Here's the (ludicrously named) article on this from the local Boise television station's website -
Now McDonald's is hoping to change that perception by launching a new Good Fit Meal Program.
The fast food chain has partnered with Central District Health Department for the pilot program. At 35 McDonald's throughout Southwest Idaho people can order from 13 Good Fit Meals, each meal is under 700 calories and each meal has been certified by the health departments nutritionist.
What a ridiculous title for that article, unless maybe it was written by someone like John Stauber or Sheldon Rampton with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Because it's not like McDonald's has started serving local farm fresh vegetables or whole grain-based meals...as a matter of fact, two of the new "Good Fit Meals" appear to be plain old hamburger or cheeseburger Happy Meals with 'apple dippers with caramel sauce'. BTW, what do 'apple dippers with caramel sauce' accomplish besides instilling in children from a very early age the strange idea that fruit needs to be dipped into candy in order to be palatable? Apples aren't meat slurry (hello, McNuggets!), they don't need to be dipped into a sauce.
And now back to what Central District Health Department (a government agency, btw...) has chosen to post on their website. The piece reads like a McDonald's corporate press release (and it probably was written by them) -
The 59 McDonald's restaurants in the state of Idaho are locally owned and operated by Idaho citizens. As proud residents of Idaho, McDonald's Owner-Operators believe that being part of a community means giving back to it by supporting local economies in Idaho. McDonald's restaurants of Idaho spend more than $46.3 million in their communities annually and create more than 5,575 jobs. To obtain additional nutritional information about McDonald's menu or other information on McDonald's, visit www.mcdonalds.com.
McDonald's USA, LLC is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to millions of customers every day. More than 80 percent of McDonald's 13,700 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees. For more information about McDonald's visit www.mcdonalds.com.
Are you fucking kidding me?! What a wonderful use of taxpayer money and public resources. Is this a state public health agency, or the Boise office of McDonald's Public Relations?
"We are pleased to have McDonald's and its local owner/operators taking action to promote wholesome meal choices on its menu," added Rush. "One of the aims of our Community Health Program is to reduce obesity and related chronic diseases through the promotion of healthy lifestyles among Idahoans - and what a better way to achieve our goals than to partner with one of the largest Quick Service Restaurant in the Southern Idaho area."
Maybe by, I don't know...maybe working towards developing sustainable local food systems, and realizing that the massive abundance of "quick service restaurants" is one of the key factors continuing to contribute to "obesity and related chronic diseases" in our society?
We'll only begin to actually solve these problems for good once we finally begin to realize that the companies that helped get us to where we are today are a major part of the problem, and will not ever be part of the solution. We're not ever going to eat our way to better health through McDonald's... |
