Rant About The Fast Food Ignorance of Americans

[Bignbuff]

Anyone else annoyed with how McDonald's and the fast food industry have become the scapegoats for unhealthy eating and obesity in America while soft drink companies, sit down chains, etc. have not?

A couple weeks ago I was driving home with a couple of my friends and we stopped at a highway rest stop to get some food. Me and my one buddy got some McD's and my other friend didn't want any because "I'm not gonna eat that garbage. McDonald's makes people fat...yada yada yada." Fair enough, I can understand what he's saying. But then, the next day while we were at a waterpark this same person ordered a funnel cake and fries, and he also regularly drinks soda and eats Swedish Fish like they're going out of style, yet he has nothing against these companies.

Don't get me wrong. McDonald's and fast food are unhealthy for the most part and I don't advocate regularly eating them. But it's unbelievable how places like Applebee's, Chili's, etc. don't get any of the blame when one of their meals with an appetizer pack 1,500+ calories, including some salads (sometimes more calories than this) and worst case scenario at fast food joints people are eating less calories in one of their average meals.

[soundcheck129]

I agree, the entire industry plays a role. But ultimately it's the people making the decision.

[fgfan1]

Agreed. A Big Mac is seen as an icon of obesity and yet it's only 540 cals, for example.

[Atropa]

We are a nation of blame anyone but ourselves for our choices.

[djansen]

Its amazing how missinformed people are and how they will believe anything they hear.

[soundcheck129]

We are a nation of blame anyone but ourselves for our choices.

This. In every respect.

Why do I pay so much for gas? Because you drive an SUV everywhere even though you're driving by yourself.

[stevenwags]

Usually the food quality in fast food places are worse then resturants though.

I agree that both are equally high in calories but in terms of healthiness I would still say that fastfood is much unhealthier then resturants, not because of the calorie intake but because of the products they use for their food, and the preperation and cleanliness in resturants over fastfood joints.

[Blazer01]

We are a nation of blame anyone but ourselves for our choices.

Agreed

[CaliforniaKing]

I see what you're saying, but when I think of fast food places like McDonalds, I think of the all chemicals and all the other unnatural stuff they put in there to keep their prices low, while still making it taste "good." Places like Applebee's or Chili's, like you mentioned, are cooked, more or less, fresher than at McDonalds. The prices are higher and as expected, the quality is higher as well. They probably don't use many chemicals in their food, and it's cooked by a professional (relatively speaking), rather than some 16 year old kid who just drops food into a deep fryer.

[dimasso69]

Anyone else annoyed with how McDonald's and the fast food industry have become the scapegoats for unhealthy eating and obesity in America while soft drink companies, sit down chains, etc. have not?

A couple weeks ago I was driving home with a couple of my friends and we stopped at a highway rest stop to get some food. Me and my one buddy got some McD's and my other friend didn't want any because "I'm not gonna eat that garbage. McDonald's makes people fat...yada yada yada." Fair enough, I can understand what he's saying. But then, the next day while we were at a waterpark this same person ordered a funnel cake and fries, and he also regularly drinks soda and eats Swedish Fish like they're going out of style, yet he has nothing against these companies.

Don't get me wrong. McDonald's and fast food are unhealthy for the most part and I don't advocate regularly eating them. But it's unbelievable how places like Applebee's, Chili's, etc. don't get any of the blame when one of their meals with an appetizer pack 1,500+ calories, including some salads (sometimes more calories than this) and worst case scenario at fast food joints people are eating less calories in one of their average meals.

I agree 100% I don't understand, like Fried chicken WRAPS are okay buy if it's a McChicken sandwich it's unhealthy..when the McChickens have less cals. And even still McDonalds is offering more and more "healthier" choices for people. Like it's said over and over..everything in moderation and people blame fast food companies for obesity..well then maybe either A. get more active or if that's not an option B. Don't eat the stuff. But it seems most people have time to sit in front of a tv daily for at least an hour..which they could use to get more active and workout..but the problem is many make excuses..to not.

Another thing that i don't get is Raisan bran..it's loaded with sugar yet my mom says me eating golden grahams is bad cuz of the sugar..kinda off topic but same idea.

Agreed. A Big Mac is seen as an icon of obesity and yet it's only 540 cals, for example.

who the hell eats just a big mac lol usually they get the meal with a large fry and big soda so it adds up..but i get your point..you can eat big macs and not get fat..it's not Mcdonalds or any fast food places fault Food choice is one thing you have control of no one else

[SmokeNB]

Fast food restaurants have their place, like on a road trip as you mentioned.

