This weekend Niel and I got to catch up on some movies. We saw Super Size Me and Elf
Elf is a nice movie to see during the holidays. Will Ferrell is just plain funny!! I don't know if that really was Zooey Deschanel singing but she has a nice voice. I recommend the movie if you already have not had a chance to see it. I always like it when movie makers can mix in reality with make believe well.
Super Size Me is just a plain good movie. It is informative but not done in a preachy way. I already was aware of some of the bad practices of the fast/food industry. But after seeing the movie it made me realize that maybe we should purchase and just go ahead and pay more for organic products. Also when we do have to eat out we might as well eat pub food since. It is less pricey (of course not as as fast food) and is fresher. This is something I am going to strive for. It has just become a bit difficult. If we are running errands and get hungry we opt to get fast food. We end up listening to our pockets when we seek food. But after seeing the movie I think it is better we change that. It is for our health after all. I thought I was doing something good by having salad at a fast food joint but I might as well as just eat their ice cream. The fat and calories are not very different between the two. The Southbeach Diet has helped us learn better food practices even if we are not in it as whole heartedly. We don't keep potatoes, rice and pasta in the house any longer. I am glad that Niel is more open to the whole wheat ingredients now. I grew up enjoying whole wheat sometimes and I had a bit of difficulty before getting Niel to eat whole wheat bread. Now if we will use a recipe that includes rice, pasta or bread we will purchase whole wheat instead. The Southbeach hasn't broken our sweet tooth like I hope it would. That is the only area we have not succeeded. We will still have the occasional sweet. But Niel's weight, cholesterol and triglycerides are still steadly going down. Plus now that tennis class is over and the weather getting chilly we took out our exercise equipment. I am looking into finding flour that is not bleached but not necessarily whole wheat. I love whole wheat pasta and bread but whole wheat flour in desserts is dreadful.
I can see both sides of the controversy with the fast food industry. But I think fast food industry is really listening to their own pockets instead of realizing or caring that they are slowly poisoning the public. I feel so helpless because all these powerful companies really control the market and have strong lobbyists to help them. I feel defeated. It's fine if people choose to eat meat but why must the animals be kept in such disgusting conditions. People could and have become sick from the antibiotics and the feces. Then even more disgusting some animals are being fed animals and of course Mad Cow Disease happened.
But I don't know if the fast food industry or even just the food industry can change on their own. I think the movie reflected this, as well as the book Fast Food Nation. The problems have more to do with society, because most households have both caregivers working and people are too tired to think about cooking, so of course they purchase a prepared meal. But there has to be some change because people are getting sick from obesity or from all the chemicals in their foods. I know people have free will and can make their own choices by not eating at fast food places or buying frozen meals. I just think these companies are making a profit off of people's lack of smart choices.
5 comments:
I thought Super Size me was good too, but the guy went about things the wrong way. Noone that I know of goes to McDonalds 3 times a day. I think if you went and ate three meals a day from any chain restaurant like Bennigans, Fridays, Olive Garden you would run into problems. Restaurants use lots of butter, cream and salt. That's how everything tastes so good. That's why cooking at home is a lot better. Plus you can control the portions somewhat. A lot of people feel the need to clean their plate because they are paying a premium for the meal. SO people tend to overeat when they eat out.
The biggest problem I had with the movie is what he ate. He didn't just eat a value meal, he had the super sized Coke PLUS a milk shake. And he ate every last fry and every sip of soda and shake. That's what was making him ill. Noones stomach can handle that volume of food and liquid. Too much of anything is going to hurt you.
But you're right, McDonalds and other fast food places taregt kids and families. They get kids hooked at an early age with Happy Meals and they have a customer for life. I just think it's silly that someone can sew a fast food chain because it made them fat. Unless someone from McDonalds holds your mouth open and forces a cheeseburger down your throat, it's your personal responsability to govern what you eat.
Yeah Niel and I thought it was odd he brought two drinks. But I have heard of most people eating the majority of their meals in inexpensive fast food places. Like we both said it is silly to sue but they are making money off of people with little will. I know I have gone in there and ordered too much and they know that.
True, but the same can be said for a liquor store. Is the owner of the liquor store at fault for selling a drunk driver a bottle of Jack Daniels? Of course not. It's up to the individual to decide how much is enough. If someone eats or drinks too much it's their own fault. But it is encouraging that some places like Subway have tasty sandwiches with relatively low fat.
Yeah it is silly to sue the cigarette company, liquor or food/fast food companies, but I think both the consumer and the companies need to take responsibility. Not to the point that big brother needs to oversee every little action but something better than what we have.
Well, Morgan Spurlock's experiment was started in response to a statement by McDonald's that their food was perfectly safe to eat for every meal of the day.
Where do we draw the line between personal responsibility and irresponsible marketing? As the movie shows, McD's runs some school's cafeterias, where the kids and parents don't have a choice to eat something else. There are poorer people who eat all 3 meals at fast food places because they don't have the time or money to eat anything else. There are millions of people who really don't know that this food is bad for you. McD's passes it off as healthy.
"McDonald’s serves a range of high-quality foods that can fit into a balanced diet." - from http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/nutrition_info.html
This is clearly misleading as nearly none of their food is high quality in any vaguely nutritional sense. They offer suggestions to cut calories with sample lunches, only one of which includes any of their burgers or fries, and that is a plain hamburger and small fries. With this kind of nonsense, they can make the claim they offer healthy meal. Bullshit.
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