supersize me

Yikes, watching the Super Size Me movie again on Hulu – geez, how bad is this food, but how badly would I love to eat one of those Big Macs. Oh darn, that looks goooood!

One of my favorite lines from the movie: “When I have kids, every time I drive by a fast food restaurant I am going to punch my kid in the face…and he’ll never want to come.”

Morgan Spurlock was speaking to a law professor sitting at a table at McDonalds, and they are discussing how the marketing of the fast food industry is similar to how candy cigarettes were used by the tobacco industry for brand imprinting.

Fast Food Nation – Book Review

I found the audio version of “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, at my local library.

It starts off a bit slow; I actually stopped listening for a few days, but I am glad I gave it another try. By the time I started disc 6, I was riveted. It broke my heart to hear about the poor workers who receive injury after injury, but have no other skills but to work for a horrible place like a meat packing company. I knew it was a bad business, but to hear the personal stories of what really goes on there, I have a new found hatred for the big business of food, and a new found respect for the poor souls who are forced to work there.

The book begins with a lot of history. How fast food restaurants started, who started them, etc. It goes on to tell how advertising has played a huge part in brainwashing children and adults. Efficient equipment, ripping off rangers and farmers, food additives, it’s all in the book. Everything you wanted to know (and didn’t want to know) about the fast food industry, and how it has dramatically changed our way of life!

Obesity is a huge problem in America. As a whole, we are a fat and lazy country. Fast food is easy and delicious, so of course we love to eat it! But besides making us obese and giving us a vast amount of diseases, the fast food industry is also responsible for an unhealthy planet (literally!)

No, this book might not stop me from never ever eating at Burger King or Wendy’s, but it has opened my eyes wider to the huge problem of meat consumption in the world. I need to make better choices, more humane and healthy choices that will make my life better. I don’t believe everything I hear and read anymore, and it’s thanks to books like this one, along with “In Defense of Food” and “Don’t Eat This Book” I am learning more and more!

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Supersize Me

I am now a huge (no pun intended) fan of Morgan Spurlock.

His book, Don’t Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America started it all for me!

I knew fast food was bad for my health, but I didn’t really realize how bad until I took a real close look at the calories of all the Wendy’s food I was regularly eating. Wow! Like a ton of bricks, I realized that I was eating way too much! I needed to make a change.

I started with a desire to stop eating so much processed food, and a commitment to learn more about food in general.

I don’t know why, but I chose the audio version of Don’t Eat This Book to be my first learning tool.

The book is based on his experiences during the filming of the “Super Size Me” movie. For one month, Morgan ate nothing but McDonald’s food. He gains weight, his health deteriorates, and he feels like crap!

Sure, I knew how horrible McDonalds’ food was for your health, but the book really made me realize how evil these food companies really are, with their sneaky advertising tactics peddled directly at children. Our nation is in extreme disarray, with more and more of our adults and children becoming overweight and obese. Diabetes is skyrocketing!

I chose the audio version of the book because I love audio podcasts, so I knew it would be great to hear on the way to work. I was right! The audio of Don’t Eat This Book is excellent. It’s Morgan Spurlock’s voice you hear; he has a great personality so listening to the book is very easy. He made all the boring facts interesting, and I enjoyed how he separated the “sidebar” text. He added voice “impressions” for the different characters in the book, which added a ton of humor. I don’t know if the book would have been as enjoyable if I didn’t “listen” as opposed to “reading” it. He really made it special!

Listening to this book set me on the path I am on today. The decision to try to limit or completely remove processed food from my everyday diet can hopefully make my life more healthy and enriched. But what about everyone else? It’s very sad how people are blind to the poison that McDonalds, Coke, and countless other big food corporations are pushing on us. I wish everyone could read (or listen to) this book! Just don’t eat this book! hahaa

So, I finished the audio book, and was intrigued to watch the movie “Super Size Me” now.

Luckily, I found it for free on Hulu.com – cool!

I started to watch it the other day on my laptop while working out on the treadmill, then took a break after about 20 minutes. I started it up again in the kitchen on Tuesday while I was cooking dinner. Would you believe my dear hubby came in, and decided to watch it as well. I was so happy! I wanted him to see this too!

It’s such an important message, and something we can’t afford to ignore any longer! We all need to open our eyes and minds and STOP eating this junk!

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PS I admit though there were times when watching him eat those greasy burgers and fries, that a little part of me was craving to grab a bite for myself! Gawd, it’s very sad how they have snuck into our brains!