When I was a kid, having fast food brought home was a huge treat and we probably did it about 10 times a year. It seems many now do that in a week.

[Josh86]

I agree, this way of thinking is a bit comical and sad at the same time.

I've heard people say "i've stopped eating fast food all together", which is cool I guess if they ate it primarily. But then they turn around and do something of a similar sort of what you said of your friend. Its trading one thing for another....

I had a friend who said they were not going to "eat yummy foods" no more to lose weight, then they went and binged on alcohol that weekend. I guess moderation and a balance is hard to grasp for some people.

[hooked4life]

I would be very very happy if the fitness world would admit that a normal person could fit fast food into their daily life and still be very fit.

[nano.ix]

I get the 'fast food industry' bit not just 'McD's'. It is a major scapegoat b/c society is lazy and always wants to blame someone or something else for their problems.

I personally say "I will never eat that crap". I haven't eaten fast foods in 6+ years and it's a personal choice - not that 'it makes you fat'.

The trivial loop in all this is that the people who blame McD's for their issues will still eat from there. You watch the documentry's on this situation and the people who say "They should include this or that here or there" "This is terrible" yet they are eating from there when they bash it! W-T-F.

Taking the other side of the plank though, the higher powers should be controlling this to better everyone. There are only few semi-fast food - healthy joints around and if they were the majority things would be much better IMO.

I feel that the fact that these joints are so avalible are a reason why people will go there for a quick bite.

Don't know how much rambling I did b/c I'm fustrated as hell doing work. So ... hopfully this is easy to read.

[MikeD4386]

This is where "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" really comes into play. People just here "fast food is bad" or "Carbs make you fat", and are too ignorant/stupid or just plain stupidly ignorant to know the truth.

As far as why aren’t sit down chains at fault, I believe the real questions are why anyone at fault is. As far as Suing/targeting McDonalds, I believe that came from the lack of alternative healthy choices they had, since all of their salads come with fried chicken. Where apple bees or chilies for example, has plenty of fish with vegetables or normal salads. If you are going to blame Chilis, then America's public schools may as well be next, because they are not adequately trashing people about nutrition (is what they would say). One day you may hear of somebody bringing suit toward Lazy-Boy because their couch was so comfortable, they couldn't bear to get up and go for a walk. These companies are doing exactly what we want them to, and apparently they are doing so well, (at either making comfortable couches, or as in the real example, making cheap great tasting food regardless of nutritional value)that peoplesimply cannot handle it.

It would be absurd to sue Cutco for slipping and dropping a knife on your foot and cutting it open, they are not intended to be left on the edge of the counter where they can easily fall and harm you; nor, is McDonalds supposed to be eaten for every meal, and only be eating a number 1, when you could easily incorporate some healthy choice. It all comes down to consumer responsibility, and I think people are getting fat and they don’t have the will power to lose the weight, and worse than that, they don't have the character to even accept the blame for their situation, so they are always blaming others. The next thing they are going to do is sue the corn mills for stripping nutritional value from whole grain corn, in order to provide a cheap sweeteners for the world. These companies are providing services to large niche markets such as delivery good tasting food fast and cheaply to customers who have enough common sense to know it’s bad, but have it now and then anyway. It’s called capitalism, and until a while ago we used to live by it. If you don’t like it, GTFO and go to a third world country where you can’t get any food, let alone the luxury of Hot Delicious food in under a minute for less than the price of a bus ride home instead of walking. Then, we will see how "evil" corporations like Mcdonald's are destroying there lives.

/rant

[MikeD4386]

I feel that the fact that these joints are so avalible are a reason why people will go there for a quick bite.

Very inspirational rant, however, this is the opposite of how market rules work. People do not eat at McDonalds because it is available on every other corner; rather, McDonald's pay for real estate on every other corner because people want to eat their so badly. If the demand was truly that high for "healthy fast food", the investors would be turning a major profit off of restaurants like Fresh city. So clearly, there is not such a high demand, rather these are claims people make because they do not have the character to admit they have faults. They get to the counter and say, "man I'm really feeling a couple celery stalks right now, but I guess I'll make it a double whopper with cheese. You know what; make it triple, and ya, super size it. And there better be a lot of sauce. oh, well Ill have celery some other time". When, the whole time they were thinking : "should I have a milkshake or apple pie for dessert???".

