Been a while since we had a topic for discussion. I have had some thoughts over the past few months. One was about hurricanes, another about supreme court nominees and the selection process and lastly about immigration (which still might happen). All of which I knew would turn political quickly, so I avoided them. In this town I now live in, it is all about politics, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. But shouldn’t we be able to discuss and debate and be honest without hating each other? Let’s try.
So, I went to workout outdoors since it was a nice spring day, about 65-70 degrees. After finishing I was hungry and decided to get something to eat. Didn’t want a sandwich because I eat them all week for lunch, didn’t want to cook anything, so I proceeded to McDonalds. Not to my surprise, McDonalds was packed. Kids, old people and every other kind of people were in there. But have you ever noticed that the person in front of you in line is normally over weight and looks generally unhealthy? Why is that? Fast food restaurants, like all eating establishments, have come under fire in recent years for egregious nutritional deficiencies. As if no one can see and smell the grease that they use for those fries. But they are SO good. Admit it, you go to McDonalds for the fries. Maybe the Quarter-Pounder with cheese or BigMac, but mostly the fries. Do you really think listing the nutritional value of fries anywhere in the place is going to change things? Is there any nutritional value anyways? I try to limit my fast food intake every week to 2 trips every 7 days. Sometimes I stick to it, but sometimes I don’t. But, overall, I don’t eat there every day.
So, who is to blame for the lack of self-control that we have over going to fast food restaurants? Is it McDonalds? It is our parents? Is it us? No one forced my car to go to McDonalds today. No one forces me to go to Subway, when I go. You can list all the nutrition ingredients you want and it will not stop people from going. How many people have ever bought a salad at McDonalds? Or ever gotten an apple at McNasty’s? Yeah, that is what I thought? Did you know that McDonalds is one of the top 5 purchasers of apples in the country? Yeah, very surprising. But normally they get rid of them by donating them to walk-a-thons and marathons and community service projects. No one actually buys them.
I don’t have any problem with government regulations on listing the ingredients in food that we eat. I think that everyone should be knowledgeable of it. However, I don’t believe that it will carry the importance that people think it will. What are we going to do when McDonalds starts listing the ingredients and then sells the same amount of fries the next year? Then what is going to be the argument? Who are we going to sue then when we get overweight and suffer from morbid obesity, which is an actual medical term. Maybe we will sue the school system for not forcing us to take PE. Maybe our jobs for not providing adequate time off to workout or access to the proper facilities.
I find it disturbing that we are moving more toward a society of blaming someone else instead of accepting some responsibility ourselves. What do you think?
