First M. Lastname
Educational Institution
Morgan Spurlock wanted to answer the question of “What would happen if someone ate McDonald’s food for every meal of every day for a month?” in light of criminal suits leveled against the fast food giant. Throughout the documentary, he highlights the philosophic dilemma at the center of the litigation: Where does the responsibility of the obesity epidemic fall? On one hand, you could ask, “Shouldn’t a person know not to eat fast food too often and that it’s harmful for them? If they eat too much, then that’s their fault.” And, on the other, Spurlock points out that McDonald’s targets young children who are highly impressionable by broadcasting a children’s show with the McDonald’s mascot, having a clown with bright colors as their mascot, offering happy meal toys, and sometimes providing the only children’s playground in the neighborhood. At that young age, it is easy for kids to associate fond memories with their parents and the sugar and salt rich foods that release pleasure chemicals. One especially potent interview with a group of kids revealed that most of them knew who Ronald McDonald was over United States Presidents and Jesus Christ. In a sense, McDonald’s tries to program people to eat their food. According to Spurlock (2004), “In 2001, in directing media advertising McDonald’s spent 1.4 billion dollars worldwide.” They bombard both the public and the youth with messages to eat their food.
But what if someone actually said “Yes” to their advertisements consistently for a month? Would it harm you? That, I believe, is the question Morgan Spurlock wanted to answer by creating this documentary.
The answer to the question, unsurprisingly, is a resounding no: “We called 100 nutritionists all over America. And the results were not on track with the vast majority McDonald’s talked about. Only two out of the 100 said you should eat fast food two times a week or more. Twenty-eight said once a week to once or twice a month. And 45 said you should never eat it” (Spurlock, 2004). It was almost painful to watch Spurlock throw up on the first days of eating McDonald’s for every meal. He reported feelings of depression, gas, and sexual impotence—just to name a few. He even said at one point (2004), “My body officially hates me.” Watching the man suffer like that made the message more effective than the facts alone (although, they were eye-opening as well).
As for school lunches that I was exposed to, they served, typically, rotini, chicken paddy sandwiches, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, as well as staple foods always available such as crab cake sandwiches, salad, and the choice between two soups (e.g., chili or chicken soup). My favorite foods were nachos and tacos. And every meal came with a boat of French fries. You could only drink milk or juice (unless you brought your own beverage). I did not always enjoy eating school lunches, so I would pack my own lunch a lot. I was further rewarded for doing so because I could keep my lunch money and have more time to eat.
Although I looked forward to the French fries and unhealthy foods like nachos or tacos for school lunch, after seeing this documentary, I now feel that school lunches should at least offer organic, unprocessed foods. They should not sell sugary soda drinks for money. The country ought to have enough money to pay for quality food. It was inspiring to hear what Greg Bretthauer had to say about implementing quality food into the menu. The fact that kids who were sent to that Bretthauer’s educational institution all used to “act out” at their previous schools and yet behaved even better (as opposed to resisting the dietary change) is amazing. It makes me think that any school could, and should, only serve low-fat, low-sugar, fresh foods. After all, we are what we eat; and the future belongs to the youth.
