More "Supersize Me" Bunkum

In my previous post I discussed Morgan Spurlock's wanton disregard for a balanced documentary favoring wild accusations, though hugely implied, blaming McDonalds (and the fast food industry) as the source of America's obesity.

Foxnews makes a critical report about Spurlock's book "Don't Eat This Book" where he makes false and defamatory accusations about McDonalds.

--Spurlock writes in his book that McDonalds uses beef that has been fed the ground-up remains of other cows. But the FDA has banned this practice of feeding ruminant remnants to other ruminants since 1997. Spurlock essentially accuses McDonalds of breaking federal law for the past eight years, and provides no sources for his accusation.

--In one particularly egregious passage, Spurlock tells his readers that the FDA has linked the artificial sweetener aspartame to side effects such as headaches, dizziness, nausea and hallucinations. But Spurlock's own source for that passage -- a 1999 issue of the FDA Consumer

-- lists these effects only to specifically refute them. The newsletter attributes the claims to "[w]ebsites with screaming headlines," and finds them wholly without merit.

--Spurlock writes that "a friend" told him McDonalds no longer calls its shakes "milkshakes" because they're all chemicals, and no milk. This is an urban legend. The primary ingredient in a McDonalds shake is "whole milk."

As always, Morgan Spurlock sides with sensationalism at the expense of truth. Foxnews makes a point about Spurlock's wanton disregard for truth:

Much of the book rests on the same kinds of poor sourcing and shoddy research. Spurlock appears to have run with any dirt on the food industry he could find. He even dismisses the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, which he implies are merely a ruse to get sick kids hooked on the Big Mac.

Spurlock lambastes the food industry for deceptive marketing and bad business practices. The problem is, for someone so critical of deceptive marketing practices, Spurlock himself seems to have problems with the truth.

Another reason to cast a very wary eye on Morgan Spurlock. The Associated Press gets in on the action:

Merab Morgan, from Raleigh, thought the documentary had unfairly targeted the world's largest restaurant company, implying that the obese were victims of a careless corporate giant. People are responsible for what they eat, she said, not restaurants. The problem with a McDonald's-only diet isn't what's on the menu, but the choices made from it, she said.

And that was my contention here stating that the choices made by people who eat the food are theirs alone. No one forced customers through the doors of fast food restaurants. No employees told customers that they cannot eat the foods because they're fat. The only thing left is to ensure that nutrional information are readily available to willing customers whether in fast food or fancy restaurants so they can make informed decisions. But people continue to play the "Let's Blame Corporate America for Our Fattyness" even if people cannot read a nutritional chart or just don't care for that information and want their Big Macs and fries, pronto.

Spurlock's film "really spurred a backlash based on common sense," Riker said.

Merab Morgan used nutritional information downloaded from McDonald's Web site to create meal plans of no more than 1,400 calories a day. She only ate french fries twice, usually choosing burgers and salads. Those choices are a stark contrast with those made by Spurlock, who ate every menu item at least once.

At the end of the 90 days, she had dropped from 227 to 190 pounds

You make the choices, you bear the responsibility of your own actions. That's the bottom line. Even though the food industry bears some responsibility but ultimately the choice to decide comes down to one person...you. Be careful who you blame the next time. It's all about common sense. Some people have 'em, some don't. You are what you eat, inside and out.