Think about what is in mac and cheese, for example. I would rather eat a McDonalds burger. No cheese. Remove the bun and ask for mustard instead of ketchup or mayo.

What many people are eating at home will scare you. Mostly processed foods including some form of corn, sugars, and white bleached flour. If they eat any vegetables, at all, it usually processed or frozen. Ask any doctor if frozen vegetables are better than the tomato slice on a dollar burger (minus the katchup).

The McDonalds tomato slice will win every time.

This will come as a shock to most people.

monsterdad3k & RedHotChilliPeppers

I totally agree with th both of ya. An, as RHCP has mentioned, it is possible ta eat healthier at MD but it does require some effort.

An therein, in my opinion, lays th problem. Effort, or more specifically time.

Aside frum th health of a standard McDonald's meal, what yer really dealin with is convenience, or rather time.

Lookin at th dollar menu, with is probably healthier as th portions are smaller an frankly even healthy people have a tendency ta overeat if thair not really watchin what thair doin.

Burger with mystery cheese, a buck.

Order of highly salted, oil soaked fries, a buck.

High sugar, sodium drink that largely is water an ice, a buck.

Ok, ya got yer meal in a few minutes fer $3.00 an change. Now, again not lookin at th health aspects, did ya save money or just time ya can go out an make more money, or more realistically go out an do somethang else that usually is spendin more money as ya entertain yerself. Hey, people gotta right ta do that as long as they are payin th price fer themselves.

What will that $3.00 buy ya in th grocery store.

What's hamburger costin in th stores these days, $4.00 a pound? Let's go with that. How many dollar burger patties can ya make with a pound of hamburger ha can cook properly, without all th salt an additives an properly drain out most of th fat? Let's go with eight cus I really don't know but and it's probably more like ten as thair ain't much meat in a dollar menu hamburger.

What's a package of 8 burger buns costin these days? $1.25? Somethang like that.

Now tarn ta th fries. What's a five pound bag of taters costin these days an how many dollar servins of fries can ya make out of it? Thank I paid $2.00 last time or somethang close.

A gallon of water, magnanimously give it $10? Pennies. Kool aid in any flavor ya want fer that gallon of water? Give it $.25. Sugar fer that Kool aid even though other non-sugar products are available, I'll give it $.50.

Ok lets add it all up. Eight plus Dollar meals with fries an a drink, fer about $8.10. Now, ya just paid over $3.00 fer one. If ya bought eight ya'd spend $24.80 plus tax just fer th convenience of hoppin in yer gas guzzlin car ta drive fer five minutes ta McDonald's, wait another five minutes fer yer meal so ya didn't have ta take just about th same amount of time ta cook it yerself at home.

Now, how can ya make that meal healthier. Cut out th salt, drink somethang with less sugar, make sure ya drain th fat frum yer meat an cook it thoroughly. Bake th fries rather than french fryin em. Get rid of th bun, ya already got enough carbs in th potato. Add some fresh raw or even cooked, as long as ya don't over cook em, an ya got yerself a healthier meal IF ya don't eat it all th time. An ya can take th money ya save ta spend on somethang else.

But ya see, people like that convenience an are willin ta pay fer it. So they do what everyone else does an eats at McDonalds or other favorite fast food place whair they can have it thair way instead of havin ta cook it themselves or have someone else tell em what ta eat.

Eatin healthy ain't all that hard but it does require some effort on plannin an preparation. An it seems ta me it's th effort that people are willin ta pay for at th sacrifice of thair health an th health of thair families.

Education an understandin, along with being taught a better way seems ta be th key here.

Now I'm late, gotta run an guess what? Gonna stop by McDonalds fer an egg McMuffin an cup of coffee with a hash brown, all of which is gonna cost me about $3.00 but would only cost me about $.75 if I had not wasted my time typin this message. I guess that is a price I am willin ta pay just ta get th message across.

Hope ya folks have a great day.

PS: Lets come up with some easy fast an healthy meals we can cook at home that are cheap an guess what? If people are really all that interested they will pay attention.

