I first came across this story via Tim. Note, it’s at the bottom of the page, so you have to scroll down to see it:
Uproar north of the border. The Scottish Executive is apparently planning to ban pies and chips from pubs. In future, it seems, Scottish landlords renewing their licences will be required to submit “healthy eating” menus for political approval.
Anyway, thanks to Paul, here is a little more insight:
Now smokers have been banned from Scotland’s pubs and drinkers are being told not to drink outside them – it appears pub pie and chip menus are next on the health hit list.
Plans are afoot to make licensees come up with a healthy eating commitment as part of their licensing conditions.
Lawyer Janet Hood was on the national forum advising the Scottish Executive on the new legislation.
Hood, head of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) Scotland, said it was not a licensee’s job to tell people what to eat.
Indeed, it is not. Nor is it the job of politicians to tell us what to eat. Not that this deters them, they proceed with their plans regardless. You would have thought by now that I would be immune to the inanity of politicians and their grasping, avaricious endeavours to seize and hold onto power; the depths to which they stoop in their attempt to control and micro manage every aspect of our lives. Still, every so often, they manage hitherto unheard-of and breathtaking degrees of control freakery; such as this. So rich is the effrontery, so stunning is the cheek, it is almost artistic in execution. I can almost admire it.
Ye gods! Can it get any worse? Don’t answer that, as the response will, sooner or later, be a resounding “yes”. I just dread to think what pernicious scheme they will come up with, though.