NEWSFLASH: McDonald’s existed back when I was a kid

I think maybe you don't enjoy critically looking at problems. Which is fine, but McDonalds is part of the cheap fast food that is making people obese - it's unhealthy food that is cheap. They do have some duty towards their customers not to feed them crap. Yes, McDonalds existed when you were a kid. People became more and more obese during your lifetime so far.

Your comments about the Occupy Wall Street movements are similar.

It's possible to lose weight, but there's no known cure for conservatism/libertarianism/whatever it is that stops you seeing things in context. As Stephen Colbert pointed out, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

Fast food restaurants don't have a responsibility towards their customers, they are in it for the money. Why would they change a product that sells and sells well. We as consumers have to take the responsibility to make healthy choices for our bodies and earth. No one makes us eat cheap, fast food; we choose that and until we don't, McDonald's is just going to keep making it!

Depending on personal responsibility ends up with a lot of obese people in poverty.

They do have some duty towards their customers not to feed them crap.

McDonald's has no more duty to "not feed them crap" than a bakery has a duty not to sell cupcakes, or a grocery store has to not sell candy bars. And McDonald's food doesn't make people fat -- overeating makes people fat. Someone can enjoy an occasional Big Mac and fries (if they like that stuff) and still be fit. I take my kids to McDonald's every once in a while for ice cream, and you know what I order? Nothing. And nobody in the restaurant tries to "feed me" anything. Health and fitness are about personal choices and personal responsibility.

Good for you!

I'm not saying people don't have a personal responsibility. I'm saying that if people go there, and take their children there, the food should be less processed and less calorie-laden. Have you actually researched into what is in their food?

No, the food should not be less processed and calorie-laden. If I go into a shop that sells cookies, the cookies don't need to smaller, or have fewer chocolate chips, or less sugar (even if I take my children in there!). I, as an individual, need to make a good choice about how many of them I'm going to eat, and how often. And if I have kids, it's up to me to make responsible choices about what they eat. If I go there three times a day and consume 1,500 calories of cookies each time, the cookie shop isn't responsible for the fact that I'm fat.

Could you enlighten me as to why you feel that McDonalds/Corporations bear more responsibility to me than I do for myself? Be specific.

... Well, for the first part of my specific answer, I'll have to ask you to review your reading comprehension skills. Specifically, how did you get the impression from what I said that I thought McDonalds should bear more responsibility for you than you yourself do?

What I said is that when restaurants serve food, however cheap it is, they bear some responsibility to their customers not to serve them crap. Yes, people can do nutritional research and learn to stay away from their cooked food and stick to salads. But you know what? Some kids don't know. And adults who are too busy to think their food is terrible for them, they may not know.

Not everybody has studied nutrition. People don't expect their food to be processed, calorie-laden crap, they just want lunch. McDonalds take advantage of people not knowing.

The calorie counts in every item are now displayed on the menu boards and at the drive thru. Unless people can't read (and then how in the heck do they know what to order), they are informed. They just don't care.

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But if McD's customers didn't WANT that food they wouldn't serve it!
The only reason they make burgers and fries like that is because CUSTOMERS WANT IT!

I think another big change in our lifestyle is partially to blame for the obesity epidemic - ELECTRONICS!

I'm 51 and when I grew up we didn't have Video Games, Home PC's, and the internet.
We were TOLD TO GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY.

I didn't have a car till I was 18 or older, so I either WALKED or BICYCLED to go places.
I got off my BUTT AND MOVED!

I live in a small community (subdivision) where the entrance is less than a mile from the furthest house and yet the parents all park their cars at the entrance to pick up there spoiled little brats from the Junior High and High school busses!
Their poor kids can't be expected to walk a few hundred yards to their houses - and it's always the same cars doing it!

It is a learned behavior - so now the kids DEMAND to not walk anywhere!
It's this lack of exercise and easily obtainable crappy food that is doing it - and NOBODY IS FORCING THEM TO EAT IT!

