Lord of the Fries

[Theben]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
If they're really that poor, they shouldn't be paying for that luxury. Basic point being that anyone who says poor people are forced to eat McDonald's food because of their economic situation is a complete moron.

In the long run it'll be deterimental to their health and pocketbook, but short term it can be a small relief from burden. And who here can say that they haven't traded common sense for convenience before?

[Dis]

P.S. I'm not some elitist who eats healthy food. I still don't eat that healthy. But I do eat less of the bad stuff, and I eliminated fast food all together.

It's strange though. After eliminating fast food, I did eat Taco Bell one day. And it didn't even taste good.

But I still don't eat that great. Because I could never give up pizza, and I still eat too much of it (although in smaller servings).

My reason for giving up fast food was more about losing weight and saving money, than health. I really don't care about my health that much .

That's also why I eliminated soda. My metabolism is just too slow to put all those sugar calories into me and not gain weight.

[Zero]

i dont drink soda. i run 2 miles a day, quit smoking cigarette so i can smoke a fat blunt and get wasted whenever theres a party.

its a rather nice balance

[Drake Tungsten]

In the long run it'll be deterimental to their health and pocketbook, but short term it can be a small relief from burden. And who here can say that they haven't traded common sense for convenience before?

I don't disagree with you; people obviously eat at McDonald's and this is the primary reason. I just disagree with the idea that poor people have to eat at McDonald's. They don't and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. If you want to bash MickeyD's, go right ahead; I don't like the place, either. Just don't try to turn it into some bull**** class warfare argument...

[Theben]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

I don't disagree with you; people obviously eat at McDonald's and this is the primary reason. I just disagree with the idea that poor people have to eat at McDonald's. They don't and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. If you want to bash MickeyD's, go right ahead; I don't like the place, either.

Then we're agreed.

Just don't try to turn it into some bull**** class warfare argument...

Who said I was?

[Drake Tungsten]

Who said I was?

Not me. I was talking about people other than you...

[Theben]

k

[monolith94]

I hate mcdonalds. I never eat there. Go me!

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by mrmitchell

If you are poor, what are you doing at McDonald's to begin with? You're either too poor to be there at all, or wealthy enough to (very!) carefully budget in your food supplies at the grocery store.

As Theben pointed out, it's also about time. Poor people work long hours, too, and there's the added burden of having to care for kids. They don't have the time to prepare food. It's not as simple as just going to the grocery. You have to make a list, get to the grocery, get back from the grocery, prep the food, cook it, and then clean up afterwards. It's time consuming, and when there's a quick, messless alternative like McD's around the corner which purports to be nutritious, people are going to go for that.

The supersize thing is related, as people see it as getting more value for their dollar. When the deal is that the more food you buy, the cheaper it is, that's another incentive to buy it.

No one's absolving people of their personal responsibility -- the filmmaker pointed that out. But how much responsibility does McD's have for offering its customers the nooses with which to hang themselves?

[Spiffor]

When my brother lived in San Diego, he told me a meal at the local fast food joint costed as much as a meal prepared at home. That's why so many people went to McD's: why bother cooking when you have everything served to you for the same price?

Well, maybe he didn't buy the cheapest in the supermarket (computer engineer + French = significant money spent on food). But indeed, I think the commonness of fast food in the American diet has some real reasons to it.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


But how much responsibility does McD's have for offering its customers the nooses with which to hang themselves?

I'd say just about nil, with the only exception being instances where items are falsely advertised as being healthy.

[Last Conformist]

There also the question where you live. Taking me as an example, if I want lunch, and don't have the time to go home and fix it myself nor the motivation to bring something along from home to eat out (either of which can easily be less than 1€), my options are basically:

* A 'real' restaurant. Costs from about 6€ to infinity.

* McD. Costs about 5€.

* Any of the little kebab places that abound here. Costs 3-5€ or so.

* The students' restaurants. Costs 1.5-3€.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that I rarely eat at McD. Even if I weren't a student and were addicted to junk food, it would be hard to justify going there.

[Jac de Molay]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

They buy for the convienence. After working 8-14 hours/day then going home and dealing with kids, paying someone extra to make food for you is a luxury.

If they're really that poor, they shouldn't be paying for that luxury. Basic point being that anyone who says poor people are forced to eat McDonald's food because of their economic situation is a complete moron.

This is all assuming, of course, that the grocery stores are actually WHERE the poor people are. Is there transportation for car-less poor people to get to these places? Do they even accept food stamps or other vouchers?

Poor people, in general, have much less access to grocery stores that offer healthy nutrional staples, so they do rely on junk-peddlers like party stores and McD's for food.

And the movie does make a valid point- There ARE a lot of Americans who eat fast food on a daily basis, for years on end. The fact that he did what he did is meant to underscore that very point.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Last Conformist
It shouldn't surprise anyone that I rarely eat at McD. Even if I weren't a student and were addicted to junk food, it would be hard to justify going there.

Indeed, we European students now throng the Kebab houses. Fortunately, they don't have a marketing machine that makes you think it is cool, or healthy

[alva]

Nice article

Don't often eat at Mcdonalds ( or Quick), after half a burger I simply get bored of it, the food is too sweet anyway.

Btw: Quick/McD are not cheap here, well they are for me 'cause I hardly order anything but people wanting 2 or 3 burgers and fries....
I'd rather spend a little extra and go to a restaurant.