This‘ll be good news for my Dutch brother and sister in law, whose combined BMI (Body Mass Index, a measure of obesity) must be about 5, if that. When you look at the processed, deepfried crap that even Dutch vegetarians consume it’s odd they’re all so thin at all. It must be all the cheese.
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The United States has the heaviest body mass index population over 30 on the planet, with 30.6%. With statistics like these, why is it that in America, vegetarians are not given a break when it comes to health insurance?
Uh…. because that would make the insurers less money? But do carry on.
The Netherlands, which has 10% of BMI over 30, is the first country where vegetarians get discount health insurance. This policy, VegePolis, has the motto that people who choose not to eat meat live a healthier lifestyle. The Netherlands is considering health insurance policies for nonsmokers and people who don’t smoke or drink. Niko Koffeman, an animal-rights activist and entrepreneur, believes that people with healthier lifestyles should be able to reap the financial benefits of it. This policy was introduced by Agis Zorgverzekeringen and Stichting PreventiePolis. Besides advantages in health insurance, members get 10% discounts on vegetarian dinners at restaurants affiliated with the Netherland’s vegetarian union. A portion of insurance revenues goes to animal welfare groups. With the healthcare issues in America along with health issues, it looks like Americans need to take note from the Netherlands. Although I’m not fond of the idea of spending 80% of the speaking time of all parties in parliament being dominated by the theme of animal rights to be copied in America, which has a world of other issues, I do believe that this should be a more popular topic, specifically in states like Michigan that find hunting season to be the joy of the year, yet another reason why I hated Marquette, Michigan so much during my undergraduate years.
In the light of significantly higher prices for meat being expected as a result of the damage to fodder crops from the terrible summer weather and the fact that it’s to the point that I’m now on a no fat, no dairy, low wheat, low fibre, low protein, high salt, low potassium diiet and a rise in health insurance premiums is predicted, again, it may be time to look at vegetables in a new light. Plain bread, lean ham sandwiches, boiled sweets and bananas begin to pall after a while anyway. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a giant steak and a buttered baked potato full of sour cream or a big cheese laden pizza, followed by several chocolate eclairs or even a whole croquembouche or sachertorte.
Can you make sachertorte from tofu?
[By the way I see that this report comes via Associated Content, a syndication service that purports to pay bloggers for content (which Associated Content then owns rights to). The way they use aspiring writers as an ad revenue farm is a story in itself.]