I'm 51 and FAT - and it is MY FAULT - because I at loads of Pizza, McDonalds, Wendy's, etc when I got out of the Air Force.
And I do NOT blame McDonalds, Wendy's, and other fast food places I BLAME MYSELF!

Its time that Americans quit passing the buck and take the blame individually!!

Dave

I tip my hat to you sir.

My kids get McDonald's every couple weeks since as they love it so much. They also get pizza at their grandma's house and their pockets stuffed with chocolate from grandpa when he thinks I'm not looking. I don't care. Cheap fast food will not make my kids fat. I don't believe it made me fat. I believe it to be the massive amount of time I spent doing nothing as soon as I reached my teenage years. The electronic compulsion is something I can see in my kids and is the reason why the TV and video games are a weekend only activity. During the week, after homework, I kick 'em outside and don't let them in until dinner. By the time we get to the weekend, it is an afterthought, not something they live for anymore. I can't help but feel that there is this growing need to blame other people for one's problems. Just own it, and get over yourself. I applaud those folks that try and get control of their lives and their habits. I pity those that feel others have so much control of them that they are no longer responsible for their own decisions. Unless you can prove the Imperious Curse was used on you, you've got no excuse. Eat the McDonald's, be happy you saved some bucks and had something delicious, and then move on with your life.

I think maybe you don't enjoy critically looking at problems.

Et tu.

I would suggest labelling one food as 'unhealthy' and another not is in it's self unhealthy and promotes bad habits.
Better would be to accept that a healthy lifestyle includes varied foods and an appropriate amount of calories.

I had a McDonalds the other day.
I could have had some salad with lean meat instead.

I'd be willing to be the McDonalds was a better choice - I had actually been munching on a very large tupperware box of salad while on my journey - I suspect I already had PLENTY of all the nutrients and more wouldn't have added anything.
I hadn't had very much fat or other variety - which WAS in the McDonalds.

McDonalds doesn't even have THAT many calories - IF you treat it as a 1000 calorie meal or whatever, rather than as a snack so you can have a large pub lunch.

Our lifestyles these days are a lot more sedentary on average, but there's still a lot of people working manual jobs (often low paid) for which cheap high calorie food is a good choice.

Could you enlighten me as to why you feel that McDonalds/Corporations bear more responsibility to me than I do for myself? Be specific.

... Well, for the first part of my specific answer, I'll have to ask you to review your reading comprehension skills. Specifically, how did you get the impression from what I said that I thought McDonalds should bear more responsibility for you than you yourself do?

What I said is that when restaurants serve food, however cheap it is, they bear some responsibility to their customers not to serve them crap. Yes, people can do nutritional research and learn to stay away from their cooked food and stick to salads. But you know what? Some kids don't know. And adults who are too busy to think their food is terrible for them, they may not know.

Not everybody has studied nutrition. People don't expect their food to be processed, calorie-laden crap, they just want lunch. McDonalds take advantage of people not knowing.

First of all, I've seen you say people here can't think critically. I've seen you attack others for their reading comprehension skills. And still every word you type comes off both dumber and more arrogant than the next.

People are not as dumb as you think they are. No one needs to study nutrition to know what they're getting at McDonalds. Hell they even started adding the calorie counts to the foods they serve, can't get that at a lot of restaurants.

So please, stop speaking for the unwashed masses, too dumb to know that eating 3 Big Macs isn't good for them. Stop insisting McDonalds raise it's prices because you feel they shouldn't be allowed to serve affordable meals. Stop assuming only you have the intelligence to know that McDonalds serves processed food and cheeseburgers do not in fact grow from trees.

Honestly? Just stop.

Brett, I've GOT to get you on my FL. Now why on earth would you want to go spreading common sense in here? tsk tsk :flowerforyou:

I lose weight eating at McD's occasionally, and reasonably.

But I make more informed food choices than most people do.

To say that McD's is solely at fault is just as wrong as saying consumers are solely at fault. Both are doing bad things. Believing otherwise is to inject your ideology/philosophy/worldview into it.

