SUPER SIZE ME

Super Size Me is an award-winning documentary about the fast food industry and the health ailments associated with fast foods such as obesity. Obesity has become a real problem in this country and will eventually kill more Americans than tobacco products.  Much like the books we have been reading in class this documentary brings light to the fast food industry, the lobbyist, and the governments hand in the obesity epidemic in this country.  The way Americans eat has changed over the years from eating most of our food at home to eating fast food on the go.  We are now eating more processed foods which helps attribute to health issues such as diabetes.  Some interesting but disturbing facts I gathered from the documentary are the impact these food can cause the body such as hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity and a long list of other health issues.  Did you know?

·      A super gulp from Seven Eleven is equivalent to ½ gallon of soda

·         We are the fattest  nation in the world with 60% of adults over weight

·         Mississippi is one of the most obese states with 1 in 4 overweight

·         1 out of 3 kids born in the 2000’s will develop diabetes in a lifetime

·         If you obtain diabetes before the age of 15 you will take 15-17 years off your life span

So where does personal responsibility stop and corporate responsibility start? My thoughts are that personal responsibility STARTS with us as the consumers. Buying fast food is a choice and when you make bad choices you get bad results.   As a business major I understand that companies are in business to make money. We must remember these fast food companies are not non-profit organization working towards the good of a community or some cause.   It is our responsibility to know and understand what we are putting into our bodies. I know that fast food is unhealthy for me but if continue to buy a double cheeseburger I cannot then file a lawsuit and blame my heath issue or obesity on McDonalds.  

 

 

BEHIND THE COUNTER

I can remember working at the age of sixteen at my very first job, Dairy Queen. 

It was a way to earn money while attending high school as well as gaining valuable work experience, so I thought.   I was young, still living home with my parents so at the time I was able to accept and work for such low wages.  I would work a few hours after school and long hours over the weekend often neglecting homework and other responsibilities.  Unfortunately most of the customers were rude; I was often disrespected and looked down upon standing behind the counter.  Because I was under-appreciated   by my managers and the customers, Dairy Queen was my first and last fast food job.

About one third of the nations fast food workers are under the age of twenty according to the book, Fast Food Nation.  The fast food industry is mostly dominated by teenagers and has the biggest group of low-wage workers in the United States.  About 3.5 million people work in fast food compared to 1 million migrant farm workers. The fast food industry seeks to hire part-time, unskilled workers willing to accept low work wages which teenagers fit the bill perfectly.

The big fast food corporations get tax credits worth up to $2400 for each new low-income worker they hire.  When in turn, these employees receive little training, no benefits or only stay with the company for a few months.  A study conducted in 1996 showed that these workers would have been hired anyways, so what is the purpose of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit? Is this another incentive to continue paying low-wages?  According to a 1997 survey, the average corporate executive bonus was 131,000 up 20 percent when the real value of the minimum was still 27 percent lower than the 1960’s.

During the 1970s McDonald’s workers tried to organize and join the Teamsters union.  These workers hoped to negotiate higher wages only to have the corporation fire all the workers and shut down the restaurant.  One editor wrote “Did somebody say McUnion, not if they want to keep their McJob”.  This is quite disturbing when all these workers want is job security and wages higher than the US minimum wage.

 

Fast Food Nation

The Founding Fathers

Carl N. Karcher’s father once told him “the harder you work the luckier you will become”.  Today Carl Karcher is one of the founding fathers of the fast food industry as well as the McDonalds brothers, Keith Cramer, William Rosenberg and Mathew Burns.  At the age of twenty Carl decided to leave his family farm in northern Ohio and move to Anaheim, California to work for his uncle.    In the 1940, California was thriving with automobiles and drive-in restaurants which are known as “car hops”.  Carl first open a hot dog stand, moving on to the Carl’s drive-thru Barbeque and eventually in 1997 bought Hardee’s Hamburger.   The fast food war was becoming fierce in California, becoming the birth place of the Jack in the Box, McDonalds, Taco Bell and Carl’s Jr. Today Hundreds of millions of people buy fast food every day unaware of the founding fathers and how these fast food chains came into existence.

 Speeder Service

Richard and Maurice McDonalds left New Hampshire for southern California after the start of the depression with hopes to find jobs in Hollywood. They opened the McDonalds Brothers Burger Bar Drive-in located in San Bernardino, California.   By the late 1940 they had grew tired of searching for carhop locations, replacing dishes and glassware as well as price of short order cooks.  In 1948, the closed all their locations installed larger grills and opened three months later with a new method of serving food.  They had gotten rid of everything that was to be eaten with a fork or spoon and replaced them with paper cup, bags and plates.  The food preparation would be divided up so that one person only had to learn one job.  The McDonalds brother helped revolutionizes the fast food industry with speedy service and the golden arches where formed.

Glen W. Bell Jr visited the McDonalds in San Bernardino and decided to copy the assembly line creating a chain later called Taco Bell.  Keith Cramer also heard about the McDonalds brothers’ restaurant and flew to California from Florida.  After seeing the success of the new assembly line approach he flew back home and with his father- in- law opened the first Insta Burger King in 1953. Dave Thomas started working in restaurants at the age of 15, dropped out of high school, served as a bus boy and cook, eventually opening the first Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in Columbus, Ohio.  Unfortunately, Thomas Monaghan bought a pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan and eventually decided to sell and accepted a used Volkswagen for his share of the business later known a Domino’s.

 

Juicing

I can remember sitting at the dinner table for hours looking at the vegetables left on my plate. Thirty years later with two kids of my own, I find myself in the same constant battle with them over eating their vegetables.  Especially the green veggies such as green beans, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus and even lettuce which has no taste.   

I have become a broken record that even I am tired of hearing “Kids eat your vegetables, please and thank you”.  Unfortunately, at the end of the night their veggies are still on the plate.  After years of frustration, sneaking and even bribery I found the perfect solution to our little vegetable problem, JUICING!! Blending fresh fruits and vegetables are the perfect way to get the kids to eat (drink) their vegetables .For the past several years I have allowed the kids to make their own creation of what we call “awesome juice”.  It consists of fresh fruits, vegetables or a blend of both to a smooth, healthy, energy-rich drink.  After three single serve blenders the kids have perfected their concoction and are excited to prepare and drink their creation. Their favorite is what is known as the Orange jubilee juice which is oranges, carrots and apples.  Another top-pick in our home is the Shrek juice which consists of celery, kale and apples. Allowing the children to shop for, clean and even process and prepare their own vegetable and fruit drinks is the best thing I have ever done!!!  As the kids have grown older I continue to stress the importance of a balanced diet which should incorporate all main food groups including vegetables.  Vegetables provide many nutrients that are vital to their growth and development while at the same time help to reduce the risk of diseases and even cancer.   Plus, the various vitamins such as A and C help to promote healthy eyes, skin and teeth.