RHCP,

I wouldn't be so sure about that assumption regarding the tomato being more nutritious than frozen veggies. There are various factors involved.

http://www.chow.com/food-news/54376/are-frozen-vegetables-as-nutritious-as-fresh/

The $1 burgers don't come with tomato anyhow. Cheese, pickles, ketchup, mustard and minced onions unless you order it "your way".

You are correct about the ingredients on mac&cheese, the list is a mile long. We usually buy the Annie's mac&cheese which has only a handful of ingredients. It costs more but doesn't have all the crap in it like the big blue box.

Ornley once again you bring up valid points.

monsterdad3k,

I didn't get a chance to check out the link, but are they describing the process of boiling the vegetables?

Regarding the fresh tomato, the point I was making, is to special order it. That is why I mentioned "mustard", which is healthier than "katchup".

Look, my whole deal here is bigger than a local McDonalds. The obesity rate in this country is getting to an untenable level. Obesity, other health issues, PE being removed from schools, kids more interested in yaking on a cell phone or sitting in front of a computer than working out or engaging in some form of physical fitness, all are leading to a health disaster in this country.

Here's the facts which push my argument, poor health leads to higher demand for healthcare services, higher demand for healthcare services leads to higher health insurance costs. If nothing is done to address the overall poor health of people in this country none of the above will ever get better. All can be fixed rather easily but as I mentioned in an earlier comment, it starts with who we see in the mirror everyday.

Yes, it's tough to eat right, it's tough to work out everyday, it's tough to have an urge for a cheeseburger and walk by a McDonalds everyday without caving in, it's pricey to eat right, but in my opinion all is doable with a focused goal of good health.

Look, we are not going to change each others thinking on this subject. I realize I ended up going on a bit but the main reason I came back again was to apologize for giving you the wrong impression with my last comment from yesterday. If you care to take it I'll pass the last word to you.

Have a great day.

RHCP,

That may be true. If it is, isn't that sad? Why does much our food have such crap in them? They did not used to. It's all about the dollar, not our health.

It sounds like judging with comments like:

Hey, it's not your fault you're out of shape and obese, it's all on that evil empire known as McDonalds. If it wasn't McDonalds it would be Taco Bell, Wendy's, or what the hell, go for the gold and blame Bush.

it get's down to choosing personal responsibility over blaming others, it's about discipline vs excuses, mental toughness vs weakness.

Finally, how easy is it or should it be for kids to simply walk by McDonalds rather than opening the door? Stop the excuses.

Obviously this person has not been in my position, thus cannot understand what I am trying to say. I pray for them they never have to be in my position. Though there are many others who are. I have spoken to many and they have the same frustration with this dilemma as I.

shelly13,

Somehow I must have missed that comment. And like backinblack, I am also writing in general, as I have no idea of your conditions.

In general, food choices are not that great. Many doctors now believe that by age 40 most every adult will be on medication, soon.

McDonalds offers a salad choice. Do people make that choice? Do they make those healthy choices in the grocery store? Ninety some percent of processed foods contain corn products.

When we blame McDonalds, all I'm saying is that as a society we need to think about what WE are doing. McDonalds is providing a service with choices - same as the grocery store that now offers fast foods -containing some healthy and some not.

If people make wiser choices then these businesses will respond. This actually happened after Supersize Me. McDonalds added the chicken salad, sadly most poeple ignore that item (and other selections) on the menu.

They also display items contained in their foods, but most people ignore that too. Anyway, the best way to save money on healthy foods is to grow your own vegetables without chemicals. I would say "organic", but that word is copyrighted and you cannot use it. But it is good.

Shelly13

I too apologize if ya came away with th notion I was judgin ya. Who am I ta judge anyone with all th faults I have in life.

I am tryin ta figure out what yer main complaint is though. Is it th price of food, healthy food, or a place that is a part of th local economy that is makin a buck?

Th second question is what is th best way ta go about dealin with th problem,education or government mandated intervention?

Simply throwin out th satatement, McDonalds is bad, really ain't gonna solve either problem an actually end up makin thangs worse.

