Well, McDonald’s have done it again. Not only are they responsible for a large number of people feeling bad for being stout/fat/obese, whatever your name for it is (just for this post I’m skipping over the fact that people have free will, and whatever goes down their gullets is their own choice, and it’s no good blaming someone else for your health problems, then expecting the public to fork out for a gastric band surgery you lazy bastards!). Now McDonald’s have found a way to make people feel bad before they’ve even eaten anything.
The golden arches are now going to be showing how many calories are in each of their foodstuffs. The first thing I’m going to say, is that anyone who consistently eats at Maccy-D’s should feel a nagging sense of shame. The second, is that I would think a lot of people who eat McDonald’s food, do not want to know what’s in it. The third is that this blatant advertising of calories is a slap in the face to some of our most vulnerable people. The calorie-counters.
This fragile section of our society have their lives ruled by those little tables printed on the side of everything we consume telling us that “100ml semi-skimmed milk is: 49 kcal.” (Honestly I prefer the missing kid pictures). Lately I have been dipping into this curious mindset, to have to know everything about what you are eating. It’s nothing short of a drug. And not the fun kind that make pretty colours and sleepiness abound from fluffy white clouds. The kind that takes obsession to a higher plane of existence. And means you just can’t have another Jaffa cake, Or even the first one.
Now, this McDonald’s business won’t have any effect on the hardcore CC, as they have memorised the calories of everything they could possibly ever venture within 10 feet of. The people who are going to be most affected are the rookies. The dabblers. The people that were ‘just curious’ to see what they were eating. And this news about the Big Mac could just about turn them insane.
You see, eating just stops becoming fun when you’re thinking to yourself “this pizza just doesn’t taste as good knowing that it’s damn near half of my calorie GDA.”
Does this mean I’m going to stop eating the food I like? No. but, it almost makes being a vegan seem an easier to live with alternative.
Almost.
Personally i think the fact food companies have started putting dietary information on their products is a good thing. Many items in super markets which claim to be healthy usually contain very high amounts of salt and sugar, and the fact we now have these little charts on the packing shows the hidden ingredients which we were blissfully unaware of before (heck, we wouldnt look at the ingredients and work out the percentage now would we?).
ReplyDeleteIf I can recall, I think McDonalds have been showing the breakdown of their foods for some time, firstly in a booklet you could pick up in store on now on the containers.
Maybe people will now realise how many calories and fat is in junk food and will cut down? -yes, it does make you feel guilty about having the odd treat, but many people eat junk on a daily basis and feed their children it for dinner; its an easy way on educating them -i'm sick of seeing parents on tv with obese or malnutritioned children who are unaware of the nutritional value and amount of fat, salt and sugar in the food they feed them.
McDonald's is rough anyway.
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte, I do agree with having the info on products, and I want to say I don't mean to be too flippant with a potentially sensitive subject, I've been told before that sometimes I can look at things through the wrong end of the kaleidoscope.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on the point about junk food-families. I consider myself very lucky to have been brought up reasonably healthily (good clean country living!). To some extent, however, I think that ignorance just isn't much of an excuse when it comes to parents feeding their kids absolute rubbish. They owe it to their family to make the effort of actually cooking a meal from time to time, rather than rely on takeaways and ready meals (which for the most part, in my experience, taste like a monkey's uncle).
As far as how long McDonald's have been showing calories, the article I was reading said: "For the first time, the figures for food and drink will be clearly visible..." maybe they mean they're going up on the menu boards as well as the containers?
Haha, well said Flick! I have to say I never feel quite right after eating something from there. Makes my stomach get a-grumbling.
ReplyDeleteYeah i read the article and now it'll be shown on the menu boards aswell, so you can see the amount of calories before you order.
ReplyDeleteAs for ignorant families, i wont start on the matter haha!
Ah, thanks for the clarification. And if you won't, I won't :P
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