Consumer Stupidity

I've had enough.

The gluten free trend is taking off so everyone is jumping on the band wagon and coming out with their own line of 'gluten free' products.

These companies know most human beings are educated to not ask questions, and so they hide ingredients which contain GLUTEN in the food because obviously no one reads LABELS!

Oats are not gluten free!

Barely is not Gluten free!

Spelt is not gluten free!

Whole grain DOESN'T MEAN GLUTEN FREE!!

AHHHHHH!

Oh and let's not forget the cookies that boast gluten free goodness as well as being corn and dairy free in flashy lettering on the front of the box, but turn the box around and read the teeny list of items on the back and CORN STARCH is listed as well as WHEY POWDER.

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGG!!

People, stop being so dumb and buying these impostor's products.  Stick to the little guy, the ones who sell in the Health food store or your local farmers market.

They know gluten free because they LIVE IT.

Wheat.

Wheat.  And all it's crumbs and stupid proteins.

It bugs the CRAP out of me.

The story:

My boys (all of them ;) went to Grandpa and Grandma's house yesterday to help get the barn ready for removal.

Michael is too young to help, so he stayed in the house with his cousin, and they took turns playing on the computer.  He had a blast.  He didn't eat anything - just had some orange juice.

Today.

He woke up with a sore tummy.  It hurt so bad, he was almost in tears.  He couldn't even eat breakfast.

He had the scoots... twice.

The other kids went to play outside.  Michael went, too.  (He was feeling better.)

Except.

He wasn't.  :/

He couldn't make it into the house in time.  (Poor kid.)

Now he's in the house to stay, missing out on the beautiful sunshine and fun with his siblings and cousin.

And why?

Because there are wheat crumbs in his Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Not necessarily ones you can see, either.  But because his cousin ate, then touched the computer mouse, there was likely some transfer of wheat proteins onto the mouse.

So, when it was Michael's turn to play... well, I'm sure you can guess what happened.

This happens every time our kids go to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They're always sick the next day.  Sigh.

I guess if they went there, kept their hands above their heads and didn't touch a thing - not even the couch - they'd be okay.  They could wash their hands, change their clothes, and they'd probably be fine.

Right.  Like that would happen in a million years.

So, we deal.

But, wheat BUGS ME!!!

Seatbelt Laws and Fines - And My Right to Be Stupid

I've been thinking about this one for a while, and I hope to hash it out in a way that is understandable.

Seat belt laws bug me. Let me explain.

In Ontario, as of December 1, 2006, there was a new law:

"every person travelling in a motor vehicle must wear a seat belt or use a child safety seat."

Now, in and of itself this law would be fine, I guess. According to statistics, wearing a seat belt increases your chances of surviving a car accident. Another website states that 63% of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts. So, it just seems logical to put your seat belt on when you're on the road - if you've noticed all of our posts under the "road rage" tag, you'll notice that we believe people on the highways are generally idiots. I don't have a website for the statistical average of idiots on the road, but I'm pretty sure it would be above 50%. Just saying. Knowing the high percentage of idiocy on the highways leads me to be more careful.

So, I agree that it's smart to wear a seatbelt.

But here's the part that bugs me. The MTO website goes on to state:

"The penalty for seat belt infractions is a fine between $60 and $500. Convicted offenders will receive two demerit points."

I don't believe it's right for the government to be able to fine me and give me demerit points for my own decision to put my life at risk. If I want to be an idiot and go without wearing my seat belt, who are they to fine me for it?

Warn me? Sure. Frown upon me? Okay! But fine me?

Let's just look at this for a second. I'm going to use another example of personal choices.

I could go buy 200 Twinkies and gorge myself on them. I could do this daily, and there would be no fine. Why? Because it would be my choice - although the world will tell you that obesity is a risk all on its own.

23.1% of Canadians are obese.

"In 2000, poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths..."

Just pause for a second and look at that number. 400,000 deaths were caused by obesity and physical inactivity. Now look at these statistics, from the same year (2000):

"41,821 people were killed in auto accidents in 2000 based on data collected by the Federal Highway Administration."

So that's just a little over a tenth, and don't forget that only 63% of those deaths relating to car accidents were because the people were not wearing seat belts. Someone else can do the math for that.

What this boils down to is an infringement on my rights. If I have a right to be obese if I want to, and to be physically inactive if I want to, I should have a right to go without a seat belt if I want to.

The government has every right to fine me if I'm speeding, or driving erratically. This sort of thing puts other people in danger. But to fine me for a personal choice, a choice which leaves only me and me alone in any sort of danger, is ridiculous.

Now, don't forget to buckle up. ;p

As a Follow-Up to My Previous Post About H1N1...

As it still bugs me that the whole world is panicked about this turns-out-it-wasn't-that-bad-at-all-I-mean-it-was-nowhere-near-the-pandemic-level virus, I notice blogs and comments that mention H1N1.

"One thing that amazes me is the discrepancy between the news headlines and the real world. So often the headlines warn of doom and gloom that fails to materialize or their slant is overwhelmingly negative when there are many reasons for encouragement. This was evident during the recent financial crisis that we have come through, and I suspect it will be the story after the hype surrounding H1N1 has settled down. Unfortunately the long term impact of "crying wolf" too many times is that people are increasingly reluctant to believe the "experts" in the future."

I don't know if these experts realize that they're digging holes for themselves.

This post has a pretty good conclusion, I must say.

Make Up Your Mind!!

What really bugged me this morning was reading an article in a magazine (which I usually love) about the H1N1 vaccine. I'll quote the part I was reading:

"Canada's reaction to the H1N1 flu threat has been a remarkable success so far...."

"...the federal government has acquired 50 million doses of vaccine, sufficient for all Canadians who request it..."

Now, the funny part of this is, at the same time as reading those words in that article, I was listening to the local news, where they were basically reporting a vaccine shortage. People are lining up and there are not enough doses to go around; so they're asking pregnant women and children to go first.

So, which is it? Are there enough doses, or are there not?

More:

"...approximately 80 per cent of respondents said they'd been kept well informed about the flu by public health officials and an equal number felt the authorities were taking appropriate precautions. On the other hand, only 36 per cent of respondents considered themselves "very likely" to get the vaccine..."

"....Any amount of government preparation will be for naught if citizens refuse to co-operate because of superstition or ignorance..."

Okay...so...we've been well informed, but if we decide not to get the shot, we're ignorant of the facts? I thought we were well informed?

80% were well informed, weren't they? Or did I misread that? How can 80% be well informed, but 63% be ignorant? These percentages don't add together very well.

"We would encourage everyone to get informed and think carefully..."

Wow, really?