Essay: Supersize Me

I believe Morgan Spurlock, in his documentary SuperSize Me, was trying to educate us as to the dangers of the fast food we are presented with as sustenance in everyday life. The habits of Americans to be on the go has made brands, such as McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s, to name just a few, an important though extremely unhealthy substitute to the good old American home cooked meals. The impacts of this replacement to the well balances means that we are the most overweight country in the world with incredibly high rates of heart disease and obesity, which in turn, could impact the higher costs of health care in our country.

Whose responsibility is obesity in America? Are companies, such as McDonalds or Burger King, to be held responsible or should they be pressured into changing the products they offer to be more healthy? In a free enterprise system, the consumer is really what drives the products offered. In other words, it is our lifestyles or choices which keep McDonalds and Burger King in business. If we wanted more healthy offerings, we would demand this. With free enterprise, companies offer products which consumers will consume. If a product doesn’t sell, the company will alter their offerings in order to demand greater dollar expenditure from the consumer. If consumers are still not interested in the products offered by a company, eventually the company will go out of business. As of today, McDonalds is a fortune 500 company with little chance of going out of business. They are also a global company which is continuously expanding into new territory. How can we place the blame for our consuming habits on the company which provides us with the goods and services we prefer?

Morgan’s documentary was a beautiful way to show exactly what happens when we disregard the basic notions of self-discipline and everything in moderation. I believe his visits to the doctor should have been an awakening to anybody who visits McDonalds more than once or twice a month. It should be required viewing from sixth through twelfth grades and at least once in every college throughout our country. The evidence is compelling we should refrain from eating foods which such high fat, high carbohydrate and cholesterol contents. I am not sure anybody with a reasonable degree of intelligence could dispute this notion after viewing the movie.
The tactics employed by McDonalds as far as brand recognition appeared to be catchy jingles, which many of us, to this day, can still rattle off from the top of our heads. “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles on a sesame seed bun.” “Have it your way, at Burger King”, “I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony” and the all time classic “Where’s the beef!??” are just a few catchy brand recognition jingles I can remember from my childhood. It is the desire of the company for us to become immune and forget thinking about products and what they mean and to simply drive down the road, take note of the golden arches and stop in for a quick meal for the family. Supersize, biggie fries, value menu – all carefully named to make us feel our money goes the distance in nurturing our hungry families.

Solving the problem of obesity in America starts with educating our children at home and at our schools. At home, were we to make healthy snacks available and promote well balanced diets to our children, the levels of child obesity would eventually go down. Can we somehow show that poorer or less educated children are more likely to be overweight and can we make a correlation between this lack of economic opportunity and a lesser quality of education to childhood and adolescent obesity? Once the cycle of obesity starts, I believe that it is not difficult to propagate these tendencies to adults. It must start young and be promoted in both a healthy home and by our educational institutions.

And the global warming saga continues...

According to MSNBC.com, a panel has reached a final draft on the global warming accord. However, the final draft was reached after intense negotiation with the US, China and Saudi Arabia.

Which leads to me to this question. How can an accord be reached after 'negotiations'? Don't negotiations taint the process altogether? Either there is a problem or there isn't. How can we negotiate the facts?

The story can be viewed online here. I am not sure how I feel and sort of agree with the pissed off scientists who say they will never participate in such a conference again. There is no room for negotiation when we consider the future of the planet and of the fragility of our existence as inhabitants of the planet.

I'll now step off my high horse and again, defer to my previous stated plan for my future - do what I can based on the level of responsibility I feel for contributing raised levels of green house gases. Wish me luck!

Interview Questions for Jeremy Heft

Aaron Frizzell
Instructor Dr. James Hepworth
Sunday, March 18, 2007

Background:

I am doing a research paper for Ethics & Ecology in my final semester at Lewis-Clark State College. With recent events surrounding Idaho’s desire to delist the gray wolf, I would like to revisit educating the public about the gray wolf and wild animals in general and how best to approach documentary photography and videography. In my years working with the Wolf Education & Research Center, I have adopted what I feel is a responsible approach to photographing wild animals.

Many of the questions we’ll be discussing today are going to be focused on the documentary Grizzly Man by Timothy Treadwell. After seeing the movie, I recalled the work we did with the Sawtooth Wolf Pack: Wolves of the Nez Perce. I remember, in particular, the training I received from you regarding how, in close contact, your job as pack manager and our encounters with the wolves inside the enclosure was to be conducted with the best interest of the wolf pack members in mind. Additionally, the procedures you implemented pertaining to greeting the wolves were to be done in such a manner that we would approach the pack members, allowing them a chance to get acquainted with the handlers.

Would you please give me some information about your background such as where you went to college, what types of work have you done as a biologist and how you came about working for the Wolf Education & Research Center (WERC) here in Winchester?

How long have you been working at WERC?

How did you arrive at your procedures for close contact with the members of the Sawtooth Wolf Pack?

Have your procedures as it relates to close contact with the pack members evolved as you observed the reactions of the wolves to contact with the staff of WERC? If so, what were some of the signs you observed from either the behavior of the wolves of through the behavior of the handlers?

Would you share your opinion as it relates to the close contact Timothy Treadwell had with the brown bears during his filming of the documentary? Specifically, do you feel the bears had grown accustomed to Timothy’s presence and tolerated that presence or do you believe the bears were showing signs of stress?

In your own words, how would you describe Mr. Treadwell’s style or approach to the filming of the documentary?

Do you agree or disagree with this style or approach?

What do you think was Mr. Treadwell’s goal when he began filming the documentary?
Do you feel his goal was maintained throughout the footage you saw or do you feel his goal changed as the footage continued through several seasons with the bears?
What is your primary goal as a biologist?

When your partnership with WERC ends, what area would you like to explore next as it pertains to biology?