Entry 1920 - Mickey D's

My nutrition instructor brought this lawsuit up last quarter right before we got treated to "Super Size Me". This is just the sad, typical American mentality of automatically blaming someone else for one's own problems. As far as the kids who are pushing the lawsuit, they can only lay the blame on their own poor judgment. They were at an age where they should know better, but then again, should we really expect teens today to think?

The guy who sued after finding a dead rat in his burger is one thing, but suing because you have no self-control is ridiculous. Fucking money-grubbing assholes. They way some people are, you'd think America's middle name was "Sue".

And did they win? I've never heard of such ridiculous lawsuits in Quebec. Here, a old folkes home gets sued for 80k, because an elderly man who has a severe case of Alzheimers was taped being dragged on the floor by people who worked there. It's his daughter who sues the institution.

How can they be *tricked* into eating McDonald's food? You either choose to eat it, or not!

And HOW did they *trick* them? Did they make the place look like a white tablecloth, 4-star restaurant from the outside, and then serve them Big Macs and fries?

Give me a floopin' break! Lawsuits like this need to be tossed out, and those who file them need to pay for the court's time!

Exactly...I'm sorry, but even the most ignorant, toothless, goober knows that McDonalds is not healthy food by any stretch of the imagination. The corporation didn't hold a gun to these girl's heads and say "EAT IT BITCHES!":gun1. They ate it themselves because it was cheap and they were lazy. Seriously, just smelling the inside of a Mc Donalds should be enough to let you know that you shouldn't really be eating it anyway.

"It truly is the one commonality that every designation of humans you can think of has, there's at least one asshole."
--Me

Obesity is a medically complex problem, with both physical and mental factors that cannot be boiled down simply to eating MacDonalds food all of the time.

There is probably a lot of truth to the assertion that heredity is a very big factor in obesity, as well as other disease states and this link remains to be more fully explored. We still do not understand the entire biochemical pathway behind what causes some people to eat like a horse and remain thin, while others can just look at something and gain ten pounds. Some of the more recent discoveries, including inhibition of dipeptidylpeptidase-IV (DPP-IV), adiponectin, PYY, etc., may give us some renewed hope. The DPP-IV inhibitors, which are targeted for diabetes type II, will be particularly interesting. Another medication, rimonabant, has some similar effects in terms of promoting satiety (feeling that you are full) and positive effects on other metabolic functions. It will be interesting to see how this area of bariatrics plays out in the future.

This lawsuit is just another example of social engineering through the court system, something which is dangerous when you consider that just a few judges can control choices which the rest of the citizenry must live with unless overturned.

Occasionally I get hungry at work. Normally I don't even eat lunch because I get the sleepies. I pretty much live on coffee and smokes on the job.

Yesterday, though, I was hungry and needed to eat something. Anything. I was also craving salt. I've been sick lately and can't shake it. Not a cold-cold, just that dumpy tired feeling. When I get like this, the best thing I can do for myself is get some salt in me. So over to Mickey D's I went.

For the record, I weigh 128 (steadily for the past 5 years) and am around 5'1".

The semi-senior citizen that works the register knows me and jokingly said "The usual? Dollar menu chicken sandwich, lettuce only and a small fry?" I replied with, "You got it, darlin'!"

Standing next to me getting her order was a woman who weighed no less than 400 pounds. There were some other nasty physical attributes that I could go into, but I won't. But guess what was on HER tray?

Big Mac
9 piece chicken fingers
2 (yes, 2) Super size fries
Apple pie

That is a choice she made. Noone forced her to buy ALL that food. I'm not kidding when I say I had to wait for her to fill her ketchup container thing THREE frickin' times.

I don't think coffee and "smokes" are healthier than McDonalds food. But as you said, it's all about choices. There are healthy choices on McDonald's menu, like their salads.

The only time I go at McDo as we say in Quebec is during the international tennis tournament in August, because that's the only thing affordable in the area. Otherwise, should you get the muchies, there's a hotdog stand on site: 2 for 20$, what a deal!
Without being overweight, I could use to loose 10 pounds, but hey, it's my choice. I'm not blaming McDo. I know perfectly well that reasonable portions and varied foods with some exercice will keep me fit and the "weigh problem" will melt like a popsicle on the sidewalk in summer. But, hey, we each are the master of our body and it becomes what we do with it. Luckily, I love to cook healty food. Just last week I made delicious meal with chicken, apple juice and maple syrup and also stuffed green peppers.

that supersize me film really annoys me, if you ate anything 3 times a day for 30 days, you would get ill, even the most healthy food, say a salad 3 times a day for 30 days.. that would make u ill as well..

i am big, my dna says be big, my medical record is normal. no major medical problems, sore throats now and again. but i suffer from it normally.

i sometimes eat macdonalds, when i crave fats and salt and especially when i am round the town centre doing a lot of walking and rushing about, once in a while it doesnt do you any harm. as my gran used to say a little of what you fancy does you good.