I'd like ta continue at this time but I too am pressed fer time but wanted ya ta know I don't judge ya even if I might thank yer points, some of which are valid, are off target.

Hopefully taday I will have time ta come back ta this topic an continue. I will say people do need ta eat healthier, th problem then remains how best ta accomplish that without infringin on thair freedom of choice.

Yes it has been beaten to death. Probably because some people have to make the same points over and over to try and get others to see their point. Yes people should have personal responsibility and should learn to make good choices and accept their own fate when they don't. I agree.

I just don't see how you cannot see that right now is that many of us have been forced by the economy to spend less and supermarkets, fast food, gas companies etc. take advantage of that. We cannot go without food and they know it. So they raise the prices of healthy food and offer the crap food at a lower cost. Healthy food costs them more also, so for them to make their almighty dollar they push the cheap stuff. McDonald's or whomever is putting that franchise near the high school is doing just that. They know it will be a gold mine and good for them, it is the American way I guess. Teenagers are known for making stupid decisions whether we teach them well or not. Teenagers don't have a lot of money and McD's dollar menu is just the ticket. The owner is not stupid he sees the dollar signs and nothing else. If you don't think big business does that, your blind.

Satire

Great, another place fer people ta congregate eatin food that burns th crud out of yer mouth an tryin ta kill th taste by washing it down with beer. Yep, we shore as hell need that now don't we?

Hey, if it's thair business an they run it well, who am I ta complain? If I don't like it I don't have ta eat thair any more than no one is forcin me or twistin my arm ta eat at McDonald's or anywhair else fer that matter.

"They civilize left an they civilize right. They civilize freedom until no one is free, no one except, by confidence, me." Not a precise quote but hopefully ya get my drift.

Hmm that is weird, Tracy Press tweaked my message and took out the quotation marks and the rest of the post

ChrisRoberts,

I don't know what the post said, but it may not have been removed. I think, their website allows quotes but there are certain combination of characters that will have effect on the formatting. For example how wordpress and other blogs handle smileys, slash, backslash (especially when combined with html tags, etc. And then there is replacing offensive language with astericks or just deleting.

Either that or you said something offensive to someone or some business and they stripped it out of your comments.

Not sure which was the case.

shelly13,

I see where u wrote that you wanted something else besides McDonalds. I also recall where u wrote that you did not like shopping at Safeway, do not like the lights at Raleys, and do not like other businesses that opened in Tracy. What do u like there?

shelly13, actually I not only see you points, but agree with you on several. Not every point, but overall I think this thread has remained respectful with everyone who just has a different opinion. Hearing other points of view is a great learning tool for everyone. Personally I've always enjoyed reading your comments. I think you're one of the best here.

My first thought when I read the headline was I'll bet the other four owners of the McDonalds in town can't be very happy about this.

doors17,

Glad you are believer in civility.

It could actually help them. If people get a good experience at one McDonalds they will repeat their business in another location. Typically people will not drive one or two miles for a dollar burger. But if there is a McDonalds on the North, East, Middle, West, and South side of a town that makes it convenient no matter where you are driving. And we do like the convenience, sometimes, we don't want to get out of the car for our Pete Starbucks, when we are in a hurry. We've all been there.

I had a (dollar meal) yogurt parfait at McDonalds this morning.

Your unbelievable luck, it Isn't your property nor your money. No need to go on ad nuseum. Please, feel free to gve your spurious arguments a rest.

shelly13,

Why do you think there are too many McDonalds? The nearest McDonalds is all the way on the other side of town. In fact, most of them are spread out all over town, like Subway.

I would like to know what you would have rather seen there?

Also, do the schools offer options?

By the way,

Did you know if you want low carbs, you can take the bun off the burger.

I'm sorry, but this "I hate McD's" is silly.

It's like hating Chick-Fil-A.

shelly13

Yer right, ya didn't say protest an I apologize fer indicatin that ya did when it was amlee1978.

An yer right about th grocery store food as well.

