Stacy Irvine, age 17, has been eating McDonald's chicken nuggets everyday for the past fifteen years. Her diet does not vary except for "...the occasional slice of toast for breakfast." She also has never eaten a piece of fruit or a vegetable. Her chicken nugget addiction has landed her in the hospital for extremely low vitamins and anemia. Irvine's only source of nutrition is McDonald's and its slowly starting to kill her. So my question is how can a fast food restaurant mass sell such an unhealthy and life-threatening product?
I believe that
McDonald's' marketing tactics are superb. They are able to portray their
dangerous food in a way that appeals to the majority of society. By pushing
their "Happy Meals" and offering a toy with each meal, they
are subconsciously training children to want to go to McDonalds
because with every burger and chicken nugget they eat, they receive a
"reward." In addition, McDonald's' "Dollar Menu" is very
appealing to families and adults who are on a budget. Getting a whole meal for
under $5 is hard to pass up, especially in these rough economic times. I once
read an article where a person would spend 3 times more money buying vegetables
and meat for a home cooked meal than going to McDonald's for dinner.
The convenience
of McDonald's may also be a factor in its popularity. In America, there is a
McDonald's on almost every major street. You can drive your car right to the
side of the building and within minutes your food will be handed to you,
without ever having to step out of the comfort of your car. In our high-paced society, this time-saver can be appealing to many people.
To sum up, maybe
the "cheapness" and the "convenience" of fast food
restaurants are what makes them addicting to us. The food is dangerous; being
high in fat and sodium but, it seems that Americans are willing to sacrifice
their health in order to save money and time.
I would have to say that I completely against diets like these, where fast food plays constant factor. However, why does this have to be about mcnuggets? They are so good. I didn't realize that they could be addicting for some and I do agree that McDonalds is making a lot a money off of people struggling in these bad economic times because of the convenience and their low prices.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there are many other ways for families to get a cheep and quick meal for under 5 dollars without having to go go Mcdonalds. There are pleny of places out there with great deals. Sometimes even going to the supermarket and making a quick meal can be way cheaper and way healthier then having to go to Mcdonalds. I also feel that if Mcdonalds is someones final and only option it realy depends a lot on what they eat. Not everything there is unhealthy. They serve salads, parfaits and fruits but people never think to order healthy at a place like mcdonalds because they are distracted by the amounts of unhealthy foods to choose from.
ReplyDeleteClearly, this girl has a problem. However, I think that it is unfair to place all of the blame for her problems on McDonald's. I think personal choice and parenting(or lack thereof) come into play as well. Although I personally don't eat fast food, I don't think that my dietary choices should be forced on others in society. Just like when I decided to quit smoking, that was a personal choice of mine as well. Some people are not yet ready to give up smoking, and I respect that. Secondly, where the hell are this girl's parents?!?!?! Briefly scanning over the article, her mother seems to be totally ineffective at controlling her daughter's diet. It's a shame that this young woman probably won't see 20 years old because she is literally "addicted" to chicken nuggets. From a personal point of view, that would be a very (unintentionally) funny obituary.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is where is this girl's parents? Why are they letting her practice such unhealthy dieting? I believe this is the problem. Now, more than ever, families are more unsociable. They are so busy with school work, afterschool activities, and work that they don't pay very much attention to those in their family. If you notice, families in the old days sat down and ate together. But because we are too "busy" to even turn on the stove, girls like this one suffer. And just a thought: why chicken nuggets???!!!
ReplyDelete