Fast Food as a Force for Good

[prisonchaplain]

McDonalds helps poor people!  Huh?  Doesn't it clog the arteries of the disadvantaged with cholesterol, fat, sodium--then there are the tacky formica seats!

 

Consider this--1000 calories at McDonalds costs $1.76--about 1/10th the price of a "healthy" meal with that many calories.  The poor usually do not have sufficient kitchens or space to store food to cook for themselves.

 

Could it be that Fast Food is a Force for Good?

 

http://blog.acton.org/archives/68793-4-lessons-can-learn-mcdonalds-owner.html

[Dravin]

I do have to say I'm liking the relatively recent change of McDonald's putting the calories of food items up on the menu boards. Sure it doesn't help with the micronutrients and the balance of macronutrients (it doesn't take all that much effort to find those things out)) but it is useful for doing a basic level check of how many calories you are putting into your body ..

[jerome1232]

Interesting take.

Chili Mac* has got to beat out a McBurger for cheapness and calories I'll wager.


*Chilli beans mixed with Mac and Cheese.

[NeuroTypical]

Something else to consider - that panhandler holding up a "stranded and hungry" sign?  He's very, very aware of this math.

[Guest]

Mr. Castillo is a very smart man.

[prisonchaplain]

I'm not sure this is a force for good...but what's 8000 calories between friends?

 

[Quin]

When I was homeless I lived on 99cent whoppers.

(Dates me. When was the last time they had that special on?)

It was the healthiest thing I could get:

High calorie, long burning fat, protein, glucose for my brain (bun = uber processed awesomeness), and even vegetables.

Plus salt.

I may have been on a losing streak, but I wasn't a fool.

When suddenly homeless... I moved to Florida.

Weather that won't kill you to sleep out in, bathing & laundry in the Gulf, and the ERs were free for medical treatment.

I'm in Chicago, Montreal, Boston... Looking at the homeless population and shudder.

Head SOUTH darnit. South!

But it does mean needing to keep your salt levels up.

Whenever I'm seriously broke (or trying to save money) I go back to that.

Sadly, while $1 a day could feed me back when (admit, I usually only ate every couple days)...

I have to spend $14 a week on food these days.

McDonalds hamburgers just don't stack up to the Whopper ... But they're still a buck.

Q

[Quin]

I'm not sure this is a force for good...but what's 8000 calories between friends?

 

Bwaaahahahaha!

My ex used to make an 8,000 calorie shake for weightlifting.

It made my stomach lurch... But here's some/most of the ingredients:

Ice cream

Peanut butter

Whey

Black strap molasses

Ensure

Avocado

Macadamia nuts

Chocolate or Strawberry Syrup

Frozen fruit

He'd drink it while eating tuna out of the can.

I dared him once to just add the tuna to the blender.

Bad choice.

He bought it was a brilliant idea, and I spent the next 5 years scrubbing out a fishy blender.

Gag.

Q

[NeuroTypical]

I'm in Chicago, Montreal, Boston... Looking at the homeless population and shudder.

Head SOUTH darnit. South!

 

 

Heh - where were you 10 winters ago, when I was working in Denver, and striking up conversations with the panhandlers there?  There was some vigilante who had killed 2 or 3 of the homeless, and the winter cold had already claimed a couple more of the severely addicted.  Their usual worries about staying warm were impacted by not wanting to be alone where they could get shanked to death.  I didn't have the faintest idea what to tell them.

[Dravin]

There are homeless up in Alaska, of course homeless tends to mean less living under an overpass and more having a camp setup on the edge of town.

[prisonchaplain]

In all seriousness, I contrast this article to those people who obsess about processing, try to eat organic, by local, etc.  It's okay, but mightily expensive.  Then again, the ones who eat like that are usually upper middle class or higher, and well educated.  Ironically, in Korea, a few years ago, there was this big "well-being" push.  People tried to eat like the poor used to eat a couple generations ago--only they were paying top-money to do so!  God wants us to eat healthy and balanced.  However, I doubt he expects us to go to exotic means to do so.

[Guest]

In all seriousness, I contrast this article to those people who obsess about processing, try to eat organic, by local, etc.  It's okay, but mightily expensive.  Then again, the ones who eat like that are usually upper middle class or higher, and well educated.  Ironically, in Korea, a few years ago, there was this big "well-being" push.  People tried to eat like the poor used to eat a couple generations ago--only they were paying top-money to do so!  God wants us to eat healthy and balanced.  However, I doubt he expects us to go to exotic means to do so.

 

It is not expensive.  It can be very cheap.  But it requires work and knowledge and in some cases changes to local ordinances.  That's the problem.

 

One can grow an urban farm for most of what one needs to eat in an apartment year round.  Yes, that includes meat, fruits, and vegetables.  Quite cheaply.  But it requires work.  People nowadays want the open-the-can type food.  If you have to spend more than 30 minutes cooking it, it's inconvenient, let alone growing the thing.

 

I learned a lot from caring for my dogs.  Most everybody thinks it is very incovenient to feed dogs that is not out of a bag or a can.  But, dog food from the bag/can are not as healthy as "real food".  I spend 2 hours extra every 6 weeks chopping up food for 3 dogs.  2 hours every 6 weeks.  That's too inconvenient for most people.

 

But most people have time to watch 6 hours of TV every week.  So, it's really just priority - spend 6 hours on your farm every week and you'll be eating much healthier food than the Whopper for the price of a Whopper...

[prisonchaplain]

Arroz y frijoles are easier and cheaper.  I often hear get-out-of-debt advice (Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace University) extoling the virtues of rice and beans.