"Fruits and veggies are rich in vitamins and minerals that help you feel healthy and energized.” That is just one of the top ten reasons to eat more fruits and vegetables according to FruitsAndVeggiesMoreMatters.org, a site whose name just rolls off the tongue. All kidding aside, Fruits..Matters.org, is a wealth of good information.  The site offers tips on meal planning, shopping, understanding food labels, recipes, and even fun activities for the kids.

There’s also a database of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that has helpful information such as choosing the right produce and storing it once you get it home. For example, avocados are actually fruit and should be stored at room temperature in a paper bag until ripe. They’re sodium free, cholesterol free, and low in saturated fat. Strawberries, on the other hand should be stored in the refrigerator, but shouldn’t be washed until they’re ready to be eaten. Although Strawberries won’t last more than a few days in the refrigerator, almonds can last up to a year, if still in the shell.

I should point out that the site is run by a non-profit organization, PBH, comprised of “growers, shippers, packers, merchandisers, commodity boards, trade associations, food industry organizations, health insurers, health professionals, and retailers,” so its mission is a little self-serving. Not that this is a secret, though. I found this information after only a few clicks on the site. Nor should there be any belief that it matters to me a lick. Quite the opposite. I see this as an example of capatalism working. If society puts a value on something, people will find a way to make a profit. Fortunately, with proper growth and fair practices, each will learn that the best way to make profit is to invest improve and improve the field. In short, if society puts value in healthy living, corporations will setup helpful sites like Fruits..Matters.org.  Likewise, if society puts value in vice, corporations will do likewise. For examples, check out the technology behind an online poker site or any of the web cam sites.

It’s because of this underlying truism of capatalism that I bristle whenever I hear a politician talking about taking the profit out of the health care industry. I don’t disagree that health care has become very expensive and that too many people are left without adequate coverage, but the only thing removing the profit is going to do is cheapen the care. Along with the money our nation spends on health care comes the expectation of excellent, professional care. And in order to obtain this excellent, professional care we need to rely on the best and brightest to provide that care and constantly improve the field. If we were to, in fact, remove profit from this system, how are we to expect the best and brightest to go through the years of schooling, training, non-stop certifications, long hours, and often thankless work necessary if providing health care is tantamount to a philanthropic effort? It seems to me that we’d want to do the exact opposite.

Already we’ve reached a point where children don’t want to be doctors when they grow up - they want to be famous. Because we put such value on fame we’ve created a system where fame is traded like a commodity to be bought and sold. Where millions are made and spent on improving the technologies behind capturing a long-distance photo of a celeb bringing their clothes in to be dry cleaned. Where people are made famous for simply being famous, a la Paris Hilton, and they earn fortunes for it. They certainly earn much more than your General Practitioner who is probably still paying back his student loans.

No, if you want health care to improve, you need to put controlled money into the system. You make infrastructure changes. You streamline. You organize. You invest and improve. You find new ways to provide better care. You further science and improve the technology so that problems can be detected and diagnosed earlier. You attract the best and the brightest and you reward them for their efforts. If you put more value into health care, people will find ways to improve it. It’s in their own self-interest to do so.

"You won’t learn much about capitalism at a university. How could you? Capitalism is a matter of risks and rewards, and a tenured professor doesn’t have much to do with either.”
Jerry Pournelle