Big Burger Blues

As I said in yesterday's second update, over at Fifth Third ball park, where our local minor league franchise, the West Michigan Whitecaps, plays its home games, they are now offering a 4800 calorie hamburger on the menu. You can read about it here: http://www.wzzm13.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=107192

Even though there is nothing unusual about using food gimmicks to generate publicity, for some reason this story made national news. Stories about it were on ESPN, Fox News (and I assume the other 24 hour news networks), and it was even discussed by Rush Limbaugh yesterday. Along with the additional publicity came protests--some health organization in Washington DC even seriously suggested the burger come with a warning.

Think about that: A warning? What makes the big burger a gimmick in the first place is that it's too big to eat, that it is an unhealthy amount of food for one person to consume in one sitting (which is also why the ballpark offers to cut it into quarters, thus making it a family meal). The big burger is made with five 1/3rd lb. patties (5 thirds, get it?) Should they also post a warning that it isn't a good idea to eat five ordinary 1/3rd lb. burgers at one sitting, either? Should every pizza delivery in the country include a warning that eating an entire pizza by yourself isn't a healthy food choice? Should every pound bag of peanut M&Ms wear a warning that eating the entire bag is not a suitable dinner?

I say to every food Nazi in the country: KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF MY STOMACH!!!