McDonalds: London Olympics becomes McOlympics

[Roadkill]

His whole campaign, which began as a perfectly proper attack on the low quality of outsourced, privatised school meals, now reeks of "nanny knows best" paternalism. Originally the children didn't know what's good for them (fair enough), but now the parents don't either. No wonder he seemed so matey with Mr Blair.

I agree with that, though I'd add that Jamie Oliver is an insufferable, smug twat!

It does annoy me when people (not you) dismiss concerns about the state of our diet as just middle class twittering. It's not true, and it's a handy way of ducking an issue that affects all of us.

 

[kyser_soze]

Comes from not having a 'native' cuisine I guess...

Free the fascist heaths!!!

 

[Azrael]

yes, another conspiracy to have fun with!

See the number "23" at the end of my name? No, didn't think so.

What was that about being innatentive to your letters? (Or indeed, numerals.)

 

[Pieface]

Watch his latest programmes, including the moment where he told a mother who complained about her child's new all-rice/pasta school diet to "go an see a nutritionist". (When I was rowing three days a week I didn't carbo-load like that.) Or the part where he calls parents "fucking arseholes", or words to that effect..

It wasn't "carbo loading" though - it was having a carbohydrate in their lunch every day which is an important part of the diet. This kid's mum was saying that carbs aren't necessary in a child's daily diet - which is odd as carbs = energy, something a kid needs quite a lot of. He's frustrated with the lack of information people have - although I agree he is very irritating I don't see the problem with him telling her she's wrong.

 

[Hollis]

"Among these requirements is the desire for ever-healthier ready meals. The UK government has issued repeated warnings about the potentially dangerous levels of salt in some ready meals, and while consumers for now remain content to eat ready meals because of their convenience, this may not hold true for much longer if the nation as a whole descends rapidly into ill health.

According to UK government figures, on average, three quarters of consumers' salt intake come from processed foods, in particular ready meals. A high salt intake can lead to serious health problems, particularly heart disease, one of Europe's most important killers. Indeed, the UK government announced this week that it may enact legislation to label certain food products as being ‘high in salt' if manufacturers do not reduce their salt content. "

See - Tesco have reponded. Check out there 'naturally good food' readymeal range and it'll tell you the salt content as a proportion of the daily recommended intake.

Readymeals are getting healthier!!

 

[kyser_soze]

but now the parents don't either

Unfortunately they probably don't - this country doesn't have a child obesity problem simply because McDs advertises on kids TV. Parents are the prime agent for feeding their kids healthy food and it simply doesn't happen.

 

[Hollis]

Unfortunately they probably don't - this country doesn't have a child obesity problem simply because McDs advertises on kids TV. Parents are the prime agent for feeding their kids healthy food and it simply doesn't happen.

Actually a large problem with child obesity is simple lack of activity.

D'you remember the shite you used to get fed as a kid? I do.

 

[Azrael]

I agree with that, though I'd add that Jamie Oliver is an insufferable, smug twat!

It does annoy me when people (not you) dismiss concerns about the state of our diet as just middle class twittering. It's not true, and it's a handy way of ducking an issue that affects all of us.

I agree entirely. If people want to demonstrate how to eat well, and force schools to provide decent food (which they damn well should be doing), then all to the good. It's coercion I dislike. Nearly everyone indulges in junk food at times. Suggesting that parents who don't consistently provide the sort of diet Alexandra Jamieson (Morgan Spurlock's partner in McD bashing, for it is she) serves up are failing their children irritates more than Mr Oliver's mockneyisms.

 

[Roadkill]

FWIW I think the more bashing of the big food chains (supermarkets, fast food outlets, snack manufacturers) there is the better. At least it might encourage people to think a little about what they're buying and eating.

That doesn't amount to coercing anyone though IMO.

 

[Azrael]

It wasn't "carbo loading" though - it was having a carbohydrate in their lunch every day which is an important part of the diet. This kid's mum was saying that carbs aren't necessary in a child's daily diet - which is odd as carbs = energy, something a kid needs quite a lot of. He's frustrated with the lack of information people have - although I agree he is very irritating I don't see the problem with him telling her she's wrong.