Because of the pressure they've received in recent years, they've done a good job of improving their act. They have, at a minimum, met the uninformed consumer halfway. The menu goes out of its way to point out calorie options and they've added better food choices (more chicken on the menu, for example). Apple slices come in the happy meal whether your kid likes it or not.

Maybe Super Size Me was a lot of exaggerated crap for the sake of selling a documentary, but it did have the advantage of putting McD's corporate and cultural influence front and center. And it worried them enough to get them to tweak their practices, which may help curb some of this obesity epidemic. It's all good, why complain about it. The changes probably helped the less informed among us and its not like they make any less money than before. Capitalism is preserved, the silly and stupid are helped.

They do have some duty towards their customers not to feed them crap.

McDonald's has no more duty to "not feed them crap" than a bakery has a duty not to sell cupcakes, or a grocery store has to not sell candy bars. And McDonald's food doesn't make people fat -- overeating makes people fat. Someone can enjoy an occasional Big Mac and fries (if they like that stuff) and still be fit. I take my kids to McDonald's every once in a while for ice cream, and you know what I order? Nothing. And nobody in the restaurant tries to "feed me" anything. Health and fitness are about personal choices and personal responsibility.

Good for you!

I'm not saying people don't have a personal responsibility. I'm saying that if people go there, and take their children there, the food should be less processed and less calorie-laden. Have you actually researched into what is in their food?

You want McDonald's to make less processed and less calorie-laden food? Why not just stay away from McDonald's? If a parent feels strongly about this, then they shouldn't make McD's their choice of restaurant.

Taking personal responsibility means you make choices for your life that reflect your beliefs. It will never mean the world around you must conform to your ideals.

I agree with everything Gypsy said.


After my dad died when I was 9, my mom had to go to work and she went to work at McDonalds. For dinner most nights I ate McDonalds. We also had a constant ever lasting supply of Little Debbie's in the house. I was 10-11 years old and way overweight. But do you know why I was overweight??? I was overweight simply because I would not stop shoving food into my mouth to deal with the trauma from losing my dad. Now, do I blame McDonalds, Little Debbie, my mom for buying it, or my dad for dying. NOPE. It was ALL me. Some of you may say, "well you were 9-11, your mother should have limited your access". My own sister said that. Maybe there's a tiny bit of truth in it. However, I knew what I was doing. I knew I shouldn't keep eating. It wasn't until I wanted to lose weight that I stopped it. My mom didn't know how to heal my pain and she did take me to therapy which didn't help. I was old enough to know I shouldn't eat 10 Little Debbie's in a row after eating all the McDonalds. That doesn't make it Little Debbie's or McDonalds responsibility that I got fat. It was my own responsibility - yes even at that young age it was my responsibility.

THE BLAME GAME:

I can’t help losing my temper, nor control my appetite.
I get so mad at mom and dad and blame them for my plight.
I may not be successful, I’m a failure, yes, it’s true.
But if society has taught me anything, it’s all because of you.

If only my spouse would listen, if only my spouse would change,
If only the world would accommodate me, is that so terribly strange?
If only this, if only that, if only you could see,
I’m not selfish or self-centered, I just want you to please me.

So I went to see my psychiatrist, to see what she would say,
To find the reason why so many folks just don’t see things my way.
The secret, she said, is simple, why you’re always under assault.
It has nothing to do with you, it’s true, it’s always someone else’s fault.

So now my friend, before I end, before I cease to complain,
Before you start pointing the finger and think that I am vain.
The answer is so obvious, and I think it’s time you knew,
I now know why I’m so miserable, it’s all because of you

:drinker: I teach high school Seniors. I think I'll read this to them on their last day. :drinker:

The problem with saying that McDonald's existed when 'you were a kid' sort of thing, is that they have changed the ingredients and formulas for their foods to make them addictive. The perfect combo of salt, fat, and sugar to make your body crave more. I have a fast food addiction. I would eat it two to three times a day if I could. It has nothing to do with my mother, or father, as they cooked meals for the most part. The problem is that once I got hooked, it's like quitting cigarettes. I -crave- their crappy burgers and fries. I long for a coca-cola from McDonald's. I hate cooking, ever. It's so convenient for me to just pull up, order, get it, and eat while I'm driving.