Where we disagree is that McDonalds, or any other business establishment, within social boundaries, has th right ta start up thair business. It's up ta th individual, fer what ever reason, ta decide ta trade thair. It's also up ta th individual ta decide what thair gonna buy.

Don't know if ya have a business or work fer one but supposin ya do, when yer honestly plyin yer wares an trade do ya really thank that other people, read government, got a right ta tell ya whare ya can have yer business an what ya can sell or not sell?

Tell ya what, ya get up th money, purchase th property an then you get ta decide what goes thair an what it's gonna sell.

Yer "too bad for us" is really a "too bad for you" because others plainly don't feel th same way that ya do as "I an many others" don't really mind that a McDonald's is settin up shop thair.

An if yer talkin health an too many, how many Mexican an Chinese food establishments does Tracy need?

Too much of anything is bad fer ya an limited selections get sort of borin.

Actually I thank th location is an excellent choice. Fer one, unless ya count Wally's, which I believe is bein changed, an La Costa, thair ain't another fast food establishment of th type fer 1.5 miles, unless ya count Kentucky Fried Chicken with lots of grease an oil on th side, or th bowlin alley, one mile away with Fosters another half mile down further.

In other words, thair ain't nothin similar on that side of town.

Granted th fact that people are gonna eat what they wanna eat, despite thair health an even economic status, don't it make a little more sense fer em not ta have ta drive a three mile round trip ta get somethang they wanna eat?

An if th cost of eatin healthy is too much fer ya ta afford, have ya thought of joinin a food bank associated with a community garden?

Tracy is in th middle of farmin country an raisin yer own food in a community garden/food bank arrangement is successfully bein done elsewhere in th US.

Th point is ya got alternatives an it's up ta ya ta decide, not some faceless entity called government that's backed up by other people who feel they have th right ta tell ya how yer gonna live yer life, whair yer gonna live, whair yer gonna shop, whair ya can set up yer business, an what yer gonna sell. It's called freedom, th right ta choose even if some of them choices might be unhealthy. Don't ya have enough thangs on yer plate ta thank about without worryin about how other people decide ta live thair lives?

Many of us are pleased as punch ta see McDonald's goin in thair. Gives that end of town a badly needed facelift, brings jobs, brings other business and helps reduce traffic congestion caused by Tracy High students havin ta travel miles ta get somethang they wanna eat instead of some of th pathetic excuses for lunch meals that are served on campus. Meals that, when closely looked at, are not all that healthy, appetizing or economical.

Fer me, I am glad it's gonna be thair because now, when I travel over ta Manteca, I don't have ta double back ta get a cup of coffee an can just go through th drive through thair ta get it. That's th philosophy of a fast food, or better yet, convenience store. I can get what I want without havin ta travel far ta get it. I can choose somethang healthy or somethang unhealthy without havin some other well meanin individual tell me what ta do or how ta spend th money I have earned.

If ya don't wanna trade thair, don't. But it seems ya sort of talk outa both sides of yer face when ya say ya shop thair dollar menu because of yer financial situation yet complain about how unhealthy thair food is.

Why not cut out th middleman entirely, save a wad of cash an cook fer yerself? What's an egg McMuffin an a cup of coffee cost taday. Ya can make th same thang at home an th price ya would spend at McDonald's fer one meal could easily feed a family of 4 or more. What's more, instead of travelin around disconnected frum yer family, as ya drive, listen ta yer radio and are distracted in th McDonald's store, ya could spend some quality connection time with yer family an strengthen that important relationship.

Choices. Alternatives. All of us should have em an all of us really appreciate em. But in th end it's up ta us to make those choices an hopefully we are makin good ones.

Sorry but I don't really like th food police tellin me how ta live my life especially when it's evident they don't even know how ta live thair own.

Shelly,

I went to the store the other day and had this thought after looking at a few items: Boy, humans manufacture products for every conceivable human whim.

America isn't about good choices. I commend your concern. Still, this restaurant will serve the high school well. As I recall, when I was in high school, my scope of the world was incredibly narrow. Convenience is the tempter. We enjoy succumbing to temptation and then rationalizing our misbehavior: It is what we do well.

