacle course to get to the counter (remember paying through the window of your car?)
– kids coming out of the classroom walk into CocaCola sponsored vending machines, certified bij Epode to contain 15%  healthier (lower calorie) Candy bars and soda’s (the empty lower left hand option). Who ever allowed this lunacy? 
– “Sugar” in products has been replaced by ultra cheap High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) that, oops, works differently in your body than beet sugar: it is translated into abdominal fat in stead as reserve energy in the liver.
– The research also shows that Nestlé cs have hired “food technologists” that have figured out in billion dollar researcher programs that the right amounts of HFCS, fat and salt can make foods that when consumed actually make you feel hungry, so that you can eat a family bag of crisps without getting sick.

The civil servants look at this mess and unpack some tools from an era long gone: TAX. 5€ for a kilo of HFCS, 1€ for a Candybar.
Heavy measures , but highly necessary for a problem that can only be compared to the problems we once faces with Tabacco and alcohol.
With industry not welcome at the policy table anymore (and a public record of all lobbyist visits to MP’s, including written record of what was discussed) we can finally work on the problems at hand with fresh ideas and fresh budget.
So yes, a small group keeps biting in the pants of the Industry Food Lobbyclubs so that MP’s will ask them “why are there cuts in your jeans”

It’s complicated

The Ministry of ContraDiction

Doris Voss – @Tijdvooreten

Lars Boelen – @LarsBoelen
PS. JoGG is the Dutch label of #CokeScience #NestléScience, (nr 188 = JoGG)

PPS. NYT’s take on #CokeScience

Dear IKEA-people

Dear IKEA people,

Weren’t taxes once meant as a kind of crowd funding avant la lettre to pay for things as schools, healthcare, science and support for charities like the Animal Ambulance and other rather useful things?

The reason I write you is the following: I came across a cry for help from the Animal Ambulance in Amsterdam. They were asking for funds to replace their vehicle that had become so outdated that is was insane to use it any longer. the people that work there as volunteers offer true value to society and they expect nothing in return but a friendly smile.

Ambulance

…. so we at the Ministry of Contra-Diction have a request for you: We – the society (you customers) – think it’s tame dat you pay (almost) no taxes, for instance in the Netherlands.

Because MegaCorps like IKEA, Nestlé, Coca Cola, Google and Starbucks pay no taxes the society – your customers – gets caught in a trap where doing the right thing is no longer possible because of lack of funds. If IKEA would take time to look further into the future than 1 quarter you can imagine how disastrous this will work out in the long run.

Ruben L. Oppenheimer ‏drew this informatie schema on februari 13th for your customers.

Oppenheimer
His Tweet

“By combining loopholes in several countries IKEA avoided paying 1 billion in taxes.”

1 thousand million. Or to keep it in animal ambulance terms : 25.000 ambulances.

The consequences are felt in many areas of society. Medical care, education, scientific research, the arts are not cash restrained any longer. No, they are on the brink of collapse. And that must not be a good business environment. Right?

Is that what you want? Create a society void of any volunteers, only consumers waiting for the next Easter Sunday to go on a buying frenzy?

So this is our call to you: we are offering our friendly hand to come join us and run a society. How much fun is that?

Take another look at this fantastic documentary about the Tax-Free tour:  De Tax Free Tour – Tegenlicht
… and think again in the boardroom….and guide your fellow multinationals back on track of being truly socially engaged, not just by reporting just enough CSR to keep shareholder meetings quiet – stop the Taxfreetour!

Kind regards
Doris Voss – Minister of Contra-Diction

 

PS. It would be truly sympathetic but because of the urgency actually necessary to sponsor that Animal Ambulance. It’s a drop in your well funded bucket and will have a huge effect against animal suffering. Via this link you can make a donation and your accountants will even find a legal way to subtract the donation from that tiny amount of taxes to be paid …. so be it.

