Prince Charles wants to get rid of all the McDonald’s franchises in England. Why? Because of the obesity epidemic in the Old Country. Finally, somebody’s getting the hint. If you insist on super-sizing fast food portions, you end up super-sizing fast food patrons.
This is a no-brainer. But the ugly underbelly of it all is a moral issue — the issue of personal responsibility. Fast food businesses, which are definitely culprits in the expansion of the US, and the UK, and just about every other capitalist society in the world, these businesses are guilty of pushing fat, salt and sugar on a public that’s just trying to get full on not much money.
But surely the public is to blame as well. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to eat those ridiculously large portions of fries, burgers and sodas. Restaurants claim that “the public” demands big portions — how else will they know they’re having a great dining experience? (Well, actually, how about wonderful flavors, attractive presentation, fresh ingredients? Those might be involved in a great dining experience. . . .)
Which came first? The huge portions, or the demand for big bang for the buck?
Probably the demand came first. Quantity – that’s what the restaurant-going public seems to demand. Did it never occur to Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch to limit quantity and go for quality instead? Think about it. You could eat well, without over-eating.
Food is often compared to sex. So I ask you: Is lots of mediocre sex really more desireable than less frequent encounters of really great, well,. . . you get my drift.
