On February 7 th the twenty second annual winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. While the sole purpos...
On February 7th the twenty second annual winter
Olympics will be held in Sochi, a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. While the
sole purpose of the Olympics is to demonstrate athletic excellence from all
parts of the world, the sponsors backing the event do not support the same and
in fact have quite a few people up in arms. All branded food and drink served
at the Olympics come from just five companies: McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Cadbury,
Heineken and granola-bar maker Nature Valley but realistically with the
exception of some endurance athletes, who burn 4,000 to 6,000 calories every
day while training, fast food, alcohol and sugary snacks are generally off the
menu for Olympians.
McDonald's is the main company that is making the Olympics a
bit of an oxymoron. While it is the TOP sponsor for the event, it is also
widely known that it is very unhealthy. U.S.
swimmer Ryan Lochte credited his abolition of fat and sugar which included his
favored breakfast, the Egg McMuffin from his diet with helping to accelerate
him to the top of the podium. According to Terence Stephenson, a practicing
pediatrician and chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, “At an event
that celebrates athletic achievement, I don’t think we need to promote
high-calorie, high-fat foods that are not good for the health of the human body.”
On the actual McDonald's resource line for employees, it even expresses the fact
that their food isn't healthy saying, “Fast foods are quick, reasonably priced,
and readily available alternatives to home cooking, while convenient and
economical for a busy lifestyle, fast foods are typically high in calories,
fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt and may put people at risk for becoming
overweight.” The post continued, “Although not impossible it is more of a challenge
to eat healthy when going to a fast food place, in general, avoiding items that
are deep fried are your best bet … limit the extras such as cheese, bacon, and
mayonnaise. Eat at places that offer a variety of salads, soups and vegetables
to maintain your best health.”
The following is a list of ingredients used in the food from
the McDonald's website, “sodium phosphates bleached wheat flour (nutrients
removed), food starch-modified (likely genetically-modified), dextrose (sugar),
partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil with mono-and
diglycerides, (trans fats), TBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleium
dervived product; Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent (a form of
silicone used in cosmetics, and Silly Putty).”
The disagreement lies in between those who see the sponsorship
as unhealthy and the International Olympic Committee whose President Jacques
Rogge says, “Growing financial demands of the event made it difficult for it to
hold on to its values.” While on the other hand Malcolm Clark who is head of
the U.K. Children’s Food Campaign, worries that young visitors are being
targeted. Of the 2012 London Olympic Games he said, “The Olympic mascots are
promoting chocolate sweets and Happy Meals, what kind of signals is this
sending?” Yet according to the International Olympic Committee, “Without
McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and others, they read, “there would be no goose bumps,
gasps, records smashed, strangers hugged, or a whole world brought together.”
It comes down to the
age old battle of money versus ethics. Which side of the fence do you stand on?
Follow Brittnye Webb-Earl on Twitter @BeeNoelle
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