Radical obesity crusader Harold Goldstein believes that Americans simply can’t be trusted with the complex task of feeding themselves. Today, he drove home that point in a study released by his group, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA). The report tapped government control as the cure-all for obesity, dismissing campaigns that focus on personal responsibility or exercise. After reviewing the findings, Los Angeles County public health director Dr. Jonathan Fielding told the Los Angeles Times: “One of the points that this study makes is that we can’t just look at issues of weight as a personal choice.”

While this kind of rhetoric seems outrageous to most, inside the increasingly authoritarian world of the food police it’s standard fare. Indeed, it’s hard to find a card-carrying member of the Gastronomical Gestapo who doesn’t dismiss the concept of individual responsibility out of hand. This attitude is reflected in the lengths food cops seem willing to go to take away our right to choose.

CCPHA leveraged its study to advocate for several Big Brother policies: fast-food zoning restrictions, menu labeling mandates, and others. Goldstein took it one step further, suggesting that “it’s time to consider adding the fast-food joints and convenience stores around every corner to the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of known environmental toxins.” But the only thing really revealed as toxic in this report is the junk “science” used to justify government control of everything you eat.