Monday, December 29, 2014

Supersize Me Just for Spite!


It seems I can't read a newspaper or watch a news program on TV anymore without any mention of how some local governments want to put restrictions on fast food restaurants because their food isn't exactly the most healthy food to eat. They are even branching out further now by attempting to put restrictions on other restaurants. It's almost getting to the point where you want to say “Supersize me!”, just for spite.

First off, San Francisco wants to ban toys from Happy Meals because it supposedly encourages kids to want to eat an unhealthy meal. Well, it's not the kids who are paying for the meals. It's their parents that are picking up the tab. Mom or Dad don't necessarily have to take the kids to McDonalds or Burger King. Yet, for some reason they do. One reason is that it's quick. If the parents have a busy schedule, they might stop off at a fast food place to pick up a meal real quick and then drive off to that place they seem to be in such a hurry to get to. Sometimes they just don't feel like preparing a meal at home. Sometimes they stop off at a fast food place due to their own laziness.

Oh, and if you think taking a toy out of a happy meal is really going to achieve anything but make a fat kid slightly less happy, you're living in a dream world. They have shakes, fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and other yummy things at these places. How many times would a kid turn down ice cream if offered some? It just isn't in their nature. Isn't a vanilla shake just as yummy as ice cream? Then throw in some fries and a burger and you got yourself a real treat. They may not have a toy to play with in order to pass the time but they can still engage in one of America's great pastimes. You know, the great American pastime called gluttony!

Now, do you really think people go to McDonalds, Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken to eat a healthy meal? They go there because it tastes good and it's fast. How many drive-throughs do you see that offer healthy foods? Yeah, I want my organic celery fast! Hey, throw in that head of lettuce too, who needs greasy old fries? Give me some carrot sticks. How about a spinach smoothie? Yummy.

Now there is a big campaign against salt. Apparently many restaurants have a tendency to overuse it. This is not healthy. However, not everybody eats at fast food places every day. So an occasional stop at one of those places isn't too bad. It's the people who stop there several times a week that seem to have a problem. You can close down every fast food place in operation and those people will just buy junk food at the grocery store. Oh, what an inconvenience that is to have to microwave a frozen White Castle burger purchased from a grocery store as opposed to stopping off at a White Castle to get one someone microwaves for you. Yes, they do have White castle burgers in the frozen food section and they are quite scrumptious, I assure you.

Oh, so now we have to cut out the salt or fat content in the frozen foods you can purchase at the grocery store. So where exactly does this all end? My point is (and there is a point here) that you can do just so much to protect people from themselves. Stupid people will always do stupid things. Irresponsible people will always do irresponsible things. You can't legislate common sense. Everybody should realize that there is a price to pay for unhealthy living. Eating a lot of fattening foods overly salty or sugar-filled treats on a daily basis is just not healthy. Don't we all already know this?

If we all already know these things, why do we still eat like slop-hogs at a trough? Well, I would suspect that there are a number of reasons. Lack of self control, laziness, a self-destructive personality, depression, any number of things really. Can legislation make someone happier to the point where they won't go on a wild junk food binge? Can you legislate that someone not get depressed and try to comfort themselves with a big bowl of ice cream? I think not.

My point is that people are going to eat unhealthy no matter what the government legislates. So what exactly is the point in making things more difficult for those who only have a Whopper every now and then? It's ridiculous. I say “Supersize me” just for spite!

No comments:

Post a Comment