This is such BS. Studies have been done and show, unlike Morgan Spurlocs self serving and deceptive movie, that you CAN live and not suffer detrimental effects by eating ONLY McDonalds.

[skeptoid.com]

Morgan Spurloc is possibly worse than Michael Moore.

Heck no! I finally tried one of those McCafe Lattes everyone was going on about, not only was it the same price as a regular coffee shop, it sucked!

I worked there for a year and half during my teens and I did just fine. Although I made "smart" choices by eating the salads and grilled chicken most of the time. They never forced us to eat there either.

Also, this article is kind of misleading. This was about the meal he was allowed on his lunch breaks, not every meal he would eat while employeed by the company. When I first read it, I thought he was suing because he was being forced to eat 3 meals a day there.

Since when is Super Size me considered permissible evidence? You can live just fine on a McDonald's diet as long as you keep track of your calories and don't overeat. You won't be the healthiest person in the world but you won't go through stuff like the movie.

[skeptoid.com]

I don't understand why it's McDonald's responsibility to feed the staff three meals a day. I think it's a courtesy to offer employees free meals, but nothing in that says they HAVE to eat there.

This just means that now McDonald's will probably cut the free meal offer altogether. Way to go Brazil. Yeah, the food's shitty, but people who work there probably appreciate the free cheeseburger from time to time.

There are enough choices on their menu to allow a somewhat balanced diet. Get salads - lose the dressing. Get grilled chicken sandwiches - again, lost the dressing and maybe the bun. They have fruit, water, milk, cereals.

I could do it.

My company shrewdly avoids the issue altogether by not offering me any food. I have to fend for myself.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: Wow jinx, we posted the same thing at almost the same time haha.

The company's policy of offering staff food was harmful to his health? They offered him McDonald's food because they didn't have to pay markup on it, if they gave him a grocery allowance it wouldn't stretch anywhere near as far. Sorry that you're a weak minded glutton, brazil guy.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag:Well, at least Moore is funnier!

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: I'm not sure your link fully refutes Spurlock, but that's for another time. Also, his 30 Days stuff is interesting. Like Michael Moore, he does insert his own personal politics into the story, but they are interesting.

BOT- I agree with you on this one. He could have chosen not to eat there at all or to choose the healthier options (even if they're not that healthy). I imagine the issue is that if you're working in a Brazilian McDonalds, chances are you will take any perk that you can get.

Only 6 votes for "I only go to In-n-Out"? Well, it is true for me, those are the only fast food hamburgers I eat now.

I remember when my friend from highschool, who ate subway sandwiches like 8+ times a week, got a job at subway as a sandwich jockey. Then he got free sandwiches made just the way he likes, double meat, no veggies. Mmmm... nitrates...

@Raekwon: True, but I think the point of Super Size Me was to show what happens to people who eat what the average person eats at McDonalds.

@Preyfar: Which is why it shouldn't be used as evidence in this case and why it's silly for people's fast food fears to be based on this movie.

I watched and enjoyed Super Size Me but you need to understand the point of the movie.

@burnedout: Yes, and the result of this lawsuit will be that employees no longer get free food.

Yes. Did so for one year (actually 10 months). Lost 18 lbs during the year. Did a lot of salads in combination with a burger or fries but never fries and burger. The key was eating a mixed (balanced) diet that included some sort of veggies.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag:
The problem is that workers are severely restricted in which menu items they can choose. When I was working there way back when, I couldn't even have a chicken sandwich. I could have any sandwich with 'regular' meat, plus fries and a soda.

Since employees get food after their first meal at half off, I eventually just used that perk to buy myself a grilled chicken sandwich w/only extra lettuce and a bottle of water every day.

He looked that gift horse in the mouth and saw real (Brazilian currency) signs.

@ARP: I used to eat Mickey D's all the time. I grew up on it. I'm older now and have food allergies which cause me to break out with major hives. This is most prominent when eating Mickey D's which sucks because I like their food (I have no idea why). Occasionaly I break down and go there for some fries. I almost think in some way eating there and all the other junk food and additives or gmo or something in the water caused me to become this way.. but that being said:

I saw that movie and as soon as the guy threw up after eating a Big Mac I knew it was going to be lame. What kind of MAN throws up after eating Mcdonalds? I don't beleive in suing people and hope I never have to. Sounds like that guy just wanted money.

