Food

The food police are back.

“A U.S. consumer group has sued the operator of the fast-food Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant over the use of trans fat, which can clog arteries and cause other health problems.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest wants Kentucky Fried Chicken to stop using partially hydrogenated oil, which contains the trans fat, or display signs warning consumers of its use.”

Now, they went after McDonald’s a few years ago who swore they would start using healthier oil, but they still have not done so. This week Wendy’s said they would switch to healthier oil as well.

Now, they aren’t just going after chicken. “The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it is planning to campaign against the Starbucks cafe chain because of the increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer associated with high-calorie, high-fat products it sells.”

Of course, you don’t think of coffee as being dangerous for you. I know when I began drinking my iced coffee, I checked the information online and found out that a cup has 3 grams of saturated fat but no trans fat, so I cut back a little.

But, did you know one Starbucks drink has more fat than a Big Mac?? “A 20-ounce Venti banana mocha Frappuccino with whipped cream contains 720 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat, and a banana cream crunch bar weighs in at 630 calories and 25 grams of saturated fat. By comparison, a McDonald’s Big Mac has 560 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat.”

Now, I don’t eat at McDonald’s because of the high fat and sodium content in their foods. There is no Starbucks around here but even if there were, I doubt I’d get anything, as I’m not a huge coffee fan and only really like iced coffee.

But, doesn’t this all go back to personal responsibility? Sure, the nutritional information should be more readily available, but when you go into a bar and order a beer, do they make you read a sheet of paper with the information on how the calories are empty, how it will impair your judgment, etc?

Most people, I’d say, are aware of what is good and what is bad for them. It’s ok to have some “bad” food once in a while, just don’t make a steady diet of it. Then again, we’re raising our kids to love this fast food by offering them really cute toys with every purchase. These chains offer salads but a salad with, say, Blue Cheese dressing, has more fat than some of their sandwiches. A salad can be healthy but not topped with all that fat and sodium!

If restaurants were to print up the nutritional information on all their foods, I think they’d lose 1/3 of their sales. When I eat out, I know I’m not eating that healthy, but I don’t do it that often and try to order foods that are lower in fat (no fried) and lower in sodium.

Isn’t what you eat a personal choice?