First of all, Super Size Me is very compelling. I think it's pretty clear, from what happens to Spurlock, that we shouldn't be eating fast food. Ever. I don't think S and I eat too much; he eats waaaay more McDonald's/Taco Bell/etc than I do. And I do think that the problem of obesity (if you want to term it that way) needs to be dealt with, and I do think that Americans need to learn to eat healthier.
But. I wish Spurlock could have/would have dealt with some of the ECONOMIC reasons people eat fast food. Some of the reasons that kids are given five bucks and sent to the McDoo for dinner. Some of the reasons that we don't all eat in healthy restaurants and shop at Whole Foods (whole paycheck?). I think that saying that kids need to be taught healthy choices is a valid point, but why aren't they taught? I feel that perhaps addressing the fact that most children live in a house where both parents work (or the one parent in the household works) and might not have the time that Mr. Spurlock's mother had to cook every night. And anyway, my mom cooked every night but I'm still chunky. But that's besides the point. Feeding your kids homecooked meals every night presumes that you have the money and time to spend an hour (or two or three) in the kitchen, serving up fresh food. Now, I will admit that if you're careful, you can eat well on a small amount of money. But not if you want organic. And I'm guessing that some of the meat and veg that you find at the grocery store is just as bad, in many ways, as what you can get at a fast food restaurant. You think that those hyper-sized, super-drugged chicken breasts are good for you??? They're gross. But if you want to feed a family of five healthy homecooked food for less, that's your only choice. Trust me, you need to have a trust fund to shop at Whole Foods.
So we have that economic problem. We all want kids to eat better, but we're not making it possible for them to eat better. And exercise? We all can't make enough money to belong to a gym. We all don't have enough time to work out. I do, but I'm lucky. And the fact that kids don't have gym in school; don't get me started. I of course, grew up in the only state with mandatory gym (oh wait, and I'm still chunky), so I perhaps got lucky. But I have friends who are teachers, and I know the stress of No Child Left Behind. It leaves no time for anything but test prep. Feed the kids? Goddamnit! We don't have time. I'm just saying, economically, and governmentally, we're making it harder and harder for people NOT to eat fast food. And I think that Morgan Spurlock should have at least somewhat addressed this issue.
Because it's fine to tell people not to eat food that's bad for you, but not addressing why they eat it, or how to make the change away from it is pretty irresponsible. Just saying, is all.
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