Is it a businesses job to provide healthy food?

[Cicero]

So whenever I watch Dr. Oz I find it funny how he blames the reason why he's audience is overweight is because of the fast food chains and the stores. It seems to never be their fault. He was saying how businesses put 3 ingredients in foods that make you actually addicted (salt, fat, sugar). Say for instance McDonalds, is it really their responsibility to care for your health? Is it a businesses responsibility to make sure they offer healthy foods?

From a business stand point, I think it's a brilliant idea trying to make your customers crave your food, no matter how healthy or unhealthy it is. I don't think that a business should be the one telling someone that eating their food will make you gain weight or will make your heart unhealthy. I believe it's the customers job to take control of their eating. A businesses job is to make money, not be a personal trainer and help you with your weight. Although, providing healthy food may also be a good business and make good money, but its not their job to provide it, I believe.

In an interview with the McDonald's CEO a question was brought up about how healthy their food is and if they believe they are the reason why so many people are unhealthy and overweight in this country, and the CEO said that they are not the reason. He said people choose to eat at their restaurants and they have even taken steps to help people with what they might purchase, like on that piece of paper on the bottom of each tray has all the calorie information on the back and they've provided healthy alternatives like salads or wraps. I agree with what the CEO said.

So do you think a business should be held responsible for providing unhealthy food that millions of customers consume? Should they be worried about your health?

[WalkingOnDisaster]

No. If it says 'hamburgers', 'french fries' or 'fast food' it's not their job to give health food. You can't expect a grease trap to be healthy. It's like expecting an infant to speak. It's really not the jobs of those people to do that.

[workingatperfect]

Well, a major reason they're overweight IS fast food. I think that's obvious. But is that the fast food chain's fault/responsibility? No. It's the people's fault for eating it.

[Gigablue]

It's their responsiblity to provide nutrition information for all their products so that the customers can make an informed decision. However, if the people know the food is unhealthy and choose to eat it, that's their choice, and the company isn't responsible for it.

[chrisawesome]

Its called FREE ENTERPRISE, this explains why we dont need to tell what businesses should and should not sell. I get so pissed off when govenment or groups of people try and tell businesses how they are supposed to operate their business. The U.S. government, under rule of "King and Queen" Obama, are acting as communists and completely corrupting the business system. Such as rasing taxes because of someones salary or telling McDonalds they need to put the number of calories in each meal. Sugar, fat, and salt is absolutely not addictive. Last year, I gave up fast food such as McDonalds and went to healthier places. I had absolutely no craving for McDonalds fries or greasy hamburgers. Governments and no one should force restraunts to sell healthy food!
Obama's healthy school lunches are backfiring on them. They force this nasty food on us, were not going to eat it. So where do we go after school? McDonalds, BurgerKing, Wendy's, cholestorol and sodium hotspots!!!! Without directly effecting free enterprise, the President needs to fix all this that he screwed up in the past 4 years. WTF, isnt the president supposed to make things better for ALL of us.

[ProudConservative]

Its called FREE ENTERPRISE, this explains why we dont need to tell what businesses should and should not sell. I get so pissed off when govenment or groups of people try and tell businesses how they are supposed to operate their business. The U.S. government, under rule of "King and Queen" Obama, are acting as communists and completely corrupting the business system. Such as rasing taxes because of someones salary or telling McDonalds they need to put the number of calories in each meal. Sugar, fat, and salt is absolutely not addictive. Last year, I gave up fast food such as McDonalds and went to healthier places. I had absolutely no craving for McDonalds fries or greasy hamburgers. Governments and no one should force restraunts to sell healthy food!
Obama's healthy school lunches are backfiring on them. They force this nasty food on us, were not going to eat it. So where do we go after school? McDonalds, BurgerKing, Wendy's, cholestorol and sodium hotspots!!!! Without directly effecting free enterprise, the President needs to fix all this that he screwed up in the past 4 years. WTF, isnt the president supposed to make things better for ALL of us.

He's supposed to make it better for the MAJORITY, not ALL of us. As much as I would like to bash Obama for everything he's done, I can't. He, or his wife, are trying to make childhood obesity nonexistent. That alone in itself is honorable, but they can find something better to do than standardize school lunches (still looks as gross as it did 7 years ago).

To answer the OP's question, no, business' aren't responsible for YOUR health, YOU'RE responsible for your health. That being said, the food they sell shouldn't make you sick, like food poisoning.

[chrisawesome]

I wish the govenment cared for all of us, not just the lower and middle class. They are destroying what the wealthy deserve and have worked for by taxing them to almost half of their salary. It is rediculous. And yes, I have seen a difference in school lunches lately, they are even crappy'er

[Jess]

Nope. It's pretty much solely a person's decision if they want to eat fast food. Businesses are not responsible.

[Sugaree]

So whenever I watch Dr. Oz I find it funny how he blames the reason why he's audience is overweight is because of the fast food chains and the stores. It seems to never be their fault. He was saying how businesses put 3 ingredients in foods that make you actually addicted (salt, fat, sugar). Say for instance McDonalds, is it really their responsibility to care for your health? Is it a businesses responsibility to make sure they offer healthy foods?

