Does anyone need the "All American Jack?" Which, with small fries and drink add up to 1400 calories? Honestly, it is $4.99 for the whole meal. How can you NOT eat it at that price?
What favors are we doing the American public?
I think the following quote is....oh I can't find the right word for it. Funny? Ridiculous? Honest? Sad?
"The bottom line is we're in the business of making money, and we make money off of what we sell," said Beth Mansfield, spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains. "If we wanted to listen to the food police and sell nuts and berries and tofu burgers, we wouldn't make any money and we'd be out of business."
What would be your suggestions to the restaurants?
American's obviously do not need a "super size" for every mean. However, it is up to the consumer to make these decisions on what food they consume. Restaurants are now beginning to put the nutrition facts on their food, which is giving the consumer the knowledge of how many calories are in each item. Therefore, the consumer is able to make an educated decision on whether to eat something or not.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there is not much that the restaurants can do because it is all in the consumers hand. However, most of them are starting to offer healthier options still for affordable prices which is headed in the right direction. As long as the restaurants don't just sell terrible food for cheap prices by giving the consumers healthier options then they are doing their part to helping those that do eat out often.
ReplyDeleteEven with the caloric values being posted, when entering a fast food restaurant one takes into account that the meal that they are about to consume will not be healthy. The last thing that they want to see is numerical proof. I highly doubt that someone will walk into McDonalds, stoked to get their weekly (daily/monthly) junk food fix, but then change their mind simply because their favorite meal has 2,000 calories instead of the assumed 1,000 (or whatever they thought it to be). Once you're in there, and have smelled the french fries, it's way too late. We need to educate ourselves before approaching the counter.
ReplyDeleteIt's true. Restaurant businesses are being forced to display nutritional facts. The media is and has been all over the food industry for decades and obesity doesn't hide under a rug. The fact is that the human body doesn't burn up the amount of calories that we typically put into it. We aren't active enough. I used to be a tri-sport athlete and consume 4-5 thousand calories a day. Look at Olympic athletes as well...extremely high calorie intake - But it's crucial because they need it. If we are sitting in class, sitting at a desk, laying on a couch, (basically inactive) a high number of calories basically go by the wayside; either flushed out of our system or transformed into energy storage future energy consumption (fat). It has been ingrained in our minds the quantity of food to consume and less so the quality. Even so this quantity is obviously outrageous. I think most of us have expanded stomachs, and we need to work on consuming less to shrink our stomachs, become accustomed to smaller portions, or start matching our calorie intake with physical energy burn-off. I've started cutting down on my meal sizes as of intercession...its the first step and I think everyone should start being conscious of it as well.
ReplyDeleteI do not think posting caloric values will stop a majority of Americans, but maybe if it is made more public people might slowly start to get an idea of what they are consuming. Furthermore, Natalie is right, education about the health effects of overconsumption, or rather poor eating habits need to be changed in schools. It is alright to indulge occasionally on fast food, but if McDonald's is one of your every day stops, then something needs to be changed.
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