I really am having a hard time with this one. The nanny staters in the European Union have decided that if you enter a cake into a contest, say at a local fair, that after the contest, the cake is not to be consumed, but destroyed:

New EU regulations have banned the consumption of cakes and confectionary entered at country fairs and agricultural shows immediately after baking competitions.

The chairman of Mayo County Council, Cllr Joe Mellett, said the new rules were the “death knell” for the Irish agricultural show.

“When you see things like this it’s no wonder the people voted No to the Lisbon Treaty. This will be the end of the traditional baking competition at local shows across the country, therefore impacting on local revenue. It’s just ridiculous.”

Under the rules adjudicators of bakery sections in local shows are only permitted to taste the traditional favourites such as apple tarts or cheese cakes. Once the judging is over, the produce must be immediately destroyed. As a result, only bite-sized versions of the cakes will be entered in shows.

The directive has already been made law in Scotland.

Meanwhile, there is starving all over the world, part of which is blamed on the EU.

This type of nanny state stupidity isn’t restricted to Europe. We see its ugly face all over America. For example, Los Angeles is banning new fast food restaurants. So, they limit this to “an impoverished swath of the city with a proliferation of such eateries and above average rates of obesity.” Are they saying that poor people are too stupid to choose where to eat? That’s what it says to me.

New York is thinking about doing the same thing.

The proponents of this type of meddling will say that fast food causes obesity and that leads to medical expenses which the poor can’t afford and we have to pay for, which makes it a public issue, not a private issue.

So, instead of seeing the welfare state as a problem, they see freedom of choice. Rather than eliminate the free health care, they eliminate freedom. Rather than move away from socialism, they move away from liberty.

Now that is enough to make me sick. I think I’ll have a bacon sandwich…while I still can.

Hat Tip: Cato @ Liberty