(via Brian Kane)
So this list of 20 “Harmful Drinks in America” has been popping up here and there since I first saw it last week. The list is based mainly on the sugar content of the drinks (with calorie count as the second most important factor), and they illustrate each bullet item with an equivalent (in sugar) snack food as well as suggest a “better” alternative for each. The drink they rate as #1 is this milkshake from Cold Stone Creamery, which tops out at over 2000 calories, 153 grams of sugar and 131 grams of fat. The calorie content alone is about what an adult man should consume in an entire day’s worth of meals, and the fat is TRIPLE the daily suggested amount. That much sugar is the equivalent of over 30 teaspoonsful of sugar, or about half a cup.
For those of you intent on digging your grave with your teeth….
I’m not going to play health Nazi, simply because I enjoy a good pig-out as much as the next person. All things in moderation, right? As long as it’s a treat and not a lifestyle, it’s all good. That’s why this has me scratching my head. No, Cold Stone Creamery is not holding a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to suck on the straw. Why, though, must a company willfully and knowingly peddle a product that’s so dangerously and demonstrably unhealthy? Should a business be held to have at least some responsibility for the health effects of the products it sells? Or should we just take the broad libertarian view that a company is feel to sell what it chooses, just as consumers are free to consume what they choose?
With health care being one of the topics of the day currently, when do we begin to realize and understand that health begins with what we put in our mouths? And when will corporations accept that they play a role in the health and well-being of their customers? Does Cold Stone Creamery NEED to serve up a sweet concoction packed with three days worth of calories, fat, and sugar? When I talk about digging one’s grave with one’s teeth, it’s gastronomic monstrosities like this I’m referring to. While I understand and applaud the concept of free will and free choice in a free society, there is something to be said for corporate responsibility…and this is about as irresponsible as it gets.
Yes, I understand that a company that specialized in ice cream is not going to be leading the fight for healthy eating…but does that free it of any and all responsibility? Not from where I sit….
WE DESERVE BETTER.