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

I fucking hate it when lawyers file these types of nuisance, publicity-oriented lawsuits. News media outlets just drool over this kind of shit, and the cult of the lawsuit as a cure-all for public problems grows unchecked like a cancer.

Nobody forced those stupid, publicity-whore moo-twats to eat MacDonald's food, but they chose to do it. Now they want their cut of the money, like some kind of dietary lawsuit lottery. They do not give a flying fuck about proper nutrition, health or even forcing MacDonalds to serve nutritious food. They want the money and the publicity.

Ugh, this sort of thing drives me NUTS. I am a dietitian, and I feel like an outcast even among my professional peers on this issue. I mean, who the hell DOESN'T know that McDonald's serves high calorie, high fat junk food? No one is forcing people to eat it. Even when I was growing up in the 80's, we knew McDonald's was crap - therefore we were only allowed to eat it every once in a while.

I also think there is a ton of bias in the movie Super Size Me. For starters, the director's girlfriend is a vegan. That scene where he is throwing up out of his car window - I mean, how fake did *that* look? I am just very skeptical, especially since so much of America already eats that way anyway, and it takes them years to develop the sort of health problems he had.

GreenGrass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ugh, this sort of thing drives me NUTS. I am a
> dietitian, and I feel like an outcast even among
> my professional peers on this issue. I mean, who
> the hell DOESN'T know that McDonald's serves high
> calorie, high fat junk food? No one is forcing
> people to eat it. Even when I was growing up in
> the 80's, we knew McDonald's was crap - therefore
> we were only allowed to eat it every once in a
> while.
>
> I also think there is a ton of bias in the movie
> Super Size Me. For starters, the director's
> girlfriend is a vegan. That scene where he is
> throwing up out of his car window - I mean, how
> fake did *that* look? I am just very skeptical,
> especially since so much of America already eats
> that way anyway, and it takes them years to
> develop the sort of health problems he had.


I liked the movie "Super Size Me". The vomit scene didn't look fake to me.

The director's point was not that McDonald's food is bad. After all, he did give equal time to that Ramones-looking guy in the midwest who has been eating several Big Macs a day for years, and is still thin as a rail. (That guy's secret, incidentally, is to only eat the burgers and not the fries.) He also interviewed some other skinny people who enjoyed McDonalds food a couple times a week.

The director wanted to show how the average American lifestyle (high fast food consumption combined with lack of exercise) is unhealthy. Remember, his 30-day plan was NOT just eating McDonalds food; it also included limiting the amount of walking he did to that of the average American. Living in NYC, he was used to walking a lot more, but he wore a pedometer every day, and when he got close to the daily limit, he'd take a cab.

I think you could easily come out of that movie and think, "McDonalds is OK in moderation and with small portions, when combined with exercise." Anyone who thinks otherwise was obviously not paying attention during the movie.

but thats not the point, if you eat nothing BUT one type of food a day, regardless, that will make you as ill as him.

you try sitting eating salads 3 times a day and stop walking, and see what happens to you. the film definatly focused on macdonalds, and it gives the impression that all larger people eat nothing but macdonalds every day, this is complete garbage.

ok scorpio you try eating tofu burgers 3 times a day in that amount for 30 days and not exercising. the film was a total argument against ANY macdonalds meals at all ever.

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

You are right, Mercurior. Food allergies can be caused by eating the same type of food more than 4 days in a row.

My point was that the movie was not just about McDonalds-bashing.

And please don't make me eat tofu burgers!

but macdonalds are the biggest targets, due to the stupidity of people blaming them for making people fat, or serving hot drinks or or or.

would the film have been worse if they said burger king, or some other smaller places.. or is the film only sold on the premise of macdonalds = evil big business = fat people. i think so..

so why say burgers are bad, when everything is bad taken to extremes. but of course that film wouldnt have had the impact if it was tofu burgers, etc.. a so called "healthy" choice. people think if you eat burgers and are fat, thats the reason, not genetics, not biochemistry, if one fat man says they like burgers, they get pilloried, saying they are slobs, no will power etc.. and its gotten worse due to that film.. as i have said before fat people can be bullied (and so can men) with impunity, we are somehow considered to be less human because we are larger. is this right NO it isnt.

thats what this film shows, that its ok to bully fat people, they all must eat macdonalds every day, they must all not walk.

