Does McDonald's Deserve the Kudos?

Our nation’s food policies have been largely responsible for the health care crisis we face.

I have been ranting about this problem for almost as long as I have been involved with farmers markets. Seldom has anything happened to make me think that we are on the road back to a better diet and a future in which children grow up eating real food instead of unreasonable mass-manufactured facsimiles.

So while we should not be congratulating McDonald’s for much of anything, I was heartened to see that they will now include apples with all of their Happy Meals, requested or not, and reduce the size of the order of french fries that comes with the meals. They have spent lots of money over the years advertising products that are not good for us, and they spent plenty more on full-page ads in major newspapers across the country announcing the menu change. I have no doubt that TV ads will follow.

It still bothers me, though, that they think they need to be recognized and appreciated for doing the right thing — especially when they are probably not losing any money on the new, healthier Happy Meals. The question remains: What took them so long?

I raised my son on home-cooked meals made from scratch 90 percent of the time, but he just loved our occasional lunches at McDonald’s. And my granddaughter, who at 11 years old enjoys the cuisines of the world and just about anything you put in front of her, also likes the occasional McDonald’s visit. I would never advocate that children not be treated to fast food occasionally — it does taste good, and the atmosphere is welcoming to children. And at an early age, they can learn about eating out where a child’s behavior is nurtured rather than dismissed.

But I hope that we can go back to a future in which Mickey D’s is a sometime treat and a good dinner of local tomato sauce on local pasta rules the day. That’s what we had for dinner tonight, and it took me all of 30 minutes to make the sauce. How’s that for fast food?

Photo by AdamL212

This Week at our Reston market

If you are regular shoppers at Heritage Farm and Kitchen for their dairy products, check out their fresh, free-range selection of meats, too. They are now bringing fresh-ground turkey meat, turkey sausages and smoked turkey breast that was brined for two weeks before smoking. What a moist and flavorful sandwich meat! — with nothing added that you wouldn’t want to eat with a spoon yourself.

Ask at Cavanna Pasta and Betty’s Chips and Salsa about gluten-free products. And new this week, Betty will have organic, local chicken enchilada dinners with sides of brown rice and black beans, as well as cheese enchiladas.