A bad week for celebrities and fast food

I was disappointed twice this week in matters of food and publicity. celebrities

First off, Obama and Biden’s glorified trip to a strip mall (with the press core in tow) to get hamburgers seemed amiss to me. Study after study demonstrates that the beef industry leaves a massive carbon footprint – well beyond any other meat, let alone crops – and is the least efficient use of arable land. To drive across state lines in order to then publicize a meal that harms the environment seems off point for a White House that has paid so much lip service to combating global warming. Moreover, hamburgers and potato puffs are not the healthy foods that the American diet so desperately needs. The poor diet in this country is a major contributing factor to high healthcare costs. It’s illogical to think that you can simultaneously aim to improve healthcare while creating a media event over the gormandizing of high-caloric foods.

If he wants to lead by example, Obama should walk from his office and purchase a healthy meal that doesn’t leave a massive carbon footprint. If he wants a burger, have the White House kitchen make one. I assume he doesn’t smoke in public out of fears that it would set a bad example. Is it too much to ask for him to do the same with his meal choices? If he wants to indulge his vices, fine; just do it with a modicum of privacy.

The second disappointment was Oprah’s give away of KFC coupons. I understand that it was an attempt to push a ‘healthier’ option, but if you add up the calories in the giveaway, they still total in excess of 700+ for the meal, not including a beverage or condiments. While by no means the worst thing that could be ordered from KFC, this it still a far cry from healthy eating. Furthermore, the entire promo has the secondary effect of sending people to a fast food outlet for yet another meal. These are the habits that should be broken, not reinforced. Moreover, the promotion neglects the growing numbers of Americans that are either vegan or vegetarian (or those who keep Halal or Kosher). A tie in with Subway would have been far more inclusive, and sent a much clearer message of health. Or, even better, the promotion could have been structured in such a way as to spur people to prepare their own food.