Carbs come in all manner of foods, and you can (and should) spread consumption across the day. A child shovelling down a large portion of pasta/rice every lunchtime is carbo-loading. (The most likely reason for the rower's diet, that such staple food is very cheap, was oddly overlooked by the celeb chef.) The mum wasn't saying carbs aren't necessary, she was saying that a daily diet of carb-heavy food isn't necessary, which it isn't. Oliver's assumption that she was an ignorant moo who needed to be packed off to a nutritionist wasn't very appealing. (And a sign of piss-poor debating skills. Given his profession, he should be able to explain it himself.)

 

[Pieface]

I don't agree that a portion of rice/pasta/potato included in one of your meals a day mounts up to carbo loading.

 

[Giles]

I think that the government should stop nannying people over all sorts of stuff and let us pay less tax instead. People can make up their own minds if they want to eat junk food, exercise, drink booze or smoke fags.

Stop treating the population like children. People can do what they want, and don't need nannying all the fucking time. Leave us alone!

Giles..

 

[Azrael]

FWIW I think the more bashing of the big food chains (supermarkets, fast food outlets, snack manufacturers) there is the better. At least it might encourage people to think a little about what they're buying and eating.

That doesn't amount to coercing anyone though IMO.

No, it doesn't, but it's reminiscent of those Arts & Crafters I mentioned earlier. (Ironically, A&C only took off when big manufacturers started producing the style.) Of course you should attack any manufacturer of sub-standard products, but attacking big chains because they're big is promoting localism, not healthy eating. Neither local shops or national chains have a monopoly on bad food.

 

[editor]

o you have a link for the original promise?

It was in the article I've already linked to. That's all I've found so far.

Meanwhile: UK has the highest obesity rate in Europe

 

[treelover]

This to me is one indicator of the lack of quality of life here in the uk and the turbo-capitalism which is slowly killing us.

The report, Consumer Trends in Prepared Meals, shows that the UK is already by far the biggest market in Europe for ready meals, accounting for 49 per cent of all sales. Second-placed France has a mere 20 per cent, followed by Germany with 14 per cent.

 

[Roadkill]

No, it doesn't, but it's reminiscent of those Arts & Crafters I mentioned earlier. (Ironically, A&C only took off when big manufacturers started producing the style.) Of course you should attack any manufacturer of sub-standard products, but attacking big chains because they're big is promoting localism, not healthy eating. Neither local shops or national chains have a monopoly on bad food.

So far as food goes - well, fresh stuff at any rate - localism is no bad thing for all sorts of reasons. But yes, I agree it's a separate issue from healthy eating.

 

[kyser_soze]

This to me is one indicator of the lack of quality of life here in the uk and the turbo-capitalism which is slowly killing us.

So why do people continue to buy them? If you take the 'evil advertising' route, you're effectively arguing that the population of the UK are little more than automatons who just sit in front of a TV with their mouths open feeding at a trough.

(And a sign of piss-poor debating skills. Given his profession, he should be able to explain it himself.)

I'd have thought the last person in the world capable of debating would be a chef! Used to having ultimate power in their kitchen etc...

 

[Azrael]

I don't agree that a portion of rice/pasta/potato included in one of your meals a day mounts up to carbo loading.

It doesn't. A pasta/rice based dish every lunchtime, however, does.

Mr Oliver could be telling the parents how to give their children carbs in cereals, bread, potato dishes in the morning and evening. Instead he supports cramming them in during the day because, presumably, the parents can't be trusted to do it.

(That they were probably served because they're so cheap says another thing about this campaign of his. Dinner-ladies are now working massive amounts of unpaid overtime to cope with the demand. He's completely underestimated the economic consequences of providing proper food on budgets and facilities designed to provide ready-made, outsourced crap. The national funding structure needed to be re-written before this hodge-podge, but camera-worthy, national rollout. Oliver should have confined himself to showing the public how bad school food is and then handed over to people who know what they're doing.)

 

[kyser_soze]

I think that the government should stop nannying people over all sorts of stuff and let us pay less tax instead. People can make up their own minds if they want to eat junk food, exercise, drink booze or smoke fags.

GREAT! Then they can be refused NHS treatment for liver problems, cancers and the whole panolply of health problems that are associated with those actvities as well!

 

[Pieface]

It doesn't. A pasta/rice based dish every lunchtime, however, does.

