h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sorry Kelli, but they won't do it unless they're forced to. Why should they, they know that if that sort of information was staring people in the face, less people would eat the stuff, thus damaging their sales. Not gonna happen without legislation, which would be unworkable, so not gonna happen.

Why is it unworkable? I already suggsted one way around the problem you put forward.

You seem to be defending the ff place's right to conceal this information, or at least make it difficult to obtain, rather than looking for a solution. And at the same time you condemn people as stupid for not knowing what is in the food they are eating. I don't understand how you can hold both of those views at the same time!

Simple-

I believe people should take care of their own health, and not rely on others.

I don't really have an opinion on whether or not ff places should put the information on the packaging, I just think that from a practical view point, it's unworkable.

If you're goining to say, all companies with their own pre-packaging should display the inforamtion, where do you draw the line? The kebab shop that has invested in printed little boxes with the shop's name and number on them? The little chicken chain that has 5 stores? Or the sandwich chain that has 10? or the burger bar that has thousands?

The ones that have individualise packaging for each product should display the information.

"I believe people should take care of their own health, and not rely on others."

And how do you do this if you do not have the appropriate information? Do you have an amazing talent that allows you to analyse the fat, salt and calorie content of any foodstuff by eye? If not then you must rely on others to supply that information. Or is it the case that you never buy pre-prepared food and make everything yourself from scratch? Well done if you do, wish I had the time.

Instead of having it on the packaging, can't we just make them all have to display it on the shop. Then the ones without a package for every meal could also do it. I know they have leaflets, but I meant putting it on some form of poster.

I think MacD also agreed to give some of the profits from the sale of the McAfrika burger to Africa aid.

I buy prepared food about twice a week- on Saturday morining, when I have a bacon and egg sandwich from the bratty wagon across the street, and probably once a week apart from that when Mr. KerrAvon brings home fish and chips. The rest of the time I start with meat, vegetables and various other bits and pieces and make a meal. I don't watch the calories, or even the fat content that closely, I just try and avoid using too much butter, oil and other fats, and cut most of the fat out of any meats. That's it.

PS- my average weekday evening meal takes 10mins to prepare and 20mins to cook.

*remembers the days when I had bacon sandwiches*

And my M&S Count on Us meal takes 4 minutes in the microwave and 20 minutes for a week's shopping and 15 seconds to wash up the fork This is just what I need when I don't get back from work/gym until after 8pm. I cook real food at weekends though.

If you have never had to struggle with your weight then you are very lucky, but some of us have to pay *really* close attention to everything we eat. The result is that I don't eat out much any more because I don't know what is in the food so I don't know what I need to cut out for the rest of the week - and getting by on 1200-1400 calories a day doesn't leave much to cut anyway! Can't remember the last time I had a burger, or a bacon sandwich

Xan - if they displayed the information on a big poster in a simple to follow way (or put it on the price list) that would be great too. Your average chippy or restaurant could do this, but as has been pointed out before they don't have the consistency for each meal to state the values with any certainty. That doesn't apply to the big chains like BK, MDs etc where they pride themselves that the bigmac you buy in one city is identical to the one you buy in another.

As I pointed out earlier it is difficult for a small shop tho calculate the calorie content of thier meal, however it could be possible for them (or even government) to provide approximate calories to portion size for staples like chips. This would of course be difficult to enforce or regulate so probably wont happen.

However in the case of Mac D's, BK, KFC etc they have homogenous food, portion size etc worldwide so why cant they provide this info on the pakaging, it would not be difficult. If all the supermarkets can do it they should. They are in the position to do so, at little or no cost. If they dont, I belive they should be forced (by legislation or consumer demand).

- "The doctors say oatmeal is very healthy. If I ate nothing but that for the next year I'd probably also drop dead." -

I recently heard a story about a first yr uni student who only ate a bowl of oatmeal a day for a whole term. This poor diet only came to light when he collapsed at the end of the term because he was suffering from malnutrition.

I don't light oatmeal but i can't imagine eating the same food every day for that long! yeuch!

He should sue the health authorities

Yeah he got malnutrition but was he obese?

The book to read on this topic area is 'Fast Food Nation' by Eric Schlosser - apologies if that has already been mentioned.

I would like to see food chains banned from giving away free toys with their children's meals. It seems to me that this is where the big chains gain an unfair competative advantage over any 'local' cafe owner.

I think it would be a better line of attack - and I do want to attack these corporations - would be to sue the authorities that allow them into our schools. We don't allow cigarrete companies to advertise in our schools, because of the damage their products can do to health, by the same logic we should be banning the fast food companies from promoting themselves there.

You can buy the toys seperatly for hardly any money. If you did that you might be able to keep your kids away from there.

Dream on! McDuff. Is is not easy to keep your kids away from there. Where do many children's birthday parties end up? In a McDonalds.

I have no trouble in not taking my children to a ff joint. It is when they are socializing with other children - which I feel they should do - when the going gets tough.

Also, I want the ff companies out of my children's hair when they area at school.

Just a quick update on the availability of nutrition information from BK.

My local BK is having a big push at the moment for the Chicken Whopper Lite Meal as a healthy alternative to their other burgers. I went in and asked for the nutrition information for the 'Lite' burger and the others so I could compare them.

After 2 saturday flunkeys I eventually spoke to the duty manager who told me that Burger King no longer pulishes any information on the nutritional value of their food. If I wanted it I should write to the head office and ask them. I will do.

I am disgusted that they should be promoting a healthy meal, and yet could not tell me the fat, salt and calorie content - the manager helpfully told me that it was a 'Lite' option because they use reduced calorie mayonaise. That is it. So if I ate those 'Lite' meals a lot, thinking they wre healthy, and got fat(ter) would it still be my own stupid fault?

Surely there is a trading standards (or something) issue in there somewhere?

I, personally, would expect the BURGER itself to be reduced fat etc - and then the sundries such as mayo would be "lite". Most people dont buy a beef burger for the bun and ketchup do they now?

(although I saw a few sights in my time working under the golden arches so I wont say everyone wouldnt )

There have been several comments on this thread stating that it's your own personal responsibility to eat well, to stay healthy, to not eat fast food every day. But I'm of the opinion that this is a class issue - or, if you want to stay away from horribly outdated Marxist terms, a poverty issue.

If you are on minimum wage or thereabouts, you have to choose the cheapest options when it comes to food. Now, fast food isn't necessarily the cheapest option in the long run, but if you can't afford the outlay of proper cooking utensils, or rent on a home that has a proper kitchen, it can be the only choice you can make. I recommend Barbara Ehrenreich's 'Nickel and Dimed' as an insight on what it can be like to live on povrety wages. (Let's be honest, we're reading and posting on a PC with an internet connection - that's a luxury not all can afford.)

That's a good point you're making.

That's why when Tommy Sheridan (of the Scottish Socialist Party) wanted to give all schoolchildren free, nutritious, healthy school meals I was disgusted when he was unsuccessful.

Even if you are from a low-income family, if you are taught basic nutrition you can still eat healthily and not worry about buying a crapload of fresh veg - for example, you can buy frozen veg which is cheaper in the long run, and is just as good as fresh.

Things like pasta and rice are bought for next-to-nothing, and making healthy dishes that even children will eat is inexpensive and very filling. As a student, I also have first-hand experience of living on the cheap