Essay 782

Fast food for thought in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• USA Today reports companies are ditching junk food in employee vending machines, opting for healthier alternatives. Additionally, corporate cafeterias charge more for unhealthy stuff, and some places have banned cakes and candy at company celebrations. “For years, we did doughnuts. Doughnuts are great, but we wanted to avoid the mixed messages of doughnuts and weight loss,” said one human resources manager. Time to make changes to the “America runs on Dunkin’” tagline.

• A new study shows folks will eat whatever is put in front of them, regardless of the portion size, because of a “culturally induced” belief that the presented portion is appropriate. So there’s clearly a connection between America’s super-sized servings and super-sized humans. Other countries with smaller portions tend to have smaller citizens. “It is our belief that a small percentage change in portion size would change consumption by the same percentage,” the study stated. Too bad American fast feeders realize bigger percentage changes lead to bigger profits.

• Is Western Union discriminating based on customers’ names? Arab money transfers have allegedly been delayed or rejected when recipient names included Mohammed or Ahmed, fearing there were links to terrorists. A company official said, “We have an obligation to do all we can to keep money out of the hands of terrorists.” You would think the outrageous fees would be enough to dissuade criminals and crazy people.

• Three people were charged with stealing confidential information from Coca-Cola in the hopes of selling the stuff to rival Pepsi. Remember the good old days, when spying and selling secrets were activities confined to terrorists?