Do you want a coffin with that?

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Ben
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Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Ben »

I thought the following article and linked youtube video will provoke some discussion regarding fastfood:

McDonald's outrage at health ad

In a television advert that could kill your appetite, an overweight, middle-aged man is seen lying dead in a morgue holding a half-eaten hamburger as a woman weeps over the linen-clad body.

McDonald's ubiquitous golden arches then trace the dead man's feet with the text "I was lovin' it", a stinging pun on the fast-food chain's long-running slogan "I'm lovin' it".

A voiceover says, "high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian".

the rest is here: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/well ... utostart=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So, do you feel like a burger?
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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alan
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by alan »

Health problems are not just because of meat. The buns are white flour. The soda is full of high fructose corn syrup. The fries may be vegetarian, but they are deadly.
Having said that, if McDonalds is against it, then I'm for it.
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Ben
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Ben »

Hi alan
I'm not sure that the fries are vegetarian. Some years ago when McDonalds' was introduced to India, there were widespread protests when it was discovered that the fries were cooked in oil containing beef tallow which gives the McD's fries their distinctive taste.
However you look at it, McDonald's food, "healthy choice" options included, are not a healthy choice. I think its about time that McDonald's insipid marketing message which is to normalise the consumption of junk food, was directly challenged by governments and public interest groups.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
alan
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by alan »

Agreed, Ben.
I've heard that because of the outcry, McD is now cooking their fries in veg. oil, at least in some locations.
Either way, I'm sure we agree that fast food is not just a health problem, but also a social problem.
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Kim OHara
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Kim OHara »

alan wrote:Health problems are not just because of meat. The buns are white flour. The soda is full of high fructose corn syrup. The fries may be vegetarian, but they are deadly.
Having said that, if McDonalds is against it, then I'm for it.
There's a picture somewhere of a hamburger which has ben sitting around for years and looks the same as when it was made. Even the *bugs* are smart enough not to touch those things.
/ :popcorn: either!
Kim
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Monkey Mind
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Monkey Mind »

There's a popular urban myth here in the US that McDs imports kangaroo meat for their burgers when there is a beef shortage.
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.

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Ben
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Ben »

Hi MM
Monkey Mind wrote:There's a popular urban myth here in the US that McDs imports kangaroo meat for their burgers when there is a beef shortage.
I can assure you it is a myth. If my memory serves me well, one needs a licence in order to export kangaroo meat. And supplying McDonald's with kangaroo meat would not be something that would go unnoticed. Ours and the worlds media would be over that story like flies to a freshly dropped turd. Kangaroo meat, if you haven't tasted it, has a very strong and distinctive flavour - in the same way venison has a very strong and distinctive flavour. It doesn't taste anything like beef.
Personally, I don't like it.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Dan74
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Dan74 »

Ben wrote: I think its about time that McDonald's insipid marketing message which is to normalise the consumption of junk food, was directly challenged by governments and public interest groups.
kind regards

Ben
:twothumbsup:

Same goes for a lot of crap people are fed through the ads and pop-culture messages.

As for roo meat, that wouldn't be so bad since roos are culled in Australia and forests are not cleared for their pastures. So at least this wouldn't be contributing to suffering in the same way as beef production is. But as Ben said, it is extremely unlikely.
_/|\_
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bodom
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by bodom »

My girlfriend likes eating at Mcdonalds once in awhile. Will I make a big deal about it and refuse to eat? No. I like a double bacon cheeseburger w/ fries and a shake as much as the next guy. Having said that, my cholesterol is fine and I am not overweight.

You know why?

Moderation.

McDonalds is not killing anybody. People with food related obesity and cholesterol are killing themselves by their own own hand.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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Ben
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Ben »

bodom wrote:McDonalds is not killing anybody. People with food related obesity and cholesterol are killing themselves by their own own hand.
That is indeed very true, bodom. However, McDonalds, as with other very large fast-food conglomerates, also have a responsibility to public health. These companies spend billions of dollars each year on marketing and advertising and are very adept at the art of persuasion. While you and I might go to McDonalds on the odd occassion and under duress, their bread-and-butter comes from millions of people who don't think twice about going multiple times a week.

As an aside, A few years ago,a law was passed in Australia that fast-food companies such as McDonald's Hungry Jack's (Burger King) and KFC had to declare the breakdown of nutritional information (including energy and salt) and the percentage of nutrient as per recommended daily allowance on the packaging of all their take-away products. Very salutory reading while you're chowing down on your quarter-pounder!
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Dan74
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Dan74 »

bodom wrote:My girlfriend likes eating at Mcdonalds once in awhile. Will I make a big deal about it and refuse to eat? No. I like a double bacon cheeseburger w/ fries and a shake as much as the next guy. Having said that, my cholesterol is fine and I am not overweight.

You know why?

Moderation.

McDonalds is not killing anybody. People with food related obesity and cholesterol are killing themselves by their own own hand.

:anjali:

McDonalds are in fact killing millions of cows every year, along with all those other critters whose homes get destroyed for pastures and soy plantations (although under pressure they have modified their behavior in respect of the latter).

Of course I do take you point about moderation. But in order for that to work people need to be able to exercise free choice and when they are bombarded with ads on the tellie and bill-boards, like it or not, they get brain-washed.

Ads like the one above is to counteract that. Of course it is also brain-washing, just of the opposite kind.
_/|\_
Paññāsikhara
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Paññāsikhara »

Ignorance kills.

Certain companies like to promote it.
My recently moved Blog, containing some of my writings on the Buddha Dhamma, as well as a number of translations from classical Buddhist texts and modern authors, liturgy, etc.: Huifeng's Prajnacara Blog.
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Rui Sousa
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by Rui Sousa »

bodom wrote:My girlfriend likes eating at Mcdonalds once in awhile. Will I make a big deal about it and refuse to eat? No. I like a double bacon cheeseburger w/ fries and a shake as much as the next guy. Having said that, my cholesterol is fine and I am not overweight.

You know why?

Moderation.

McDonalds is not killing anybody. People with food related obesity and cholesterol are killing themselves by their own own hand.

:anjali:
And you have McDonalds in many countries, with similar economic access to food, that do not show high levels of obesity.

Sure a burger has lots of unhealthy fat, as do fries, and too much proteins, but we also eat too much sugar and too much salt anyway. I wouldn't blame McDonalds more than Hagen Daz or M&M's. IMO The real problem is lack of moderation, lack of physical exercise and lack of knowledge about the caloric and nutritive value of what we eat.

For those struggling with overweight I recommend using this site EverydayHealth.com were you can keep a detailed track of what you eat. Noting what food contains is really helpful in managing weight.

I do, once or twice a month, have my McTasty and I have no problem with cholesterol.
With Metta
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octathlon
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

Post by octathlon »

Ben wrote: As an aside, A few years ago,a law was passed in Australia that fast-food companies such as McDonald's Hungry Jack's (Burger King) and KFC had to declare the breakdown of nutritional information (including energy and salt) and the percentage of nutrient as per recommended daily allowance on the packaging of all their take-away products. Very salutory reading while you're chowing down on your quarter-pounder!
kind regards

Ben
Our new health care bill that was passed in March also requires that, for any restaurant that has 20 or more locations. Some of them were already doing that and offering healthier stuff on their menus but now it will be required. I think when people see just how much fat and calories are in some of the items, the trend for chains to offer healthier stuff will continue.

On the topic of informed consumers, I saw a story yesterday that the producers of high fructose corn syrup are asking the FDA to let them change the name of it to "corn sugar" because their sales have been dropping so much lately. They want to disguise it by switching to a new name. :roll:
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Re: Do you want a coffin with that?

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