What he says is right to an extent. Fast food chains and stores DO put a lot of junk into the products they serve. However, it's not their responsibility to provide healthy foods. It is the responsibility of the consumer to choose if they want something that's full of grease and salt or something that's full of richer nutrients.

If someone is obese, it's not the fault of McDonald's or Burger King, it's their fault. But that person is also the solution to their own problem by cutting out the junk food in their life.

[Human]

I think the companies should take reasonable precautions to ensure that a bite of their food won't clog your arteries instantly:P they should make it as healthy as possible without affecting the original taste or idea of fast food.

[Taryn98]

People must accept personal responsibility and be accountable for their own actions. They have nobody to blame but themselves.

[Twilly F. Sniper]

Nope. If they ate fast food they ate fast food.
Bring a Salad or something if so concerned about health.
(#mostridiculousargumentever)

[CharlieFinley]

Its called FREE ENTERPRISE, this explains why we dont need to tell what businesses should and should not sell. I get so pissed off when govenment or groups of people try and tell businesses how they are supposed to operate their business. The U.S. government, under rule of "King and Queen" Obama, are acting as communists and completely corrupting the business system. Such as rasing taxes because of someones salary or telling McDonalds they need to put the number of calories in each meal. Sugar, fat, and salt is absolutely not addictive. Last year, I gave up fast food such as McDonalds and went to healthier places. I had absolutely no craving for McDonalds fries or greasy hamburgers. Governments and no one should force restraunts to sell healthy food!
Obama's healthy school lunches are backfiring on them. They force this nasty food on us, were not going to eat it. So where do we go after school? McDonalds, BurgerKing, Wendy's, cholestorol and sodium hotspots!!!! Without directly effecting free enterprise, the President needs to fix all this that he screwed up in the past 4 years. WTF, isnt the president supposed to make things better for ALL of us.
You do realize that one of the key reasons places like McDonald's and Burger King even exist is the massive subsidies provided to companies like Monsanto to produce cheap, unhealthy crap, right?

If we went "free enterprise," McDonald's profits would drop enormously, as they would have to significantly raise prices. A huge proportion of their regular business comes from people who literally can't afford to get a sufficient number of calories anywhere healthy. If they couldn't afford to eat at McDonald's, and the government used money they weren't spending subsidizing the corn and meat industries, people could actually become healthier across the board.

Also, just out of curiosity, what is so magical and great about free enterprise? You keep advocating it, but you never say why it's such a great thing.

[Jean Poutine]

Unhealthy is one thing. Deliberately addictive is another, especially when the public at large doesn't know it.

I agree that if I choose to eat 10 hamburgers a day and become fat I should have nobody to blame but myself, or shooting some dope and becoming addicted, but having the intention to try only one hamburger and having those 10 a day slowly creep up on you as you discover that your body craves it more and more because it was engineered so is not right. Some people are very easily addicted, so fuck them, they don't matter because of that?

There are limits to businesses' freedoms.

[Guillermo]

The two posters above me have basically summarized my thoughts on this issue. The obesity rate in the U.S. is around 33%, currently. Don't you see something a bit wrong with that?

Have any of you ever seen Food, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.)? Probably not many of you, I would imagine, since it wasn't a box office hit - but it is an extremely enlightening documentary about America's corporate controlled food industry.

[CharlieFinley]

The two posters above me have basically summarized my thoughts on this issue. The obesity rate in the U.S. is around 33%, currently. Don't you see something a bit wrong with that?

Have any of you ever seen Food, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.)? Probably not many of you, I would imagine, since it wasn't a box office hit - but it is an extremely enlightening documentary about America's corporate controlled food industry.

I have. Quite enjoyable.

[Cicero]

The two posters above me have basically summarized my thoughts on this issue. The obesity rate in the U.S. is around 33%, currently. Don't you see something a bit wrong with that?

Have any of you ever seen Food, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.)? Probably not many of you, I would imagine, since it wasn't a box office hit - but it is an extremely enlightening documentary about America's corporate controlled food industry.

Very good movie

[Sugaree]

The two posters above me have basically summarized my thoughts on this issue. The obesity rate in the U.S. is around 33%, currently. Don't you see something a bit wrong with that?

Have any of you ever seen Food, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.)? Probably not many of you, I would imagine, since it wasn't a box office hit - but it is an extremely enlightening documentary about America's corporate controlled food industry.

You mean Animal Slaughter: The Movie? Yes, I have seen it and it makes no new arguments against the food industry when it comes to the production of meats.

[Guillermo]

You mean Animal Slaughter: The Movie? Yes, I have seen it and it makes no new arguments against the food industry when it comes to the production of meats.

The workers in the factories? E.coli? The overall environmentally unsustainable ways that meat is now processed? Maybe these aren't really new arguments - but do you think that a majority of Americans know who and how their meat is processed? I don't think so. You see, information is the key - but it's also the downfall. You damn well know that most Americans are apathetic to politics, so what makes you think they will bother to listen to where their food comes from? Because that's basically politics. And money. Oh don't those two just go hand and hand?

As I stated before, 1 in every 3 adults is obese in America. Diabetes, a disease that used to be only prevalent in adults is now widespread among children. There are around 160,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. and 50 million Americans are served by them everyday. You see how a seemingly harmless way of revolutionizing how food is served has had unintended consequences on the culture of food today? It's horrible.