Kiss king-sized candy bars goodbye

Mars Inc., the manufacturer of Snickers candy bars, is phasing all of its chocolate products that exceed 250 calories.  The move comes as part of an agreement with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), an organization founded in 2010 in conjunction with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! government initiative.

The PHA exists to "monitor and publicly report on the progress" of its partners -- including Mars -- in supporting "healthier" choices for American consumers.  Translated from liberal language, this means they aim to remove all of the "unhealthy" choices (by making their existing products smaller).  Now, fans of the chocolatey candy will have to purchase twice as many regularly priced, regularly sized items, making the cost of king-sized candy twice as expensive.

Greg Beato predicts another potential downfall of this sad news in the latest issue of Reason mag:

In 1998 a Colorado handyman got swept up in an avalanche that buried his snowmobile and left him stranded in a blizzard. For five days and four nights, rescue teams struggled to locate him. Luckily, the Snickers bar he had in his pocket was a king-sized version. Every one of its 510 calories helped him survive his ordeal.

Future avalanche victims had better hope for a faster rescue team.

It's just not right.