[paypal_donation_button]

Coca Cola demands FIFA reforms (so its image in schools stays clean)

Today Coca Cola and Mc Donald’s together came out with an international press release to urge mr. Blatter to step down as chairman of FIFA in order to start a cleansing of the institute. Corruption is so widespread within FIFA that the negative energy pouring out of the subject is starting to hurt the carefully crafted corporate images of the two fast food giants.

I thought that this was a very intersting statement from the two. They’re pouring billions of dollars into advertising campaings and sports funding with the single goal of creating a mindset in (young) customers that drinking Coke and eating Big Mac’s is part of a healthy lifestyle if you make the right #choices. They are actively opposing government policies that would tax sugar, ban soda-dispensers from high schools or prevent funding of “research” that would prove the benefits of learning consumers to “choose” the right foods and drinks.

if Coca Cola and Mc Donald’s were sincere in their statements they would also

  • Stop funding scientific “research” related to food and sugar
  • Remove all Coke dispensers from high schools
  • Stop funding anything sport related
  • Stop funding community programs that battle obesity

but they are not.

Funding of Epode, the global community based anti-Obestitas platform, is not shown in their CSR reports. Mc Donald’s gives away hamburgers to my children in the sports shop when we buy new sporting clothes.

These two giants of sugar and fat hurt our children’s health every day and their well funded lobbyists know the route to members of parliament who only read the glossy CSR-reports. Policy ideas that would hurt their core business don’t even make it to draft state, let alone legislation.

Coca Cola and Mc Donald’s are far, far worse than mr Blatter when it comes to corrupting the minds of young consumers. But the shiny red and yellow logo’s will soon push that inconvenient truth to the background because we have all these happy commercials to help us remeber we have #choices.

Choose Happiness? Choose something else than red and yellow.

 

 

Dutch civilians win their Climate Class action lawsuit….Now What?

Today 900 Dutch civilians, organised by Climate Change action comittee Urgenda (from: Urgence Agenda), won a historic lawsuit against the Dutch state, demanding that the state delivers on its promisses made in Kyoto and EU-treaties. The dutch conservative and neoLiberal parties that have been in charge ever since the turn of the century had so far refused to take major actions to help the environment. The “why disrupt society if there is still some doubt” was accepted by the majority of the parliament all that time.

In 2013 we had enough of it and went to court and today the judge said we were right. So here we are, fresh victory in the pocket and the government flabbergasted. I expect some staring in the headlights from the goverment and parliament, so I guess we’ll have to nudge them in the right direction. Here we go.

First let’s make the judges verdict S.M.A.R.T

“Lower Hollands CO2 output by 25% in 2020 compared to the Kyoto baseline in 1990”. WOW.

CO2 levels 1990 : 161 billion kilo

Emissions in the last known year (2013): 166 billion kilo
Goal 2020 : 1990 – 25% = 120 billion kilo
Reduction goal : 46 miljard kilo, 28% of current emmisions
Reductiondate 31-12-202 = 5,5 years

So that means reduce CO2 emissions by 8 billion kilos per year for almost 6 years

If we analyze the sad numbers from the bureau of statistics we discover that:
– big industry has done nothing in 25 years
– small business has already reached -25% (do they have a business advantage by going green?)
– Coalplants burn more
– Waste incinneraotrs burn way more
– Traffic (driving and flying)
-households do marginally better

So what is the action plan for the next 5 years? 