I suspect many of the people who have made comments are over-sized and physically indolent, but this doesn't matter, because there is no right or wrong, just gratification, and if you want to sit on the couch at night watching American Idol with a Big Mac, you can rationalize the spiritual significance of this occurrence.

Praise for the clown!

Did anyone ever watch Daddy Day Care, where they got fired for trying to get a focus group to eat, "Veggie-O's" and it broke out into a fight.

I am not saying people should not eat vegetables, but a little education never hurt anybody. Especially since you all are talking about a high school.

The other thing about the guy in the movie is he didn't get much exercize during the 30 days. I didn't see the movie but by reading the breakdown of the experiment the guy walked a lot but nothing I would call working out. If someone starting at an equal point physically, did the same 30 day regimen on McDonalds but spent 1-2 hours a day busting it in the gym, those negative effects would be reduced by quite a bit.

In one of her comments Shelly somewhat short changes the benefits or working out. Working out especially hardcore, whether weight training, pushing the limits on bike riding, running, or aerobics can counter to a great extent the ill effects of some of lifes indulgences.

I don't mean to offend anyone griping about McDonalds but everything goes back to personal responsibility, mental toughness, discipline, and a general take no prisoners attitude in taking care of oneself. Your griping and finger pointing is going in the wrong direction, make all the excuses and wayward reasoning you care to, it all comes back to who we all see in the mirror.

We came frm an agrarian society ta an emerging industrial society where everyone physically worked hard an th "meat and potatoes," high fat content diet was OK because it was worked off.

Then, after WWII, our nation was mechanize we shifted again frum our industrial society ta one that was more mental whair physical work was largely replaced by mental work.

The problem here is that our basic diets didn't change an we predominately still adhere ta th "meat an potatoes," high fat content diets with very little in th way of physical exorcize ta burn off those extra calories.

Eating foods high in cholesterol is less harmful than eating those foods that cause cholesterol an one of th best ways ta reduce yer cholesterol is by gettin some exercise an not worryin so much about th foods that are high in cholesterol.

In point of fact, because of the size of a molecule of cholesterol, most of what is ingested in your food supply is passed an not absorbed by th body. Ergo, exercise an monitorin yer intake of foods that creat cholesterol in thair digestion an cellular respiration processes will do ya much more good than simply cuttin out this or that because it's high in fat an cholesterol.

"it all comes back to who we all see in the mirror." An that is called personal responsibility. No one can give that ta ya, ya gotta do that fer yerself. An that inability ta point th finger of blame towards somethang else you really have no control over is precisely what far to many people indulge in today fer themselves.

Take care of yer own business an stop worryin about what other people are doin. You may thank thair nuts but they think th same of you. What good did it do? What did it accomplish. If we all tended more ta our on business an doin what is right we wouldn't have as many problems as we face taday as a society.

It's not about forcing people to eat anything.

It is about the good old boys who run ,who's vision is a sea of low budget fast food joints.

You have to go to Raley's Deli just to get a half way decent sandwich in this town, but there is a McDonalds in every section of Tracy.

Something is terribly wrong with that. And nasty.

In the long run of course I care, since it will be all of us middle class folks who will have to pay for the health care of poor people who live off the dollar menu...

ChrisRoberts,

I understand your issue with low quality food, but it actually is about poor choices.

We elected folks into office who are forcing us to pay for other's poor choices hoices.

I call that socialism, but when you say that, there are people who call you the "freeloader" because you do not want to pay for other's healthcare.

In about 5 to 10 years, some doctors estimate that most Americans, over 40, will be on medication.

You are a smart person, driving that extra mile to get a grilled

panini with roasted tomatoes.

But there are many others who see a yogurt parfait, on the menu, and premeditatedly, take the apple pie instead.

Now, I do not believe in protesting as a solution, but education. Unfortunately, McDonalds will make a lot more money off of parents than high school children.

You see, when a franchise opens they are looking for growth, and the downtown has shown they can pack ALL the coffee houses.

