NEWSFLASH: McDonald’s existed back when I was a kid
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Call me crazy, but I figured as long as you don't have it every single day, it isn't the devil-food some people like to think it is.
I personally don't have McDonald's as I'm not that keen, but I do have a soft spot for some other takeaways (especially Chinese), so I try to plan my day (or even week) around it now.
For those going "I don't know how people can eat so much of it, it's horrible!" Well you're never going to understand that. I won't either, since I dislike McDs too, but I can empathise, because I have some "weakness" foods too.
I think that you get a good feel for these things the more you check them (with this website and with labels) but it can be eye-opening the first time you discover how much is in these things!
(I personally think the worst offender is the fast food "salad" - they give you like a gallon of gross topping and it sometimes has more calories than just having a damn burger.)0 -
The reason kids are FAT is because they sit in front of the boob tube and computer all day long!!! In my days as kids we were outside from morning until the street lights came on, running around, riding bikes, playing games, etc.!!!!
Society teaches that it's everybody else's fault!!!!!!!!!!0 -
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?
WTF are you talking about? There are less calorific options on the menu IF PEOPLE CHOOSE, and the food isn't any more "processed" than any other food. :huh: :noway:
... Do some research. People have made whole documentaries!
So you really believe everything that you read or hear?
Did you ever consider that a documentary director might twist a story to make it more sensationalistic so that people will actually want to watch it?
Because documentaries aren't generally what the film-watching consumer pays to see, you know... They have to do something to get the audience's attention.
Case in point: Michael Moore.... This guy sensationalizes everything he does to promote his conspiracy theories and personal agendas.
Please point to one lie he has told. I'm genuinely curious.0 -
I don't know if it's a societal problem, but some people swallow free market nonsense to the point where they don't seem to see basic consumer protection issues.
McDonalds and other companies have become much better over the years, offering healthier options, showing nutritional information, hopefully using less pink slime (more documentaries for you cool bros not to watch), due to campaigns by consumers. Not by smug people saying that they'd never eat there and screw anybody that does.
Some people like to swallow... just saying.
That's not a consumer protection issue, have fun!0 -
Maybe it’s time we started up an AA group, you know, and call it Adult’s Anonymous. And I’ll begin. “Hi, I’m Ernie and I’m an adult responsible for my own behavior and actions.”
Haha, best quote of the day!0 -
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."
no one puts a gun to your head and says to eat that bigmac. Cheap or not we have a choice of what we consume.0 -
I couldn't have said it better myself, OP. People are always looking to pass the buck and not take responsibility for their own actions. It is always so much easier to play the blame game.0
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(I know some may be offended by this post since it is a very sensitive subject, but no offense or disrespect was intended)
There is an article in the Lexington Herald Leader about a local mom who, in my opinion, is hammering the McDonald’s corporation. She is comparing Ronald McDonald to Joe Camel (Camel Cigarettes) and again, in my opinion, making McDonald’s the scapegoat for overweight kids. Has anyone ever considered that maybe the reason we have so many overweight children is because we have so many overweight parents? McDonald’s existed when I was a kid. McDonald’s advertisement was very active when I was a kid. In the spur of the moment I can still rattle off the Big Mac song: “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun.” No, I did not Google the song and haven’t heard the commercial in 30 or 40 some years. A Big Mac has 550 calories (I did Google that.) And Newsflash: In grade school we had one or two kids that would be considered obese and I personally knew of maybe a couple of parents that were quite overweight. In Jr. High (now Middle School) and High School the numbers went up, but nothing compared to the obesity problem we see in America today.
Adults and children are not overweight because of a silly looking clown and super sizing meals. They are overweight because they consume too many calories and are too inactive in their lives. What I really think is going on here is the Blame Game, people not taking personal responsibility for themselves. Last year it was the Wall Street Movement who blamed big corporations for their plight in life and thus decided to go on a rampage to destroy private property. It’s the Democrat Party’s fault our country is in such turmoil, says the Republicans, or is it the other way around? Last night I overdid it on Domino’s Pizza and will have to either eat less today or exercise a little more to make up for it. Whose fault was it that I ate too much last night: Domino’s Pizza or the fact that they have delivery service? Or should I blame my wife since she ordered the pizza on a whim? I’m not stupid, no way am I going to blame her.
