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Happy Meals

In: Miscellaneous

Submitted By sgtfuzzy
Words 2008
Pages 9
Regina Campbell
Don Erskine
3/17/2008

Happy Meals: More than Just a Label

Mornings were not always a struggle for Margaret James when it came to what she was going to eat. Throwing on whatever clothes were within reach, putting her hair back in a ponytail, slipping her feet into those over-used worn out sandals and driving two short blocks down to the local McDonalds to get a large number one. Yes, the one with the melted cheese that just oozes out of the side and those strips of bacon that if laid out on a paper towel they would leave long stretches of grease marks which would of course not be an appetizing picture considering her growling stomach and those hunger pains that have now overtaken her desire to eat right. That Sunday afternoon pizza has run its course and now something has to fill that void. Those were the days, the many days of speed and convenience over health and sensibility. That was ten years ago and now she doesn’t just have to worry about her own food needs, she now has the nutritional needs of her two young children to be concerned with. Margaret is a working mom and although she spends a great deal of that time on her feet at work at the Family Practice Clinic, she often thinks about getting a Happy Meal for the kids on her way home so she can begin letting Calgon take her away. However, she knows that she is ultimately responsible for what her young children eat. Working in health care has opened her eyes and made her discover a whole new world and that picture has certainly not been pretty. Obesity has been an ever-increasing disease and most notably with the younger generation and when Margaret gave birth to her twin boys she vowed to take control of her own weight and raise her children in a healthy environment. All meals should essentially be a happy meal as opposed to an unhappy meal. Michael Pollan, author of “Unhappy Meals,”

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