1. We remove Megacorps from the negotiation tables. They have done NOTHING in the last quarter century but fund extreme right “think tanks” and pay posh firms to greenwash their results. The door is there, bye bye! We will tell you the new rules when we are done.
 Ahhhhhhhhhh……… That feels good, now we can take serious actions
2. The Taxfreetour Apple, Shell, royal family, Nestlé, Coca Cola, Ikea & Co – leaves nothing in the war chest so important national questions (this climate thing is one of them) never got the funding they deserve. The 1%’ers were enjoying the results. Wasn’t tax at one time the national crowdfunding campaign for good ideas? 
3. Let’s start listening to SMB to learn how to really make companies sustainable  
4. Transportation MUST defossilize and quickly too. We have electric bikes, scooters and cars. Now we only have to do busses and trucks and ferries. 
5. Kerosene tax and because 25€ tickets to Costa del Sol are ruining the planet.
6. Building code changes tomorrow: only zero net energy allowed from now on, Passiv-Haus from 2020 onwards
7. Burning waste as a heat source…….poof ….we’ll up cycle from now on
8. Heat distribution networks are based on coal and gas plants  so no thank you. The glasshouse farmers will switch to Geo-heat where that make sense. 
9. New tax on solar panel less roofs (rate based on wasted solar energy)
10. National insullation campaign. We have 1.2 million “non productive” working age people, they’re the heroes of tomorrow when they roll out the insullation program.

So it’s really easy actually: remove Megacorps from policy making, make plans, roll them out, collect taxes from the polluters and the 1%’ers.

Let’s do it!!


ps. What is this going to cost? Going to a new renewable society (in the 17th century Holland ruled the world on wind power) is the only solution. I went fossil free for €15k and will write it of in 10 years after which I will save 150€/month that I can invest in my local economy forever. That will change the economy in unforeseen ways, but my gut says that that is better than praying to Putin and Saudi Arabia.

Questioning the results of Public Private Partnerships

Yesterday Foodlog.nl featured an opinion with the title “Obestitas Public Private Partnership is indeed a success” from food scientist Marije van Koperen. Because the comments section of a blog is the best place to hide an opinion (Dutch piece said “secret”, mistake) we move the discussion to Twitter.


Marije uses many many words to tell us a group of social media intrigants question the Obesitas PPP (JoGG) results, worth yet, that Obesitas is a money machine for talking suits. With kick offs, catchy movies, international congresses (Epode) and very expensive offices they keep public money out of the hands of civil groups that want to provide healthy food to children at school. 

Two A4’s and dozens of footnotes are used by this Nestlé employee (and VU University, partner in Epode and JoGG) to say that:

– the matter is complex

– because JoGG works “integrally” this has to work

– they self evaluated and found that they were on the right track.

So much on the right track that it is OK even though the JoGG-method was proven ineffective (Obesitas got worse in neighbourhoods where JoGG was active in Utrecht and Amsterdam) it was OK to send more money into research looking for effects until 2030. JoGG and Epode profile themselves as the “Together Partners” but in reality are’nt they preventing a true “integral method”?

What the hornets on social Media are arguing is that JoGG is a Coca-Cola/Nestlé vehicle to push PPP (public private participation) JoGG-copies worldwide through their Epode network. Because governments are out of ideas (and also out of civil servants to implement) ideas they love to join PPP-tables and large amounts of public money is transferred to what in effect are lingering clubs that have a hidden agenda of delaying effective policies against sugar products. Example of how much industry is mingled with the policy table: the Industry big food/big drink lobby FNLI director Philip den Ouden is also boardmember of JoGG . 

In yesteryear (before BigFood) companies paid taxes and governments hired experts to make effective policies for problems. If you think of how the Tabacco problem was eventually contained by ever increasing taxes, banner policies and campaigns you get an idea of what we mean. But now that new-liberal governments want small public sectors and industry on the helm it is in effect BigFood that is making policies. And so we have JoGG/Epode that prove themselves to be very successful because they self evaluate, or have “independent” (Nestlé co-funded) research showing effectiveness. If results are negative (two recent examples show obesity rates going up in neighborhoods of Utrecht and Amsterdam when JoGG gets involved) the self evaluation reports call for more money for longitudinal research projects. (You need to do our programs for 20 years in order to get measurable results).

Enough is enough.
JoGG and Epode should seize to exist. They’re occupying costly offices in CSO-green washing Firms that also house dozens of “healthy food label programs” and other food policy lingering clubs. And results are not there, nothing, nada, zip.

