Archive for October 21st, 2009

Folic acid added to bread? No thanks.

Posted by David Hurst in Food!, Personal, Rants on October 21st, 2009

The Food Standards Agency has made a recommendation to the Government that it should be made mandatory for bakers to add folic acid to our bread. Apparently, this is to help reduce the occurrences of spina bifida in new-born babies. It has long been known that folic acid plays a key role in foetal development, and this is why my wife, when pregnant with each of our boys, chose to take various vitamin supplements, including folic acid, throughout her pregnancy. Fair enough, spina bifida is horrible and anything we can do to reduce occurrences is good, but why do we need to add the stuff to our bread when mothers are advised to take it in supplements anyway? Can we not just prescribe supplements under the NHS and give them free to pregnant women?

Why am I bothered? Well, folic acid (which is a synthetic form of folate - a B vitamin) has been linked, albeit inconclusively, to an increased risk of cancer (as with so many things that scientists muck about with). Indeed, the US and Canada have been lacing flour with folic acid this since 1990 and there have been studies that show an increase in occurrences of bowel cancer during this period. Why do we have to copy everything the Americans do anyway? Their health system in particular is appalling! They won’t give out healthcare to anyone that can’t pay, but they will stuff their bread full of folic acid and their water full of flouride.

The human body cannot store folic acid, which is why daily supplements are important. However, it would seem that a small proportion of women do not follow the advice they are given and don’t take their supplements. Well, plenty of women also smoke when pregnant - an evil act of selfishness that results in infants being born with cravings for nicotine and other complications - must the entire population stop smoking then? Others don’t look after their bodies, eat a healthy diet or stop drinking alcohol. Should we make gym membership mandatory, close all McDonalds restaurants and ban drink? Hardly! And yet, because some women are stupid, all of us must be force-fed folic acid? Even the men. Are they serious?

Of course one of the reasons given in support of this is that many pregnancies are unplanned. Well, that may be true, but most women are aware pretty quickly that they have the proverbial “bun in the oven” and can therefore immediately start on a course of supplements.

No, that’s not good enough for the interfering powers-that-be, who feel that we as people cannot possibly act in a sensible manner and look after ourselves. No, they have to meddle.

So, because some pregnant women are incapable of accepting advice from qualified medical professionals, I now have to start eating bread laced with a potentially carcenegenic substance? No way! I’ll bake my own bread. I’ll even mill my own flour if I have to, but I sure as hell won’t start eating random ingredients by stealth simply because the FSA has decided it might be good for a small percentage of the population. And, seeing as we won’t be having any more children, my wife and kids won’t be eating it either.

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Mock the Week, Frankie Boyle and Rebecca Adlington

Posted by David Hurst in Personal, Rants on October 21st, 2009

I was listening to the Five Live phone in yesterday afternoon and the topic of discussion was the 75 complaints received by the BBC in relation to comments made about Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington on the Mock the Week programme. The comments were made by comedian Frankie Boyle, who basically re-hashed an old joke to make fun of the way she looks. I don’t watch Mock the Week, mainly because I can’t stand Frankie Boyle, so I didn’t see the show in question, but of those that did, 75 chose to complain to the BBC. Would those same people have made a complaint if the joke was directed at Prince Charles or Cherie Blair? I suspect not, because I constantly hear disgraceful and disrespecful jibes, directed at the royal family and others, aired on national TV. This should come as no surprise in today’s hypocrisy ridden society though. Rebecca Adlington is currently loved by the nation for her swimming prowess, so it’s understandable that complaints should surface.

Frankly, I agree with the people that complained. It’s one thing to ridicule some sort of celebrity figure for a job they’ve done or some sort of media bungle, but it’s quite another to be just plain rude about another person’s appearance. We wouldn’t accept it in our workplaces. We wouldn’t accept it on the street. We certainly wouldn’t tolerate it from our children at school. So, why does it become acceptable to abuse somebody if it’s done on TV and in the name of comedy?

A number of people called the Five Live phone in and made the point that the programme is called “Mock the Week” and as Rebecca Adlington was in the news that week, she was fair game for Frankie Boyle. I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand that. “Mock the Week” is not the same as “Mock the Way Somebody Looks”. Her achievements and press coverage would certainly have been “fair game” for the show, but why do we need to cross the line into personal abuse in the name of a cheap laugh?

Other callers expressed the view that people can choose to not watch the programme and therefore have no right to get upset. Well, I don’t watch the programme, but I have every right to get upset, because I am forced to pay towards the production of the programme in my TV license fee. As a small portion of my money is invested in every show the BBC produces, I and every other license fee payer has the right to object.

Just as in the Ross/Brand incident, the comments were allowed through by the editing team, and one could argue that it is them that have really failed us. People say stupid and offensive things all the time (especially true of Mr Boyle), and the editing team should be working to ensure that lines are not crossed.

I enjoy a good joke, but this just isn’t funny. Just because an individual is famous does not preclude them from feeling hurt when they are personally abused. Of course, the daft thing in all of this is that the media coverage has expanded the unpleasantness way beyond the comparatively small demographic that actually watch the show, and Rebecca herself would never have known about it had the media not jumped on an opportunity to revel in the degradation of decent society.

Welcome to modern Britain.

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