I personally eat at fast food restaurants because I enjoy the food more than I enjoy the prospect of health and fitness in the future. I sell my future out for a delicious meal and I am an adult, and it?s my decision. I do not need giant multinational conglomerates or the government making my decisions for me. And, I will not blame them, when my decisions have negative repercussions.

[djansen]

I love when people want to stop eating fast food so they stop going to Mcdonalds and they go to subway and get something like a footlong meatball sub on wheat of course.

Big mac : 540 cals

ft long sub : wheat bread alone :420 cals
Ft long Meatball sub: 1160 cals

But big macs are for fatties!

[dimasso69]

I love when people want to stop eating fast food so they stop going to Mcdonalds and they go to subway and get something like a footlong meatball sub on wheat of course.

Big mac : 540 cals

ft long sub : wheat bread alone :420 cals
Ft long Meatball sub: 1160 cals

But big macs are for fatties!

But..but Big macs have....WHITE BREAD..i cant eat that!

[RapidFiyah]

Very inspirational rant, however, this is the opposite of how market rules work. People do not eat at McDonalds because it is available on every other corner; rather, McDonald's pay for real estate on every other corner because people want to eat their so badly. If the demand was truly that high for "healthy fast food", the investors would be turning a major profit off of restaurants like Fresh city. So clearly, there is not such a high demand, rather these are claims people make because they do not have the character to admit they have faults. They get to the counter and say, "man I'm really feeling a couple celery stalks right now, but I guess I'll make it a double whopper with cheese. You know what; make it triple, and ya, super size it. And there better be a lot of sauce. oh, well Ill have celery some other time". When, the whole time they were thinking : "should I have a milkshake or apple pie for dessert???".

I personally eat at fast food restaurants because I enjoy the food more than I enjoy the prospect of health and fitness in the future. I sell my future out for a delicious meal and I am an adult, and it?s my decision. I do not need giant multinational conglomerates or the government making my decisions for me. And, I will not blame them, when my decisions have negative repercussions.

Negative Repercussions?

Food isn't endowed with magical, evil or healing abilities people.

[nano.ix]

But..but Big macs have....WHITE BREAD..i cant eat that!

In my opinion 3-4 BM are needed to provide the same fullness as one sub. Then take into account the size etc.

It's not logical to compare two separate foods without taking into account size, density etc.

[cbrowns21]

the way I see it, fat people have two main problems.

1) Lazy
2) Ignorant (and too lazy to aware themselves)

[determined4000]

I love when people want to stop eating fast food so they stop going to Mcdonalds and they go to subway and get something like a footlong meatball sub on wheat of course.

Big mac : 540 cals

ft long sub : wheat bread alone :420 cals
Ft long Meatball sub: 1160 cals

But big macs are for fatties!

but you forgot about the large fries and coke that comes with it

Plus most health-conscious sorts would get a six inch w/ lean ,meat
Jared lost weight beuz he ate two of these plus a veggie footlong for his total intake --> 1200 calories

[US_Ranger]

Costco should be blamed more than McDonalds. If you want to see some obese people, go there and look at the oversized fatties with their oversized shopping carts getting oversized candy bags and oversized soda trays.

McDonalds is a scapegoat for sure. I could eat it everyday and still be in good shape although I prefer the taste of "real" food much more. Maybe if people weren't lazy and ignorant, they'd realize why the obesity rate is so out of control.

[Simmo0508]

Agreed. Like you said, ignorance. That's all it is. Lack of awareness of the subject at hand.

Actually on the topic of Big Macs. On it's own, they're not too bad in terms of calories, compared to other burgers at other places. Obviously you don't wanna have them all the time, but there's far worse "cheat meals" out there that do way worse damage that get much less ridicule and fall through the cracks. A lot of burgers i see at some places would easily top 1000cals. When a burger is shinier than a teenager's pimply forehead, you knows there's a **** ton of somethin somethin goin on right there.

[AWS-Adiuvat]

I actually wrote a paper on this, came to the conclusion of (what most people said on here) its choices based upon poor education, excuses -for lack of time-, and lagging choices.

no doubt the wonderful FDA could crack down on many many many products to help americans out. Fast food, restraunts, and other unhealthy food joints don't help health concerns but in the end the healthy food is just as readily as the unhealthy food.

