mcdouble

When you think about what is the most nutritious food, you’d probably go with some type of veggie or fruit or maybe even some slice of meat, depending on what your preferences are. Add in bountiful and cheapest to the equation, most people might go for an apple or chocolate. But a fast-food restaurant item?

Well according to the very smart folks over at the Freakonomics blog, the most abundant, nutritious food, which happens to be the cheapest, is no other than McDonald’s McDouble.

Two all-beef patties with pickles, ketchup, onions, and cheese all between a sugary, white bun. It’s got 390 calories, 23 grams of protein, and seven percent of daily recommended fiber.

Stephen Dubner says that most folks bring preconceived notions into what they feel is healthy food:

“[W]here people fall on the debate over the McDouble’s status as the cheapest, most nutritious, and bountiful food actually reveals a lot about how that person sees the world, and “not only our food system, but also the economics of it and even social justice.”

McDonald’s is by far the largest target for food activists who want to shed light on the industrialization of America’s food system. At the fast-food giant’s annual shareholder’s meeting Hannah Roberston, a third grader, held Mickey D’s CEO Don Thompson feet to the fire, suggesting that he oversees and approves the predatory marketing campaigns targeted at communities of color.

Hannah had a prewritten statement that criticized the fast food giant’s nutritional deficiencies and marketing tactics. She asked, “Mr. Thompson, don’t you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and happy life?”

Most folks don’t just order a McDouble from the fast-food king, which is their prerogative, so when you hear that fast-food is a root cause of the obesity epidemic, you’re really hearing folks admit that they can’t stop eating those delicious fries and sugary Coke.

One thing is for certain, blaming fast-food for the obesity epidemic solves nothing, and further creates obesity memes that aren’t based in the knowledge of facts.

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3 Comments

  1. um, where are the sesame seeds?

  2. this is why we don’t have nice thing’s

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