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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Fast Food Sponsoring the Olympics; Oxymoron or Necessity? Updated at :
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
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