Maybe it’s time we started up an AA group, you know, and call it Adult’s Anonymous. And I’ll begin. “Hi, I’m Ernie and I’m an adult responsible for my own behavior and actions.”
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
The naive believes everything, But the sensible person considers his/her steps.
Agreed! I hear what you are saying. It is not about the actual value of McDonald's but the act of personal accountability. I would argue; however, that the "healthy" choices on the menu should be as inexpensive as the "regular" choices. Go grocery shopping and buy a basket of junk food and a basket of healthy food. Junk food will be cheaper hands down. If money is the value or the manner in which a person is making purchases, then the junk food is an immediate value. The long term effects of unhealthy take so much longer eating it. The money is immediate. It's choices but I think it is ridiculous that you have take out a second mortgage to buy healthy wholesome food. Also, another perspective, Whole Foods. They use organic food. In America, we tend to shop in bulk (for a week or two). Fruits and veggies from WF go bad in days while the modified versions stay edible much longer. This is a scary thought but when you are trying to stretch your dollar, it seems, again, logical. I am all about personal accountability. I don't let my kid eat at McDonald's very often even when he asks for it (a lot... kids LOVE McDonald's). I also choose not to eat there often because the choices stink and the food is not very good. Either way, my point, people make decisions and purchases based upon their values and the values imposed on them by media and marketing as well as generational values and experience. This makes purchasing and selecting healthy and wholesome foods difficult generation to generation.0 -
McDonalds isn't taking advantage of people. They offer a product. People choose to buy it. That's the end of their responsibility as a business. It's YOUR responsibility to take care of your own health. No one else's.
Let go of your excuses, take personal responsibility, and maybe you'll see some progress.
TRUTH!0 -
(I know some may be offended by this post since it is a very sensitive subject, but no offense or disrespect was intended)
There is an article in the Lexington Herald Leader about a local mom who, in my opinion, is hammering the McDonald’s corporation. She is comparing Ronald McDonald to Joe Camel (Camel Cigarettes) and again, in my opinion, making McDonald’s the scapegoat for overweight kids. Has anyone ever considered that maybe the reason we have so many overweight children is because we have so many overweight parents? McDonald’s existed when I was a kid. McDonald’s advertisement was very active when I was a kid. In the spur of the moment I can still rattle off the Big Mac song: “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun.” No, I did not Google the song and haven’t heard the commercial in 30 or 40 some years. A Big Mac has 550 calories (I did Google that.) And Newsflash: In grade school we had one or two kids that would be considered obese and I personally knew of maybe a couple of parents that were quite overweight. In Jr. High (now Middle School) and High School the numbers went up, but nothing compared to the obesity problem we see in America today.
Adults and children are not overweight because of a silly looking clown and super sizing meals. They are overweight because they consume too many calories and are too inactive in their lives. What I really think is going on here is the Blame Game, people not taking personal responsibility for themselves. Last year it was the Wall Street Movement who blamed big corporations for their plight in life and thus decided to go on a rampage to destroy private property. It’s the Democrat Party’s fault our country is in such turmoil, says the Republicans, or is it the other way around? Last night I overdid it on Domino’s Pizza and will have to either eat less today or exercise a little more to make up for it. Whose fault was it that I ate too much last night: Domino’s Pizza or the fact that they have delivery service? Or should I blame my wife since she ordered the pizza on a whim? I’m not stupid, no way am I going to blame her.
Maybe it’s time we started up an AA group, you know, and call it Adult’s Anonymous. And I’ll begin. “Hi, I’m Ernie and I’m an adult responsible for my own behavior and actions.”
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
The naive believes everything, But the sensible person considers his/her steps.
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I
this post so hard. :drinker: 0 -
Please point to one lie he has told. I'm genuinely curious.