I do think their entire practices should be called to the table. That we should put the fire to their feet to help with the problem, not keep contributing to it. They could make small changes that don't alter their profits all that much, and it would make a big difference in how people eat. One example would be to not sell 32 oz or larger sizes of coke. Remove the large option of fries. Add less salt and sugar to their food.

I think poor people use fast food as their grocery store. They don't make enough to buy the healthy stuff because the healthy stuff costs way more than the bad stuff. So it's cheaper and easier for two working parents to pick up something each night than to cook. Our country has its priorities in money and power, not health and longevity. Until that changes, we are doomed.

I think maybe you don't enjoy critically looking at problems. Which is fine, but McDonalds is part of the cheap fast food that is making people obese - it's unhealthy food that is cheap. They do have some duty towards their customers not to feed them crap.

Actually, McDonald's has no responsibility in what and/or how much people choose to eat. I don't know of any cases of McDonald's holding people hostage and force feeding them mass quantities of their food. Or did I miss that news story?

The problem with saying that McDonald's existed when 'you were a kid' sort of thing, is that they have changed the ingredients and formulas for their foods to make them addictive. The perfect combo of salt, fat, and sugar to make your body crave more. I have a fast food addiction. I would eat it two to three times a day if I could. It has nothing to do with my mother, or father, as they cooked meals for the most part. The problem is that once I got hooked, it's like quitting cigarettes. I -crave- their crappy burgers and fries. I long for a coca-cola from McDonald's. I hate cooking, ever. It's so convenient for me to just pull up, order, get it, and eat while I'm driving.

I do think their entire practices should be called to the table. That we should put the fire to their feet to help with the problem, not keep contributing to it. They could make small changes that don't alter their profits all that much, and it would make a big difference in how people eat. One example would be to not sell 32 oz or larger sizes of coke. Remove the large option of fries. Add less salt and sugar to their food.

I think poor people use fast food as their grocery store. They don't make enough to buy the healthy stuff because the healthy stuff costs way more than the bad stuff. So it's cheaper and easier for two working parents to pick up something each night than to cook. Our country has its priorities in money and power, not health and longevity. Until that changes, we are doomed.

I'm sorry... but if all our bodies are different, then how did McDonald's figure out the perfect combination of ingredients that our bodies need anyway that would get YOU addicted.

Those things are not addictive. They do not cause a permanent, biochemical change on the brain. You might be a compulsive over-eater with a preference to fast food... but you are not ADDICTED to fast food.

And furthermore, a two income household should not be considered "poor". Honestly, the people that are considered "poor" in this country are far richer than people in most every other country.

The problem isn't McDonald's. The problem is parents who take the easy way out and give in to their kids badgering them for a Happy Meal rather than saying "no" and taking the time to cook something nutritious. (Don't even get me started on bedtimes! Another pet peeve of mine).

I never gave my kid a Camel cigarette and didn't give them a Happy Meal very often either. They are in their 30's and are not over-weight and still seldom eat fast-food. That is where the difference is. Parents would never give their children a cigarette, but give in on high-calorie, big-portion, low-nutritious foods because it is easier for them and then want to blame the restaurant. If McDonald's has done anything wrong, it has been providing drive-thru pickup which has made it easier for the parents to take the easy way out and not even have to get out of the car and walk up to the window like my parents had to.

McDonald's original hamburgers are the same size as they were when I first had one back in the early 60's. 250 calories. That was the only choice unless you wanted cheese on that. Having McDonalds was a big treat that I would get only a few times a year. If the words "super-size" or even "double" or "1/4 pounder" come out of my mouth, it isn't MickeyD's that is making me say them.

That said, I still have always preferred the original burger - minus the pickle, of course.