Tommy Thompson wants a massive relabeling scheme for food.

Topic: Tommy Thompson’s Plan to Make Consumers Healthy

Tommy Thompson: First off, you have to put out a good labeling, you know, good labeling on foods so you can actually understand what you’re consuming. Number 2, you got to put out educational programs starting in, you know, in the grade school and high schools with children. You got to do something about not having every corner in a school, you know, with vending machines with nothing but high fat foods in it and so on. You need good drinks and good foods in those vending machines. Number [4], I encourage my corporate clients to bring in a nutritionist. If they can have a full time nutritionist on staff and I could show them if they’ll do that they can save money, but at least bring one in on a part-time basis, on a periodic basis to teach people how to eat properly. I also have suggested that cafeterias in corporations and in hospitals subsidize good food for their employees and their patients and allow a one line to have nothing but fruits and vegetables and salads, and either subsidize it or give it away free to your employees, and on the other line, put your high fat foods and charge a lot of money, and to do that you will change human nature. I made a joke that if you charge everybody $5 for a hamburger, $10 for a cheeseburger and $0.20 for French fry, and if you do that, you will change people’s attitude to go over to the good foods. These are the kind of things that we have to do as a society to make ourselves healthier

Recorded On: 10/30/08