You know...if you just google "Michael Moore lies" you'll get like thousands of pages of exhaustive coverage in a fraction of a second.0 -
They made their nutritional information available because people campaigned for them to do so! in those documentaries all the cool bros here don't watch. People can campaign further, and have been - that's WHY mcdonalds serve things like broccoli and salads alongside crap.
Take personal responsibility! I never said people shouldn't.
The nutritional information, the salads, that's all due to consumer action. Not smug statements that completely ignore the context people live in.
These restaurants started mass producing cheap, terrible food and realized they could make lots of money of it. They are taking advantage of people. Yes, we can all study nutrition and stay way. But we can also demand that the company makes things that are good for people, and buy food conditional to that.
Yes you did. You said repeatedly that McDonalds should be legally forced to change their menu and prices and the way they produce food. Now I have to assume you don't just mean McDonalds, but every food company like them.
Imagine for a minute the world you're suggesting. Unhealthy foods won't even be an option for people who want to eat them. Prices will be manipulated by whatever government agency you think should control the way people eat.
Nobody wants that!
McDonalds isn't taking advantage of people. They offer a product. People choose to buy it. That's the end of their responsibility as a business. It's YOUR responsibility to take care of your own health. No one else's.
Let go of your excuses, take personal responsibility, and maybe you'll see some progress.
I agree with every word0 -
Agree 500% with the OP. People eat too much food and become obese, the food itself doesn't have anything to do with anything. It's the PEOPLE who make the wrong choices.
FYI for the people who say McDonald tastes like crap, I'm not denying anything but only suggesting, may be ou should try the Chinese/Japanese/Korean Mcdonalds. They taste like heaven. And look exactly like the advertising photos. No kidding!!0 -
I have the choice to go into a McD's and order a large #1 (( OR )) go into a supermarket and get some real food (cut up and ready to eat fruit medley, vegetables, sandwich, even sushi!). Let's stop blaming companies and start blaming ourselves for downing 3,000-4,000 calories a day instead of the amount we should've been eating in the first place.0
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The reason kids are FAT is because they sit in front of the boob tube and computer all day long!!! In my days as kids we were outside from morning until the street lights came on, running around, riding bikes, playing games, etc.!!!!
Society teaches that it's everybody else's fault!!!!!!!!!!
when I was a kid we didn't come in when the street lights came on (in winter they came on like 4pm - UK winter, high lattitude).... we stayed outside and played 40-40-in in the dark, with the street light as the base. (yes we were careful to look out for cars)0 -
OP, you are only seeing half of the problem. The other half is that low SES people live in low SES areas, where healthy food is difficult to access because the only sources of food in the area are fast food restaurants and corner stores, and even if the low SES people have a car (which is not likely) and can drive to a relatively distant grocery store, they don't know how to eat healthy and especially how to eat healthy on a budget.
I was raised in a very poor family, but my mother was raised by someone who knew how to eat healthy on a budget: canned/frozen vegetables, meat on sale, pasta/bread/rice is cheap and she always made sure our meals were balanced. No soda except as a treat, no fast food except once every few weeks as a treat, etc. Most low SES families don't have this knowledge and truly believe that fast food and cheap unhealthy food from corner stores is the best they can do or don't understand how to feed their kids (and themselves) proper nutrient balanced meals. I'm not saying it's all McDonald's fault, but it's certainly not solely an individual problem either.
I don't really get this line of thinking. You're agreeing with a post suggesting McDonalds feeds their customers "crap"... if that's the case, why do so many people eat it? You're saying people don't know how to eat "healthy"... not sure that a generic term like "healthy eating" could be any vaguer, but in the context of this discussion, we're simply talking about obesity and so ultimately we're talking overconsumption. I'm pretty sure even the dumbest, poorest American knows that you'll get fat if you shovel down multiple burgers with large fries every single day, if you aren't doing enough exercise to compensate for those calories. They may not be able to engage in a discussion about TDEE, protein requirements, and the like, but I don't buy that anyone struggles to grasp the basic concept of "if I eat too much, I'll get fat(ter)." Even if they somehow didn't know this, you could figure it out by watching yourself get fatter and fatter as you eat more and more burgers, but I'm pretty sure they don't need to self experiment to figure that out. Frankly I think it's a bit condescending to suggest that the obesity epidemic is just because they're too stupid/poor to know better. They know EXACTLY what they're doing; they just choose the short term pleasure of overconsumption, despite the long term consequences of fat gain.