As a Hindu, I find the last option incredibly offensive. And irresistible.

The real crime here is that poster, that clown is just scary and looks like pure evil. God I hate clowns :/

@Diet-Orange-Soda: I posted this above, but a lot of the foods you mentioned aren't comped for workers. I ate pretty much plain chicken sandwiches when I worked there, but I had to pay for them since they weren't on the 'approved' list.

Still, guy could have brought his own food in like some of my co-workers did.

I believe they did offer him a grocery allowance. I think it's called a "paycheck".

They should have given him an allowance to buy groceries? Isn't that a called a paycheck?

@Raekwon: The defendants tried to get Return of the Jedi as evidence to prepare their Chewbacca defense but it didn't quite work out.

People like to vilify McD's, but compared to other chains like Dairy Queen and Jack in the Box, they're not that bad. JitB's food often contains VERY high amounts of transfats, such as their breakfast bowls. Each bowl contains a massive SEVEN grams of transfar, and it's relatively small. DQ's double flamethrower burger contains about 90 grams of fat, and it also isn't large. That's not even possible without extra fat being added deliberately. I'm not really defending McD's; they refer to frequent customers as "heavy users", which implies the company is more like a drug pusher than a food vendor.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: The point of Supersize Me wasn't to be a fully scientific study of the effects of McDonald's on the human body. Nor was it to see if one could eat a healthy diet on McDonald's. Spurlock tried to eat the most unhealthy stuff possible.

Could you eat a healthy diet at McDonald's? Yes, if you were trying to do that. Get apples instead of fries, get water instead of soda, get small portions ... it all works. But this isn't what Spurlock was trying to do, nor did he lead his viewers into believing that.

How is that deceptive?

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag:

How does that scientific study refute Spurloc at all?

"They did all gain 5-15% extra body weight, and complained of feeling tired; but none suffered any other negative effects."

So other than becoming lethargic fatties, there were no ill effects? Give me a break.

So I checked the article and it's not there either ... was he only allowed to eat McDonald's food? Obviously he wasn't given money or coupons for alternatives, but was he literally given a meal break and told that he could only eat McDonald's food during that break?

@ARP: yeah, that one 30 days episode where the IT guy went to india to get his job back was very enlightening.

[www.guba.com]

@Raekwon: True, it shouldn't be used as evidence. Plus, Super Size Me contains enough evidence to counter the suit's claim. Don Gorske, while he may not be human, has eaten over 23,000 Big Macs.

[www.msnbc.msn.com]

He weighs under 200 pounds. That alone is enough to refute Super Size Me's claims from a legal precedent.

@rpm773: +1 for the unexpected Lone-Tar icon

@TinkishDelight: "Sucked" is too polite a term for it. I swear, those McCoffees are a visceral demonstration of what evil tastes like.

@ludwigk:

You should try Five Guys burgers. Might even (heresy to say this I know), be actually better than In-n-Out...

@TCama: That would be the only reason I could see him need the lawsuit. If they would not allow him to leave during his meal break, and he could not bring in any outside food.

Um, how is it he is "forced" to eat McDonalds? Did they keep him chained up in the basement? I take it when he is not actually working at McDonalds he can eat whatever the hell he wants to. And why would McDonalds have to give him "grocery allowances"? Maybe they do things differently in Brazil, but in the U.S. you are responsible for your own food. If you don't want to eat McDonalds' food, bring your own.

Brazil has a government-backed program requiring certain classes of employers to provide meal and grocery vouchers to low-income employees. It is not uncommon for employment benefits in developing countries to include things such as meal vouchers or housing supports that are normally not part of benefits packages in more developed countries.

My understanding of the program is that meal vouchers are supposed to be redeemable at any restaurant that participates in the program, and that employees are to be allowed a reasonable meal break that will allow them to get to/from establishments that accept the vouchers.