[Krique]

Costco should be blamed more than McDonalds. If you want to see some obese people, go there and look at the oversized fatties with their oversized shopping carts getting oversized candy bags and oversized soda trays.

McDonalds is a scapegoat for sure. I could eat it everyday and still be in good shape although I prefer the taste of "real" food much more. Maybe if people weren't lazy and ignorant, they'd realize why the obesity rate is so out of control.

Costco is great. I just bought a 10 lb bag of lean boneless skinless chicken breasts. It's really personal choice that people should be blaming.

As far as Micky D's, none of their sandwiches are that awful and anything grilled chicken is actually pretty decent (well, besides being loaded with sodium and preservatives). Fries and a coke are killer. I'd love to see other options for sides besides fries or apple dippers.

[AFMARQ]

I agree, the entire industry plays a role. But ultimately it's the people making the decision.

^thishtisthishsih^

Cliffs
-California Doctors say frying potatos causes them to become a high carcinogen
-People still eat a shyt load of super sized fries after hearing that
-WTF

[Bignbuff]

As an example of the way our society works/thinks about things:

I went to McDonald's last week to try the new Angus burger. I was very specific and only ordered the burger and a soft drink (diet coke FTW), but the cashier rung me up for the meal including fries. When the bill was larger than I had summed it up to be, even after taxes, I questioned her and she said "well, I assumed you just wanted the meal." I think her assumption was fair since probably 99.99% of people that order a burger at McDonald's get fries (I usually do) and its so cheap to do so, so she may have just been trying to be nice. Going in, I figured this would happen, but wanted to test, and they didn't let me know.

Just goes to show you that our society almost forces it upon us to eat more, or makes it seem logical to want to do so. For me, I actually didn't want the fries and hadn't planned on getting any before I went into the restaurant. But for most people, it would seem "dumb" not to pay the extra 40 cents or whatever for fries when you're already paying $5, or to go one further, not to supersize for an additional $1.19 or so.

Interestingly enough, while I don't have the stomach/appetite of some of you on here, the burger in itself did fill me up enough for the meal (granted it was a 1/3 pound burger). Thing is, it took me about 5 minutes to realize it after I ate the burger and had left the location. If I had a side of fries with me, I would have certainly downed them unnecessarily (in terms of satiety, not flavor )

[Valjean]

Reminds me a great post a while ago with a picture of a bag of sugar that says "fat free" on it.

We are the enlightened ones.

[ShaeHST]

Anyone else annoyed with how McDonald's and the fast food industry have become the scapegoats for unhealthy eating and obesity in America while soft drink companies, sit down chains, etc. have not?

A couple weeks ago I was driving home with a couple of my friends and we stopped at a highway rest stop to get some food. Me and my one buddy got some McD's and my other friend didn't want any because "I'm not gonna eat that garbage. McDonald's makes people fat...yada yada yada." Fair enough, I can understand what he's saying. But then, the next day while we were at a waterpark this same person ordered a funnel cake and fries, and he also regularly drinks soda and eats Swedish Fish like they're going out of style, yet he has nothing against these companies.

Don't get me wrong. McDonald's and fast food are unhealthy for the most part and I don't advocate regularly eating them. But it's unbelievable how places like Applebee's, Chili's, etc. don't get any of the blame when one of their meals with an appetizer pack 1,500+ calories, including some salads (sometimes more calories than this) and worst case scenario at fast food joints people are eating less calories in one of their average meals.

It's just the society we live in. We live in a trend following society. For the past few years, the stigma against the traditional fast food "restaurants" like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC, "insert typical fast food place here," has been growing and growing and more people are following the ideology of fast food = fat america.

Which in some way, of course, is part of the problem. However, like you mentioned, it isn't even close to the major reason why Americans have been becoming increasingly unhealthy and overweight. Most chain restaurants that have quick-food making processes (like Chili's supposedly uses a microwave and fry pan method with some of their meals) have just as bad food as the typical fast food restaurant but don't get the same treatment from these trend followers who are boycotting fast food.

I'm sure if the media and various forms of literature/entertainment outlets (like "Fast Food Nation," "Supersize Me," for fast food) begin to focus on the unhealthy foods in America in general, and not just focusing on the fast food sector, people will begin to follow the trend of being more aware about what is good, healthy food to eat vs. bad, unhealthy food.