Alton Brown on "Supersize Me"

[Bella]

From AltonBrown.com (http://www.altonbrown.com/pages/rants.html)...

I just saw the movie “Supersize Me” and I have to say that I liked it. It was fun, irreverent filmmaking on a shoestring and it’s good to know that filmmakers can still pull that sort of thing off.

What shocked me about the movie wasn’t what it said, or [sic]. Heck I already new [sic] most of that stuff. What shocked me were the gasps I heard from the audience, most of whom seemed generally surprised that big business could be so…well…businesslike.

Here’s what it comes down to, kids. Ronald McDonald doesn’t give a damn about you. Neither does that little minx Wendy or any of the other icons of drivethroughdom. And you know what, they’re not supposed to. They’re businesses doing what businesses do. They don’t love you. They are not going to laugh with you on your birthdays, or hold you when you’re sick and sad. They won’t be with you when you graduate, when your children are born or when you die. You will be with you and your family and friends will be with you. And, if you’re any kind of human being, you will be there for them. And you know what, you and your family and friends are supposed to provide you with nourishment too. That’s right folks, feeding someone is an act of caring. We will always be fed best by those that care, be it ourselves or the aforementioned friends and family.

We are fat and sick and dying because we have handed a basic, fundamental and intimate function of life over to corporations. We choose to value our nourishment so little that we entrust it to strangers. We hand our lives over to big companies and then drag them to court when the deal goes bad. This is insanity.

Feed yourselves.
Feed your loved ones.
And for God’s sake, feed your children.

Don’t trust anyone else to do it…not anyone. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out to dinner every now and then…that is after all one of the great joys of life…but it isn’t life itself and that’s what I’m talking about.

Is McDonalds food bad for you? What do you think? Does that mean you shouldn’t eat it? No, it just means you shouldn’t live on it or anything else made by someone you wouldn’t hug.

Burgers don’t kill people.
People kill people.
Don’t be one of them.

Alton Brown is a good-eats genius, and articulate to boot. I thought I'd share this little impassioned rant with you.

[pescifish]

Wow, that's a terrific quote, Bree! Thanks for sharing it -- I'm going to pass it around to people I know, too.

I already fell in love with Alton Brown years ago, but this statement of his takes my devotion to whole 'nuther level. :love:

[edited to add:]
And he's completely adorable in his Speedo swimsuit!

[livius drusus]

I agree: that is one great rant. It brings to mind the ethos of the Slow Food Movement (http://www.slowfood.com/), but that's probably a whole other thread.

Meanwhile, I'm clearly going to have to make a point of catching Alton on Food Network. I've never seen him in speedos or anything else.

[viscousmemories]

I dunno. Sounds a bit too much like a pro-corporation blame the victim rant to me. I mean of course people need to take more responsibility for their own and their families eating habits, but when one of the largest corporations in the world (McD's) puts the full weight of their gazillions behind advertising campaigns targeted to kids and promoting the idea that their food is healthy and good, they are to blame.

[Bella]

I mean of course people need to take more responsibility for their own and their families eating habits, but when one of the largest corporations in the world (McD's) puts the full weight of their gazillions behind advertising campaigns targeted to kids and promoting the idea that their food is healthy and good, they are to blame.
Even if McD's targets kids hard-core (and I'm not saying they aren't) who's responsible for getting them the food? Their parents. For example, a 7 year old weighing in at 100+ pounds didn't get that way because he chose to eat Big Macs every day of the week - his parents bought them for him and he consumed them. Thus, it is the parents responsibility to not give in to poor fat Johnny who throws a temper tantrum every time he passes the Golden Arches.

For 90% of overweight or obese people (note that I didn't say ALL), it's their own actions which cause their health problems. If I eat a salad every day for lunch, great! If I eat that same salad with half a bottle of bleu cheese dressing on it, that's another story! I could blame the food pyramid, which says you should have so many servings of greens per day, and say that I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to slather it in dressing (the bottle says it's low-fat). Or I could blame myself for being a stupid f*cking idiot.

Like Alton says, the reason I'm overweight is mostly due to the fact that during a certain period of our lives, we shoved more food in our "pieholes" than we could work off. Of course there are always other factors to figure in, but mostly it is my responsibility.

