In 1998, a Colorado handyman was snowmobiling in the mountains outside of Steamboat Springs when he got swept up in an avalanche that buried his vehicle and left him stranded in a blizzard. Provisioned with nothing more than two butane lighters and a Snickers bar, the man endured 40 mph winds and near-zero temperatures for five days and four nights as rescue teams struggled to locate him. Luckily, the Snickers bar he’d carried was the king-sized version. Every one of its 510 calories helped him persevere through the course of his ordeal.
In the future, anyone caught in similar circumstances better hope for a faster search and rescue team. Mars Inc., the manufacturer of Snickers and many other convenience store treats, has decided to phase out chocolate products that exceed 250 calories per portion. By the end of 2013, consumers will no longer be able to purchase king-sized Snickers bars. Instead, they’ll have to make do with a product that Mars introduced in 2009, Snickers 2 To Go, which features two 220-calorie bars in a single “resealable” wrapper. In addition, Mars will also need to reduce the size of a standard Snickers bar. It currently contains 280 calories and thus exceeds the new calorie cap by 12 percent.
Mars is implementing the 250-calorie threshold as part of an agreement with Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), a non-profit organization that aims to “broker meaningful commitments” from commercial food manufacturers like Mars to “end childhood obesity.” PHA was founded in 2010 in conjunction with the Let’s Move! program, First Lady Michelle Obama’s federally funded government initiative that aims to shape up the nation’s tubby youth through a vigorous regimen of legislation,regulation, and mass jumping jacks. Mrs. Obama serves as PHA’s honorary chair, and according to its website, PHA’s mandate is to “monitor and publicly report on the progress” of its private-sector partners like Mars, and, more generally, to “make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
Read more at Reason.com.
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Another case of Government deciding what is best for us. She needs to keep her mouth shut!
I guess it is time to write to the M&M/Mars candy company and complain. I am extremely fond of Mars bars and would really like to see them at their present size, or larger. Perhaps maybe they should put a warning label of some sort informing people to run after they consume these confections. Heck, making the bars smaller will only encourage people to buy more of the product instead of less. Hmm, you go Michelle! Maybe it is a winner for M&M/Mars after all! I found the idea of resealable packaging to be laughable in that it’s only purpose will be to cause an increase in the products price. Who eats less than the entire candy bar as it is?
Memo to M&M/Mars: Issue a public statement telling Mrs. Obama to go to he11! Our customers/marketing will decide our policy. THIS IS AMERICA!
It is not the first case that a large candy bar has saved people in such crisis. Like Katrina, Mississippi floods, Tornadoes, tsunami like Japan. But to tell me that I will get fat eating one is non of your business. I think it is about her power as PHA honorary chair than health issues. Instead of eating one BIG candy bar I WILL eat two or three. I hope M&M/Mars will make it affordable. We still have entrepreneur rights. OOPS! They did not build that.