Modifying Some Laws to Support my Healthy Living Campaign

Advocacy Campaign on Obesity
Legislative and policy frameworks have formed a fundamental basis of regulating the prevalence of chronic diseases in the past. Obesity has been subject to legislative laws and enactment of policies that seek to create an environment that is difficult for the thriving of obesity. While the “raise a healthy child” campaign proposed in part one will be helpful in dealing with childhood obesity, its effectiveness will be premised on its alignment with the existing laws and policies.
With the desire ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of this campaign, there will be a need to adjust the existing laws to align them with the requirements of this campaign. First, the 2008 Farm Bill created a special fund that aimed at subsidizing cereal-based foodstuffs such as soybeans and corn (American Farmland Trust, 2008). The enactment of this law was meant to reduce the price of such foodstuff and hence make them widely available as substitutes for meat. However, the law enabled cheap provision of animal feeds that in turn enhanced the supply of meat that supports obesity. Therefore, for the “Raise a Healthy Child” campaign to be successful, this law will need an adjustment to curb the use of subsidized cereals as animal feeds and hence provide children with healthy serial and vegetable-based foodstuffs (Ogden, Carroll, & Flegal, 2009). The transportation bill will also require adjustments. For it to be effective in supporting the campaign, it will be adjusted in a way that supports more cycling and walking on pedestal walkways to encourage children walking or cycling to school and when with their parents and hence reduce obesity (Ferraro, Thorpe, & Wilkinson, 2010). The two legislative examples demonstrate how the existing law will require an adjustment to support a framework of “raise a healthy child” campaign.
The constitution in its current shape at both the state and federal levels will have an impact on both the implementation and the success of the “Raise a Healthy Child” campaign. First, the two laws discussed above in their current form will limit the success of the program. The farm bill will avail meat at a considerably lower price. As a result, meat and other related products will be available to parents at a lower cost (American Farmland Trust, 2008). For parents concerned about cost, they will opt to buy their children more meat and other meat-based food products. However, it will negate the essence of this campaign that seeks to empower parents to accustom their children to healthy foodstuffs. Secondly, the transport bill will support the exercise that this campaign envisages largely. For instance, the creation of walkways and the special lanes for cycling will enhance exercise activities. At the state level, the California enacted legislation that required all food manufacturers to label the exact amount of calories contained in their foodstuff. Such labeling will help nutritionists in giving professional advice to parents on feeding their children (Wang, Bleich, & Gortmaker, 2008).
The success of this campaign program will require convincing legislators and policymakers both at federal and state levels to accept and buy into my idea. For this to be successful, I will have to lobby for a substantive number of legislators to propose and support laws that support the requirements of this law. Notably, the process of legislation takes into account the number of legislators who are in support of a specific bill. The passing of a bill is carried out at the Congress and the Senate levels. Therefore, I will endeavor to meet as many legislators as possible and convince them on the importance of the campaign program that I intend to roll out. The lobbying process will involve a one on one discussions with the legislators to explain to them what the campaign is about and what I intend to achieve through this campaign. Once a legislator has understood the importance of the campaign, I will then explain the legislative and policy support that this campaign requires to be successful. I will then task the legislators who agree with my idea to lobby other legislators in passing the relevant laws.
The passing of legislation of the law supporting this program will encounter several challenges. First, the advocates of Human rights and fundamental freedoms are likely to view this move as an attempt to curtail the freedom of Americans in choosing the types of foods they intend to buy. In dealing with this challenge, I intend to carry out a nationwide campaign that popularizes the intended laws. In this campaign, I will educate the public that the laws to be enacted are not meant to deny any such right but are in the interest of all American children. The second challenge that I will face is a spirited fight from meat processing firms for the purported increase in their sales volumes. Economic analysis will argue that the passage of such laws will reduce national GDP and render people jobless (Enns, Mickle & Goldman, 2006). I will counter such an argument by explaining the importance the importance of a healthy population over economic gains.
Overall, the “Raise a Healthy Child” campaign requires small changes in the existing laws for it to be successful. The existing laws support this campaign to some extent. However, there will be a need for further amendments to fine-tune the law to the requirements of this campaign. To succeed, I will use a lobbying process to get legislators adopt such amendments to the existing law.


References
American Farmland Trust, (2008). Success in the 2008 Farm Bill, a New Direction for Farm and Food Policy: AFT Overview of the 2008 Farm Bill. Available at www.farmland.org/programs/farm-bill/analysis/documents/AFT-2008-Farm-Bill-brochure-August2008.pdf
Ogden, C., Carroll. M. & Flegal. K. (2009) “High body mass index for age among US children and adolescents, 2003–2006.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 299, 2401–5
Ferraro, K., Thorpe. R. & Wilkinson. J. (2010). “The life course of severe obesity: Does childhood overweight matter?” Journals of Gerontology, Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(2), 110–19
Enns, C., Mickle, S & Goldman, J. (2006). “Trends in food and nutrient intakes by children in the United States.” Family Economics and Nutrition Review, 14(2):56–68
Wang, Y., Bleich S., Gortmaker. S. (2008). “Increasing caloric contribution from sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juices among U.S. children and adolescents, 1988–2004.” Pediatrics, 121, e1604–14.