McNasty, Unlucky Fried Kitten et.al. to write govt policy on obesity.

[Andrew_C]

No, it isn't April 1st. Or political masters have sold out to big business in a whole new way. You'd sort of expect it from the "bought and paid for" congressmen in the States, but I never thought I'd see it so blatantly here.

McDonald's and PepsiCo to help write UK health policy | Politics | The Guardian

[elsiegee40]

I think I can hear Jamie Oliver screaming!

[korifugi]

I think I can hear Jamie Oliver screaming!

No, that's just me...

Seriously though - what the eff are they thinking?

Will there be an increase of people who go in, have a 'large' meal and then add a salad and diet pepsi (other beverages are available) to make it 'healthy'

[LosOjos]

And coming next week, Robert Mugabe rewrites our human rights policy.

[bossman]

Apparently in America the political powers have forced the fast food industry to concede that any fast food meal over 200 calories will not be able to carry a free toy as an incentive to buy.

May work for the toddlers but once they have grown older they will just want the big meals rather than a toy.

Absolute corporate and government irresponsibility.

[CapEnd]

Utter lunacy, although no surprise really...

[LeMarchand]

I think I can hear Jamie Oliver screaming!

Sorry, I didn't realise the sound carried that far. I'll wait until after school before I pull the rest of his fingernails.

[Gonk]

And coming next week, Robert Mugabe rewrites our human rights policy.

and Adolf Hitler is going to look after our foreign policy...

[LosOjos]

To be honest I've always found MacD's to be quite open with regard to their meals. Is it their fault if slovenly people are too lazy to cook their own food and not go in on a daily basis?

I absolutely love a Double Sausage and Egg muffin, but I've not had one for at least two months, because I have the willpower to walk past.

They're one of the better ones in that it has nutritional info on the packaging - but you have to buy the food first

I think anywhere that serves food should be made to print the nutritional info along side the price, so you know exactly what you're getting (nutrition wise at least) before you buy it.

That being said, fast food companies advising the government on obesity is a joke whichever way you look at it - how can they possibly be expected to 'advise' anything that will hurt their sales?

[Hightower]

They're one of the better ones in that it has nutritional info on the packaging - but you have to buy the food first

I think anywhere that serves food should be made to print the nutritional info along side the price, so you know exactly what you're getting (nutrition wise at least) before you buy it.

That being said, fast food companies advising the government on obesity is a joke whichever way you look at it - how can they possibly be expected to 'advise' anything that will hurt their sales?

Last time I was in MD's they had the nutitional info on the back of the tray liner paper. I'm sure you could ask for a sheet to take a look before you buy if you so wish.

[skunk]

MacDs probably know more about obese people than anyone esle I would imagine, they have studied their motivation for eating vast quantities of lard based snacks, spent untold millions on getting people to eat unhealthily with advertising. Surely they would be excellent at stopping people getting fat if they so desired.

@hightower you are not supposed to eat the tray liner paper, even if it is the tastiest thing in the place.

[akidosaint]

Could go way of the danish to fix the obesity problem

BBC News - Panorama - Should the UK tax high-fat junk food to cut obesity rates?

Hit people in the pocket but someone will winge

[LosOjos]

Could go way of the danish to fix the obesity problem

BBC News - Panorama - Should the UK tax high-fat junk food to cut obesity rates?

Hit people in the pocket but someone will winge

The problem with that is it's something of a double edged sword - I genuinely believe a lot of people eat high fat foods because they're very often considerably cheaper then fresh food. A two-pronged attack is needed I think - raise tax on fatty foods, but at the same time find a way to lower the cost of fresh food.

[Andrew_C]

Some of you have missed the point by a long way. Our Govt are giving these businesses a huge say in legislation designed to control them. Have we learned nothing about how that works? Do we really want this?

It has nothing to do with how much lard there in in McD's food; or what it tastes like. It has everything to do with democracy, and the people being sold to the highest bidder.

[akidosaint]

The problem with that is it's something of a double edged sword - I genuinely believe a lot of people eat high fat foods because they're very often considerably cheaper then fresh food. A two-pronged attack is needed I think - raise tax on fatty foods, but at the same time find a way to lower the cost of fresh food.

Use the taxes to fund the healthier food i know never going to happen