So is there a way out of obesity? Yes, but it’ll be a shock to many: 

– BigFood Will be removed from all policy negotiation tables

– the funds for JoGG/Epode will be used to hire expert civil servants to research the problem

– results will quickly show that civilians paying at Petrol stations need to do a “healthy choice” Mars obstacle course to get to the counter (remember paying through the window of your car?)

– kids coming out of the classroom walk into CocaCola sponsored vending machines, certified bij Epode to contain 15%  healthier (lower calorie) Candy bars and soda’s (the empty lower left hand option). Who ever allowed this lunacy? 

– “Sugar” in products has been replaced by ultra cheap High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) that, oops, works differently in your body than beet sugar: it is translated into abdominal fat in stead as reserve energy in the liver.

– The research also shows that Nestlé cs have hired “food technologists” that have figured out in billion dollar researcher programs that the right amounts of HFCS, fat and salt can make foods that when consumed actually make you feel hungry, so that you can eat a family bag of crisps without getting sick.

The civil servants look at this mess and unpack some tools from an era long gone: TAX. 5€ for a kilo of HFCS, 1€ for a Candybar.

Heavy measures , but highly necessary for a problem that can only be compared to the problems we once faces with Tabacco and alcohol.

With industry not welcome at the policy table anymore (and a public record of all lobbyist visits to MP’s, including written record of what was discussed) we can finally work on the problems at hand with fresh ideas and fresh budget.
So yes, a small group keeps biting in the pants of the Industry Food Lobbyclubs so that MP’s will ask them “why are there cuts in your jeans”

The Ministry of ContraDiction

IMG_6016-0.jpg

Letter to the Pope

Amsterdam, August 13th 2015

Dear Pope, Honored Holy Father,

My name is Doris Voss and I live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I write as civilian, not  a member of any organization.

As you may have heard the civilians here in the Netherlands won a lawsuit against the Dutch state where the judge ordered the government to give substance to the climate change actions promised to the Dutch population. I am sure that your ambitions for a healthier Planet Earth have helped the judge take this difficult decision.

Point is however that the Dutch Government is contemplating an appeal against the verdict. But in my humble opinion there is no time left to linger!

I would like to ask you for a favor.

In September or October I would like to arrange a small meeting here in the “Old Church” in Amsterdam with these three gentlemen, that I haven’s spoken yet but who will for sure join me if you help me:

  • Artist Daan Roosegaarde who recently visualized The Netherlands below a rising sea level (Film,  Waterlicht Museumplein )
  • Jon Gnarr (who until 2014) as mayor of Reykjavik did a tremendous good job of transforming the Energy supply of the Icelandic capital.
  • Leonado di Caprio, who, as an actor but also as civilian campaigns for the climate cause
  • Doris Voss as Minister for ContraDiction

We would like to arrange that our Prime Minister receives from us, representatives of the people, a deceleration not to go into appeal and to respect the judges’ verdict. (Dutch civilians win their Climate Class action lawsuit….Now What?)

Waterlicht Taart

Left:  visualization of The Netherlands below Sea level © Daan Roosegaarde 2015

Right:  visualization of the necessity for our generation to take climate action © Lars Boelen 2013

It is our sincere belief that if we give the Dutch government the right nudge at this moment that a worldwide turn in sustainability thinking can be realized.

I would like to ask if you could persuade Naomi Klein, your sustainability Apostle, to come support our cause.

The combination of “a won climate lawsuit” and “Naomi in name of the Pope” and the people present at the meeting in the setting of the “waterlight” form Daan Roosengaarde in the “Old Church” in Amsterdam will get global attention for this just cause.

When Mrs. Klein hands the petition to the Prime Minister it could be the butterfly stroke necessary to start the hurricane of public consciousness for better and smarter climate policies worldwide.

We ask you to support this initiative and help make it a worldwide success.

Kind greetings

Your Doris