[viscousmemories]

Even if McD's targets kids hard-core (and I'm not saying they aren't) who's responsible for getting them the food? Their parents. For example, a 7 year old weighing in at 100+ pounds didn't get that way because he chose to eat Big Macs every day of the week - his parents bought them for him and he consumed them. Thus, it is the parents responsibility to not give in to poor fat Johnny who throws a temper tantrum every time he passes the Golden Arches.
Of course kids aren't restricted to the food their parents buy. For example they can get McDonald's food in school, with friends, and at social gatherings. Besides that, the parents you're talking about were once the kids McD's advertising targeted. And of course Americans are notoriously ignorant about nutrition anyway.

For 90% of overweight or obese people (note that I didn't say ALL), it's their own actions which cause their health problems. If I eat a salad every day for lunch, great! If I eat that same salad with half a bottle of bleu cheese dressing on it, that's another story! I could blame the food pyramid, which says you should have so many servings of greens per day, and say that I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to slather it in dressing (the bottle says it's low-fat). Or I could blame myself for being a stupid f*cking idiot.
I'm sure it's more nuanced than that. There are myriad cultural and psychological explanations for why people overeat, and I have no doubt that the billions of dollars that fast-food companies have funneled into lying to people about the ramifications of eating their food play a big part in that. It would be nice if it were as simple as the vast majority of people are stupid fucking idiots, but I just don't believe that.

Like Alton says, the reason I'm overweight is mostly due to the fact that during a certain period of our lives, we shoved more food in our "pieholes" than we could work off. Of course there are always other factors to figure in, but mostly it is my responsibility.
What does it mean to say it's your responsibility? Are you completely discounting the effect of cultural influence and psychological factors? Again, it would be nice if it were that simple, because then "Just Do It" would be a reasonable solution to the problem of our countries millions of overweight people. Unfortunately I think it's more complex than that, and I think giant corporations shoving misinformation down our throats from birth on plays a huge part in that.

[copiae]

Here’s what it comes down to, kids. Ronald McDonald doesn’t give a damn about you. Neither does that little minx Wendy or any of the other icons of drivethroughdom. And you know what, they’re not supposed to. They’re businesses doing what businesses do.


Why?

Why do we not question this attitude? Why do we allow multi-billion dollar companies to slowly poison us (and its not just Mcdonalds et al., cigarette companies and Coca Cola are equally guilty), and defend thier right do so when questioned?


Honestly speaking, I can think of no reason why these companies should even be allowed to exist.

[Bella]

What does it mean to say it's your responsibility? Are you completely discounting the effect of cultural influence and psychological factors? Again, it would be nice if it were that simple, because then "Just Do It" would be a reasonable solution to the problem of our countries millions of overweight people. Unfortunately I think it's more complex than that, and I think giant corporations shoving misinformation down our throats from birth on plays a huge part in that.
Yes, in a word: I am discounting the effect of cultural influence and psychological factors. I once read a book for recovering anorexics/bulimics where the author actually said it was OK for readers to be overweight once they're in "recovery" from their disorder, and that they shouldn't feel too bad about it because their anorexia/bulimia had programmed them that way. That's a cop-out, in my opinion. While I believe these (and other issues) certainly affect why we eat and what we eat, no one is forcing us to put the greasy french fry in our mouths.

Out of curosity (and the hope that I'm interpreting you correctly) what do you consider the effects of "cultural influence and psychological factors" to be?

[viscousmemories]

Yes, in a word: I am discounting the effect of cultural influence and psychological factors. I once read a book for recovering anorexics/bulimics where the author actually said it was OK for readers to be overweight once they're in "recovery" from their disorder, and that they shouldn't feel too bad about it because their anorexia/bulimia had programmed them that way. That's a cop-out, in my opinion. While I believe these (and other issues) certainly affect why we eat and what we eat, no one is forcing us to put the greasy french fry in our mouths.
I don't think I'm understanding what you're saying. You start by saying you discount all cultural influence and psychological factors, but then later say you believe that there are "issues" that "affect why we eat and what we eat". But if those issues aren't cultural or psychological, what are they?

Out of curosity (and the hope that I'm interpreting you correctly) what do you consider the effects of "cultural influence and psychological factors" to be?
I think there are innumerable factors that go into why we eat how and what we eat. As you mention there are psychological disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, plus a variety of other psychological reasons people overeat, under eat, etc. Then there are cultural factors such as how your family ate, what they offered at school, what you can afford, the area you're raised in, what is heavily advertised, etc. I could probably go on and on, and a sociologist, cultural anthropologist, psychologist, etc. could probably go much further.

So since every person is a product of those myriad influences, I don't think it's reasonable to conclude that most people who overeat are stupid fucking idiots and/or bear most of the responsbility for their overeating.