“To err is human, to forgive, divine.” I try to live my life by these words, which were first spoken by someone very deep and intellectual. Someone much more deep and intellectual than you or I. To tell you the truth I have no idea who said those words. If I had to guess I would say it was probably someone like Aristotle or Gandhi, both of whom were famous for saying wise, meaningful things. Anyway, I have taken those words to heart and can say that Aristotle or Gandhi would be very proud of me for what I have just recently been able to do.
With great emotional effort I have finally been able to forgive McDonald’s for their replacement of the double cheeseburger on their Dollar Menu with the McDouble, which lacks the second slice of cheese the double cheeseburger employed so effectively. When I first learned I would need a dollar and change to purchase the true double, I was traumatized. Correspondingly, it took a great move on McDonald’s part for me to finally to forgive them for such a travesty and move on. I am referring, of course, to McDonald’s creation of the “5 Extra Value Meals for Under $5” promotion.
Of course, such great ideas cannot go without their respective criticisms and I can already feel anti-McDonald’s vibes gaining steam throughout the nation. The main issue some people have with McDonald’s and similar fast food chains is that their food is not, technically, “healthy.”
People have gone so far as to file lawsuits blaming their own obesity on these eateries. In their defense, it is hard to deny the correlation between obesity in the
Still, to hold McDonald’s accountable for selling you a burger that is obviously not good for you — as if you somehow thought a burger they created in 15 seconds might be healthy — and not take any responsibility for yourself is ridiculous. Rather than blaming the restaurant, a better solution might be to consider other fast food options.
Subway is an obvious option, provided you don’t mind putting up with the obnoxious promotions in which they continually brag about how healthy their food is. In particular, they boast about how their food has less fat than that of other fast food restaurants. Of course, a pine cone also has less fat, with the only difference between the pine cone and the food at Subway being that the pine cone tastes better.
So perhaps it would be difficult to get yourself to eat at Subway on a regular basis. Maybe a better solution would be to assure yourself that while you may be gaining weight, you are at least not alone. In addition to the obesity problem in our country, you can feel some comfort in knowing this is a worldwide issue, not even limited to humans. That’s right: Dogs are also putting on the pounds.
The Daily Telegraph reports such a trend in a story titled, “Two Million Dogs in Britain Are Overweight,” in which the problem of obesity in dogs is examined. Also featured as part of the story is a picture of what appears to look like Michael Moore in a Dalmatian costume, with a caption reading “Many believe their pets to be healthy when they are actually overweight.” I question whether the owners of the Michael Moore Dalmatian truly believe their pet is healthy, but I am not one for arguing with captions.
Anyway, as implied by the title, there is a growing population of overweight dogs in the
At any rate, what I seem to get out of stories such as this is (pause for dramatic effect) that the more food you eat, the more likely you are to gain weight! It has less to do with the place you are dining and more to do with how much you put into your digestive system. Which is why filing a lawsuit against a company because they served you the food you ordered seems somewhat ludicrous. Although not nearly as ludicrous as a double cheeseburger with only one slice of cheese.
Todd Jasperson ([email protected]) is a graduate student majoring in mathematics.