Mr Oliver could be telling the parents how to give their children carbs in cereals, bread, potato dishes in the morning and evening. Instead he supports cramming them in during the day because, presumably, the parents can't be trusted to do it.

(That they were probably served because they're so cheap says another thing about this campaign of his. Dinner-ladies are now working massive amounts of unpaid overtime to cope with the demand. He's completely underestimated the economic consequences of providing proper food on budgets and facilities designed to provide ready-made, outsourced crap. The national funding structure needed to be re-written before this hodge-podge, but camera-worthy, national rollout. Oliver should have confined himself to showing the public how bad school food is and then handed over to people who know what they're doing.)

I agree with this - I just think you are exaggerating how bad he has been. The logistical and financial problems haven't been concealed and it does need the government to take over - that much is apparent to anyone. At the moment though, isn't it weird that the government would rather a celebrity chef kept handling it instead of taking responsability for it themselves? It looks like they are hoping it will just fuck up and go away.

 

[Azrael]

I agree with this - I just think you are exaggerating how bad he has been. The logistical and financial problems haven't been concealed and it does need the government to take over - that much is apparent to anyone. At the moment though, isn't it weird that the government would rather a celebrity chef kept handling it instead of taking responsability for it themselves? It looks like they are hoping it will just fuck up and go away.

That would be the rational interpretation, but no, I think Labour genuinely believe TV chefs can run school dinners. They have a long record of being obsessed with private business and celebrity, and now the two can be combined. Bingo! If they just wanted to ignore Mr Oliver, they'd ignore him.

I think Blair might even consider this as part of his "legacy", he's got so desperate.

It's not just school dinners; Labour act like this across the board. Obvious solutions to problems like the railways and crime (re-nationalising natural monopolies; removing red tape and returning to beat-policing) are ignored for schemes that combine their bizarre fetish for private finance with "eye catching initiatives" (PPP; "rebalancing" the justice system).

 

[Pieface]

That's even worse than the way I was looking at it

 

[tim]

Well, I expect the athletes do.

No, they think it's about taking drugs.

 

[Hollis]

My main concern is the wholesale destruction of the lower Lea Valley, that effectively's going to be levelled and cover with plastic sports shite.

However! checking the site plan, I see the Sewerage pipe, and Bazelgette's Temple of Convinience shall be preserved.

 

[Giles]

GREAT! Then they can be refused NHS treatment for liver problems, cancers and the whole panolply of health problems that are associated with those actvities as well!

If that's what people vote for, fine.

Just stop bossing people around. 50 years ago the government of the day employed far less people than it does now, and did not attempt to bring out a new "initiative" every week. And spent less of our money, I think.

Giles..

 

[rich!]

I think that the government should stop nannying people over all sorts of stuff and let us pay less tax instead. People can make up their own minds if they want to eat junk food, exercise, drink booze or smoke fags.

Stop treating the population like children. People can do what they want, and don't need nannying all the fucking time. Leave us alone!

Giles..

Right - I'll tell you what, if you can get rid of the advertising that is leading people into shitty lifestyles, then I'll get rid of the excess government.

 

[ZAMB]

I don't understand this, at a time when the obesity problem in the UK is all over the news - pretty lousy time for the govt. to give Big Macs a vote of confidence.
Anyone watch 'Supersize me' documentary on More4 last night? Another coincidence????

 

[kyser_soze]

if you can get rid of the advertising that is leading people into shitty lifestyles

What, so suddenly people aren't capable of making their own choices? It's all the fault of the evil advertisers isn't it? Load of bollocks - people have a choice whether to eat some pre-packaged shite or not.

I don't understand this, at a time when the obesity problem in the UK is all over the news - pretty lousy time for the govt. to give Big Macs a vote of confidence.
Anyone watch 'Supersize me' documentary on More4 last night? Another coincidence????

Have you actually read the thread - McDs already have a pre-existing agreement with the IoC as a worldwide sponsor so it's hardly the govt giving them a 'vote of confidence is it?

And what 'coincidence' is there in a TV schedule that was drawn up about 6 months ago?

 

[Jografer]

Umm, where is this being reported, can't see anything on the BBC site

 

[Crispy]

That's a bit naive of you Ky, saying that advertising has no effect on people. The whole field has years of psycological research behind it - figuring out how to push the right buttons in our subconcious. Have you watched "Century of the Self?"