So I wonder if the problem is more that McDonalds implementation of the voucher program--only allowing workers to redeem the vouchers at McDonalds--placed an unacceptable restriction on the employees in terms of choice. I can't find the original article in the Folha de Sao Paulo to confirm whether something was "lost in translation."

I live in Brazil, with a Brazilian family, and I just talked to them about this.

For the people who said he didn't HAVE to eat the food:
It's possible that McDonald's was required, by law, to feed him. The family said that if you live in the same city as were you work, they have no obligation. However, if you live in a different city, say ten miles away, they DO have an obligation to provide meals.

Also, I've eaten McDonald's here. It's really expensive for Brazilians for one. And, without having seriously studied the food and its makeup, I personally think it's somewhat healthier. The salads are better, there are different options for snacks and drinks (for example, Guarana Antartica as a soda, which I consider healthier than Coke), and it seems like the burgers are cleaner as well. But, that could all just be perception.

But yeah...using 'Supersize Me' as evidence is just bogus.

If the food conformed to the state's laws, as the article says...then...can't McDonald's turn around and sue the state, essentially saying 'You said this food fit the definition of healthy/safe-for-consumption, yet you're fining us for providing it, i.e., you failed us and should reimburse us for the judgment'?

Closest thing I'll eat daily of McD's is their french fries...they're like crack.

I worked at McDonald's for almost 4 years and ate my free meal everyday (for the first 2 years I would eat a double quarter pounder and fries until they stopped letting us have them because we should be "healthly"). There were days when I'd eat McDonald's for all three of my meals (though my stomach always felt a little weird on those days). I didn't gain a single pound until I quit and got a desk job, I gained 10 pounds that summer.

The man in this story is just lazy and wants somebody else to pay for his poor decision making skills.

@Megalomania: i mean it's not like they sat him down at the lunch table and force fed him big mac after big mac.

i worked at a movie theater, and used to swipe courtesy cups of popcorn and soda on days i forgot my own meal. but its not like i was force fed popcorn. my future heart attack is my own choice.

@Radi0logy: Heh, thanks. :) I'm not sure how lone-tar would feel about me using it, but I commend them on the design of it.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag:I still disagree. The study showed that the test subjects increased their weight by 5-15% in 30 days. 30 days!!

Even if you're not doing an extreme 6,000 calories and are consciously making healthier choices, his estimated average of 2,200 calories a day over an extended period of time would put oodles of weight on someone my size. The significant increase in fat and sure slide into obesity would absolutely lead to detrimental effects. It may take more than 30 days, but you'll definitely get there.

Also, how does 1040 manage to equal 2/3 of 1500?

@NeverLetMeDown:
I think so, too. Shhhh.

@LupusGray: @TinkishDelight: I note you neglect to mention the statement BEFORE that one:

The subjects were not allowed to exercise during the 30 days...

If I eat the amount I normally do, but foresake my 5 mile walk, guess what, I will start gaining weight and feeling lethargic.

@TCama: They didn't have apples, water, and smaller portions were always more than larger ones until this movie.
@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: I agree with others, just because they had no "ill effects' I'd say gaining that much fat is never good and will result in permanent damage if you continue that path.

People should be smart enough to know eating there everyday for every meal is a horrible idea.

@Preyfar: Actually, it's NOT what an average person eats. Spurloc made it a point to drink the shakes there, which alone are almost if not over the RDI of calories for a day.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: Spurlock's movie is very much staged, and his vegan girlfriend was intolerable.

Spurlock's decision to exercise as little as possible had more to do with his physical deterioration than his diet. It's possible to eat a balanced diet with under 2500 calories at fast-food restaurants, but it's expensive and vegetables at those places aren't the best quality.

@GitEmSteveDave_HazGreenLEDNameTag: Oh, right, BS. Sure. Everyone can stay healthy eating McD's every day. Part of a balanced breakfast and all that.

Be careful who you stick that "you" at in "...you CAN live and not suffer detrimental effects..." by the way. I happen to be a diabetic controlling my blood sugar through careful attention to diet. I CAN'T live and suffer no detrimental effects on a diet consisting exclusively of McDonald's food.

Oh, naturally you didn't mean me or any other other millions upon millions of people who aren't perfectly healthy. Right. Gotcha.