TED Conversations

Thomas Anderson

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Did I just help society, or hurt society?

I just drove 1/2 mile to a fast food restaurant, in a car that gets 35 miles per gallon. I went through the drive through, and it took 3 minutes. I then drove home, and ate two chicken sandwiches with mayonnaise and lettuce on rolls, and a large cola, all for 4 dollars and 19 cents.

Did I just help society, the economy, and my own personal health, or did I just hurt society, my own personal health, and the economy?

I would appreciate all points of view! Thank you!

Related Talks:
Topics: business eco sustainability environment food food selection nutrition
0
Share:

Closing Statement from Thomas Anderson

Thank you very much for participating in this debate! I did not get any points of view from the restaurant industry. I guess if I were a reporter, that would be a "no comment"?

TED is awesome.

Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.

  • thumb

    Andreea Stefania

    • +2
    Dec 19 2011: Hurt society:
    - environmental pollution caused by farms and by cars
    - the food used to feed farm animals and/or the food that could be grown on the land used for farming, could be used to stop all hunger in the world
    Hurt your own personal health:
    - long story short: you're not giving to your body what it is supposed to be fed with in order to function at it's best
    - you chose not to take a short walk
    Helped the economy:
    - you've shown your support by placing money into the circuit
    • thumb

      Tibor V. Varga

      • +1
      Dec 19 2011: What are you supposed to eat and what are you not?
      It worth an other debate, maybe I will launch it after the current one is over. :)

      From an evolutionary point of view you should eat what you are adapted to eat: meat, game, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fungi, berries, leaves. And don't eat anything appeared with modern culture and agriculture: grains, refined carbohydrates, most of the legumes, dairy, processed meat, alcohol.

      But you know, it sounds super-logical (more than that, actually - I think it is true, but it is only my personal opinion as a nutritionist going against the current), but this argument is very much ignored nowadays. WHO tries to force down 60% of our daily energy from carbohydrate sources and there is a huge unnecessary anti-meat propaganda, which only causes harm.

      When you go out to a McDonald's it is not the single 100 grams meat is what is killing you but the rest. Fries, refined oil, white rolls, mayonnaise.

      Physical activity is absolutely essential for a healthy living. No argument against that! :)
      • thumb

        Andreea Stefania

        • 0
        Dec 19 2011: There are some things we are adapted to, maybe because sometime in the past we had to, in order to survive. There are some other things we are built to get nourishment from, required if we want our bodies to function at their best. We should be aware of the differences between the two.
        Have you read the book "The China Study"? I warmly recommend it to anyone interested in nutrition. :)

Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.