Grimace From Mcdonalds

Gesture worth a little smile

I’m writing in response to Leslie Lowe’s recent column, entitled "Wearing a grimace over McDonald’s move to tart up Happy Meals." Ms. Lowe takes issue with the fact that McDonald’s Happy Meals now contain a smaller serving of fries as well as one-quarter cup of apple slices, making them less of a treat for her own home-fed, healthy-eating children.

As a recent graduate of Acadia University with a BSc in nutrition, I certainly appreciate that Ms. Lowe is choosing to teach her children to eat healthily and that "junk food" should be eaten in moderation. Unfortunately, many Nova Scotians do not have the same resources as she does, and cannot meet the basic requirements of a healthy diet.

In May, the Food Security Network and Mount Saint Vincent University released the Participatory Food Costing report, showing that it is virtually impossible for low-income families to feed themselves a nutrition diet, at least without running a deficit every month. Unfortunately, fast food and other high-calorie, low-nutrient foods are an economical way to feed the entire family.

Although there are people who occasionally treat themselves to fast food, they are likely not part of the majority of people who eat fast food on a regular basis.

Furthermore, multiple studies have shown that children coming from lower-income families — quite likely the main consumers of fast food — are twice, or sometimes three times, as likely to be overweight as children from families in a higher income bracket.

Ms. Lowe’s column contains some truths. Nova Scotia’s rates of overweight and obesity are higher than the national average, and we do have more fast-food restaurants per capita than most other provinces. However, correlation does not indicate causality: More fast-food restaurants are not the reason Nova Scotians are more overweight.

Ms. Lowe says, "McDonald’s pushing ‘nutrition-minded’ choices isn’t the fix" and "firing a little bit of fruit into kids’ bellies isn’t a map to health." She is, of course, right in saying this, and fast-food chains will never play a significant role in making people healthier — but at least they are making a gesture and acknowledging the problem.

What exactly was Grimace on the Mcdonalds commercials ...

I think they were just going for a whacky looking character that would appeal to kids. Like Gumby, back in the old days.

He was big and squishy because he loved milkshakes. Maybe McDonald’s was being more responsible than people think — warning kids they’ll turn into something like that if they drank too many of those things.

Techincally he’s classified as a member of the “wumpus” species with short arms and legs. *

A letter to Ben Konsima of http://www.n-chicken.net from a McDonald’s spokesperson offered this explanation of what Grimace actually is:

“Grimace personifies the child in everyone. He’s a big, fuzzy, purple fellow, and is Ronald’s right-hand man.

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