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

Wasn't the guy in Super Size Me force-feeding himself to choke down all of those Super Sized meals (three per day right?). He was not a big guy, and I imagine he was eating more than his body was comfortable with, whereas most people don't force themselves to eat until they puke.

i think he may have done, so that could never be a completely accurate, most people wont eat when they are full,

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

Oh don't worry, Burger Thing and Toxic Hell are just as big as McDonalds, but McDonalds is probably the most recognisable corporation in the world. They also have the very appealing "super size" option because we all know everyone could use 148 ounces of soda, and 18 pounds of french fries.

I have no problem with the movie Supersize Me, becuase it did focus on more than just 1 guy eating nothing but McDonalds. He was eating Mc D's 3 times a day to make a point that yes indeed, if you eat fast food constantly, it's going to impact your health. A lot of people eat fast food more than 1 or 2 times per week because it's cheap, fast and easy. The vomiting scene was real because he over ate to the point of vomiting. I belive that was to illustrate the point that an average sized stomach simply can not tolerate the mass quantities involved in a super sized meal, which begs the question...why offer it if it's too big for the average sized person to tolerate? They only end up eating more than is healthy AND wasting food at the same time. A lot of people will continue to eat beyond the capacity of their stomach, because it is possible to eat fast enough that your "fullness meter" won't catch up until it's too late. Plus, alot of folks in the U.S. still have the "clean plate club" mentality, as we used to be taught to clean our plates, even if we were full. I have stuffed my self (and know many others who have done the same) uncomfortable, for whatever reason, many times in my life.

Unless I'm confusing my food-related documentaries, he also went into schools and revealed the fact that lunches are provided by fast food companies, or based on fast food menus. On top of the unhealthy lunches, alot of schools have cut back on physical education and recess opportunities, adding additional limits to the amount of activity kids get. Eating hamburgers and pizza for lunch every day sets you up to crave the salty and greasy deliciousness that only fast food can satisfy.

He didn't force himself to choke down 3 supersized meals a day, but only would super size when offered by the counter person. He did eat at McD's 3 times a day, but it was more than just hamburgers. If I remember correctly, he ate everything on the menu, which includes salads and water. So he did consume a variety of foods and not just hamburgers and fries 3 times a day for 30 days.

Yes, he didn't focus on the fact that people come in all sizes, but the movie wasn't about size acceptance. Its focus was on how giant corporations and schools help set up people up for failure because fast food is tasty, easy to get, and pretty much the standard for people starting at a very young age. Yes, my Mom made me eat my vegitables at home, but McDonalds was a treat, and treats are way better than veggies any day. Once folks get to the point where they can buy their own treats, many of them over indulge and end up impacting their health. I do not believe the film was an argument against any McDonalds, ever, I belive the film was an argument against a system that gets people in the habit of eating more fast food than real food.

It's the old "deepest pockets" thing about lawsuits. You target who has the most money, and that is MacD's, because it is the largest fast food company.

If MacD's weren't the largest, the stupid twats would be suing KFC or TacoHell, BurgerKong or Windy's.

the problem about size acceptence is that when people see supersize me film, they think all FAT people are like that, that we all g0o to macdonalds every day, that is complete rubbish.

its another thing that reduces your choices. do they want to ban all junk food and create a flat tasting "healthy" food, for everyone,

http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/supersize_me_and_a_climate_of_fear

when people say this person is fat what do you think, do you think they are lazy and eat junk food all the time,

since that film came out there has been more and more anti fat, anti choice and more discrimination against the fat. because people assume all fat people eat mcdonalds every day.

and also if they can use this film to sue macd, so much the better.

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

I agree with Mercurior. I highly doubt they would have done that film with Souper Salad, a place that specialises in what the name implies. If it made people thinner, even if it negatively impacted health, no one would care. All they would see is that the person is THINNER after 30 days, not that he may have all sorts of health problems due to the choice of meals for 30 days.

Hey Cambion, are you a nutrition major? Just wondering because I am too.

Rowan Wrote:
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> I agree with Mercurior. I highly doubt they would
> have done that film with Souper Salad, a place
> that specialises in what the name implies.

SouperSalad isn't an international chain restaurant with a huge marketing and advertising campaign, a clown mascot, and a well-known logo and merchandising. Who would go see a movie about it?

The point of the movie was to a. explore the general "politics of food", b. delve into american food culture and c. use a blatent example of what certian types of food, when consumed exclusively, can do to the human body, in spite of the fact that very few people consume all their calories from one chain resturant. With that in mind, I think it is unrealistic to expect that they would take to task a small chain that pretty much offers healthy choices, and doesn't offer things like "super sizing" or advertising almost exclusively to children, as it wouldn't fufil the point of the movie in the first place.

"It truly is the one commonality that every designation of humans you can think of has, there's at least one asshole."
--Me