The Toxic Food Environment: My Doctor’s Office!
After battling the flu for over a week, I decided to pay a visit to my doctor. My cough had gotten bad enough that I wanted to make sure I didn’t have bronchitis or pneumonia. The good news is, my lungs are fine. The bad news is the medical system is more broken than I had ever thought!
I was shocked to see a soda machine and a candy machine side by side in the entrance to my doctor’s office. I’m glad to see they don’t have a cigarette machine in their lobby, but when you come to think of it, isn’t selling junk food just as bad?
When I consider the junk for sale in those machines, I’m not even considering our nationwide epidemic of Obesity. I’m thinking about the fact that refined sugar depletes your immunity. How diet soda and regular soda contribute to osteoporosis, tooth decay and increased LDL (the “bad cholesterol”). How ingredients in both those machines impact behavior in kids.
I’ve never been impressed with the fact that most medical offices have blatant advertisements for drugs in their waiting rooms. Our country is one of only two in the world which advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers. Your doctor’s office more than likely gets a nice commission for having posters or a TV screen blasting “infomercials” about the benefits of these drugs.
They obviously make some sort of money from the soda company and the vending machine company for selling the junk in that machine too. Is this ethical? Is it right?
As I sat waiting for the doc, I watched a fellow mom, more sick and tired than me with two little kids in tow. They spotted that machine within seconds of walking in the door and they were immediately harassing their poor mom to come up with some cash for some junk. Mom was too exhausted to argue, she gave in just to get a little peace. I wonder how many other mothers had done the same thing.
Why doesn’t this medical group have some Oranges for sale instead of packaged processed crap? A big shame on them for being part of the problem instead of part of the solution. Promoting junk instead of health, shame shame on you!
Related posts:
Comments
If my doctor had vending machines in the lobby of his/her office, I think I would find a new doctor.
Sue…
Sadly, it’s true you don’t find the healthiest of food stuffs in the places that should be promoting healthy choices. Selling oranges, fruit; anything fresh would be a wonderful diversion. I am sort of going off topic here, however, it bears mentioning that in our wonderfully litigious society, selling fresh, non-packaged, dubiously sanitized, non-mass produced foodstuffs would simply open the purveyor to a massive legal nightmare. Could you imagine the backlash it someone dared be health conscious and sold an apple or orange that was not in a landfill stuffing, petroleum-based wrapper and it had, God Forbid, an insect or larvae in it? I mean, seriously, Law Suit City. I, for one, would love the piece of fruit – and being a born and bred country boy – I know that the bugs only go looking for the best stuff to eat – hence it’s placement in my piece of fruit (only sort of joking there). You might get away with it in a cafeteria, but the shrink-wrapped, pre-packaged, instant, on demand society we live in and their lawyer mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands and wives would litigate any other poor s.o.b. who looked out for the betterment of my health, right in to the poor house.
Maybe we need to find a company that would package and certify fresh, organic produces and find a way of vending such items from, perhaps, one of the older-style pre-made sandwich vending machines. Perhaps a newer, more stylish one with blinking lights, sound effects or some other such glitz to draw the attention of the nagging child or racing adult. Otherwise, sadly, I don’t see it happening too soon.
Leave a Comment