Do people still do it? Of course they do. Burgers are delicious. Soda is delicious. Pizza is delicious. And they're all inexpensive to boot. But blaming McDonalds for making food so tasty that people overconsume it, rather than the people making conscious decisions and paying money to overconsume the food, is faulty logic (common today as people are so quick to blame everyone but themselves for their problems). What you're saying your family had was the ability to eat in moderation. What families that overconsume McDonalds lack is the ability to eat in moderation. McDonald's isn't to blame for that; the other families are.
At the end of the day, it IS solely the individual's responsibility to take care of his own body. You can lose, maintain or gain weight by eating at McDonalds. Which one you do is up to you.
I think you are wrong here. Actually, before joining MFP I might have agreed a little more, but it is shocking how many people know so little about nutrition.
And a "healthy diet" is easy to define. It's a diet that promotes good health. A diet of "healthy foods" that leads to obesity is not a heatlhy diet because obesity =/= good health. And it's very hard not to overeat on cheap crappy food, because cheap crappy food is not filling and leaves your body lacking in nutrition. So you hunger for more food.
Sure everyone knows if they eat too much they'll get fat. But not everyone know WHEN they are eating too much. How can they be hungry if they've eaten too much?
Of course McD is not to blame for the obesity epidemic, but to say that cheap, nutrient deficient, easily accessible food has played no role is oversimplifying the matter. Just as saying personal resposibiltiy is solely to blame is over simplifying the matter. There are so many factors at play.0 -
Alright, ya'll do what you want.
The spread of calorie-laden, processed food and the obesity epidemic go hand in hand.
Yes, people are responsible for what they eat. However, as some of you have mentioned, people have been campaigning for companies to display their nutritional information - people who think that, maybe, people shouldn't be eating crap while thinking they're eating lunch.
Some people here mock documentaries showing what's in McDonalds, and then say that people should know what they're eating there so it's their own fault. Which is it? Either they get to know through documentaries and articles, or they think they're eating normal food.
Anyway, I expressed my opinion. You're welcome to yours.
The problem isn't that people are eating abnormal food (whatever that nonsense means). The problem in the context of obesity is they eat too damn much of it. Also your notion of eating crap is complete nonsense. McDonalds provides a service - quick and relatively inexpensive food. If people want calories displayed so that they can track their intake, McDonalds will do so if they think it's a good business decision. It has nothing to do with eating "crap" or eating "healthy". People eat food and just because a high calorie count is associated with a particular food doesn't mean it's "crap." Some of the finest prepared foods on this planet (they don't come from McDonalds) are also rich in calories - that makes them rich, not crap.
If you want to talk about what's bad for people, it's useless labels like "crap" when describing food in the context of obesity. Telling someone that "they'll get fat if they eat crap all the time" is about as misguided as you can get. You can lose weight eating rich foods at McDonalds and people have done it to demonstrate as much. To use the word you're so fond of, the notion that the quality of food is tied to obesity as complete and utter crap. It reminds me of another thread I saw this morning that suggested you're eating healthy just because you shop at a co-op. Might the quality (and prices) be higher than the local Bi-Lo? Sure. Can you still get fat as a hog eating food from a co-op? You'd be a fool to suggest otherwise. Quality of food is completely separate and independent from the food's calorie content.0 -
I understand the poverty standpoint when it comes to nutrition, but in most areas where I have lived, fast-food restaurants are not open in low-income areas, they are built in higher-income areas where people own cars to drive through their pickup windows and where parents are looking for something fast running from soccer practice to volleyball. This argument does not hold.
Parents who endure true poverty don't live in the suburbs. They cannot afford McDonalds. They are limited to what can be purchased in convenience stores and carry-outs with canned and snack foods. They lack the opportunity to purchase fresh produce. McDonalds would be a step up in most cases.0
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