Conspiracy Theories

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

McDonald's wants you to have lunch there every day and then bring home dinner to the kids. Coke wants you to hit the store every night for a six pack along with your Funyuns and pint of Baccardi.

And, I think they should have the right to market however they want, because consumers should be responsible for themselves. Many people buy into "value meals" think only of the money supposedly saved, and never of the "nutritional" value of those meals or items. It's up to consumers to look at the nutritional info sheets (which I do think places should provide). Wanting people to buy a product often or exclusively is basic marketing/survival and doesn't make a company "evil". I feel the same about tobacco and alcohol - consumers should be responsible for what goes into their bodies and the consequences associated with it.

For example, if I see a new product in which I'm interested, I'll actually research it first. (And, in this day and age, info is very readily accessible.) I read reviews about both pros and cons, and in the case of food items, I look up the nutritional info. At that point, I decide if the product is right for me. I don't need some "watchdog" trying to sway me one way or the other. That's what our educational system is for - we grow up learning about things like nutrition, etc. Heck, even Sesame Street has Cookie Monster now admitting that cookies are a "sometimes food". There's really no excuse that an adult wouldn't know that eating an entire pack of Oreos could be detrimental to health. It's pretty much common sense.

I overall think of moderation in everything, even things about the environment. I try to not be wasteful, but I also like to enjoy my life. Sometimes, I just might feel like a scenic drive rather than a bike ride or walk, and I'm not going to feel guilty for doing so. My way of reducing landfill is by purchasing large bottles of water then refilling reusable small ones (we used to use a tap water filter, but our water in our current residence is very bad). Yes, I throw those large bottles away, because our place is too small to hold them for recycling. Not to mention the amount of gas I'd burn driving them over to a recycling center. Throwing them away probably makes a lot less impact. And, I certainly don't lose sleep over throwing the bottles in the dumpster. Unfortunately, I've even had someone tell me in my own home how horrible I was for not recycling and not having space was "no excuse". That's the kind of crap that irks me - it's my home, and I should be able to live the way I choose without others telling me what I "should" be doing. Same thing about my body. Yes, I know soda is not technically good for me, but I do enjoy it, so I do so in moderation. Yet, some people feel compelled to tell me about how horrible it is and that it will kill me if I don't completely step away from it all together. An over-excess of anything can kill a person, even water. Yes, I know McD' fries are junk food at best, but I still like to enjoy them on occasion. Yet, I've been told that I need to see "Supersize Me" (which I have, btw), and need to read all sorts of other rhetoric like "Fast Food Nation", etc. and that I'll never eat them again once I do. Um. I like them. So, I'll eat them on occasion. I don't give a **** if they're made from bleached potatoes grown in soil that's been fertilized with every chemical that's ever existed. I just like to enjoy life and don't feel a need to worry about every little thing all the time. I would have actually read "Fast Food Nation" had the author stuck to the topic - tell me what's in fast food that I might not know about. Instead, he had to keep spinning about "evil corporations" like Disney. I never finished it, because I could no longer read since my eyes were in the back of my head. Yet, he's not "evil" for writing an anti-corporate book and not marketing it as such.


That said, I'm down another pound this week, and yes, I've had some soda this past week. I still haven't had my McRib of this year though, but I will. I should also point out that most of my daily intake consists of raw veggies - about 6-8 cups on most days. Gimme some carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other crunchy ones with some hot sauce or a bit of non-fat sour cream, and I'm in heaven. I probably eat healthier than the people who preach to me to completely give up soda and fries.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

It's up to consumers to look at the nutritional info sheets (which I do think places should provide).
...
I don't need some "watchdog" trying to sway me one way or the other.

The 2nd statement rather contradicts the first, doesn't it? Left to their own devices, it's unlikely that fast food restaurants would willingly make nutritional information available, it's just not good business. So you're clearly okay with some level of wathdoggery, you just draw the line differently than other people as to what's considered an acceptable level vs. over-protectiveness.

"Evil" is a loaded word that doesn't add much to rational conversation, so I won't label, especially in any sort of blanket way, corporations as "evil". On the other hand, have no problem making the observation that, left unchecked, a lot of unsavory things can easily be justified by the profit motive. I'm okay with some "watchdog" taking the time to make sure there's a good chance that the meat I buy in the supermarket isn't going to be infected (not that the FDA is a perfect system, but I'm grateful for every effort made). I'm okay with some "watchdog" making sure that I can buy car seat for my child with some reasonable assurance that it's not going to fail in a fender bender. And I'm NOT okay with leaving that assurance to experience and market forces when "market forces" means, "the car seat that contributed to the most infant deaths gets fewer future sales."

Of course none of this should diminish the role of personal responsibility. But to say that the entire onus is on individuals and whether they educate themselves ignores the reality that our ability to educate ourselves depends in part on corporations' willingness to participate in said education, something that is often counter to their overriding goal of maximizing profit.