As an alternative, instead of complaining about other's poor choices and socialistic healthcare, that we can all agree is going to sock us all in our wallets...

We should let it be known that, this IS in fact, about choices.

We came frm an agrarian society

Ornley, enjoyed your history of nutrition post,

Very informative.

5 McD's is a bit much in this town.

Wasn't there a KFC/Taco Bell planned for the old Stan Morri used car lot?

Turning 11th St into fast food row.

Have you heard, there's a new Togo's in town?

monsterdad3k

Five a bit much? Perhaps.

How many KFC's are thair in town?

How many Taco Bell's are in town?

How many Jack in th Box's are thair?

Yes, it may be fast food but it's also business.

If these businesses are successful then they will stay. If not they will go under.

Question, do people have th th right ta choose?

How many convenience stores?

How many Mexican restaurants?

How many Chinese food restaurants?

Or we can take it even further.

How many schools?

How many churches?

How many parks?

When is enough enough? How many is too many?

Don't you think that through education in nourishment without negative steriotypin is a better way ta control all of this without havin a nanny state government tellin us how ta live?

Smoking is bad. Ban it.

Drinking is bad, ban alcohol.

Speaking against th government is bad, muzzle it.

Christ is brainwashing, don't allow him ta be talked about.

Muslims are bad, nuke em all.

Blacks are lazy an Mexicans are thieves.

White people are oppressin racists an athiests have thair feelins hurt.

Just how far do ya want government madness ta control yer daily life?

Hopefully ya understand my point.

Actually you would get sick, if you just ate one of the 3 food choices you gave every day.

Too much of anything is what would be the problem.

Please do not try the old apple a day diet, and eat nothing else.

You could get very sick very quickly.

So eat it! this is one of the silliest arguments i've seen here in months. you can't stop mcdonalds from building nor should you be able to. what you are able to do is refrain from consuming their products if you so choose. pass the blame to someone else for your poor choices and even poorer parenting. bet ya don't spank your kids either do ya?2781

ChrisRoberts, as usual hacks...

as an alternative go here:

Downsized at McDonald's ; Filmmaker Loses 18 Pounds in Debunking Fast-food Flick

Soso Profiled in The Washington Times

July 04, 2004

"Soso Whaley's weight-loss plan veered from the popular low-carb diets. She ate fast food for two months and lost 18 pounds. Ms. Whaley, a 49-year-old animal trainer, last week finished her diet using the menu at McDonald's restaurants..."

http://cei.org/op-eds-and-articles/downsized-mcdonalds-filmmaker-loses-18-pounds-debunking-fast-food-flick

Advice: Make your mamma proud to have raised someone who can reason... DON'T-BUY-POISON (If that's what you consider it).

You also have to be careful with the "healthier" items on the menu.many of the salads have more calories than a Big Mac. Many of the parfaits have high sugar.

As for people protesting at other places...no need there are not 5 of each around. McDonald's has the most. We did not need another.

I don’t think food was healthier but the choices that people made were. Portion sizes have increased dramatically.

I remember reading recently that the state (Colorado) that had the residents that were the most physically fit on average weight would be last with these same numbers in 1995. One thing that I’ve always notice whenever I watch a newsreel from the past, besides the changes in styles is how thin everyone looks. Watching crowd scenes from sporting events, or the line of people that you see during the JFK assassination, you can’t help but notice the difference that we see today.

Exactly.

McDonald's food is engineered in a lab.

It is designed as "empty calories'.

When you get calories from an apple, it has tons of nutritional value.

Calories from the McBlubber is pretty much exclusivly calories from fat. There is no value from this food.

It just creates more fat and is designed to make you crave it 4 hours later when the "rock in your stomach" feeling goes away.

Oh well, let the Redneck bubba's and ghetto people eat their Mickey D's. This will be a boom for Tracy's Health Care industry.

More heart attacks, strokes, and triple bi-passes. Now is a good time to be a Doctor or Nurse in Tracy!

Not one to tell people what menu choices to make, but you can get apples at McD's.

You can take protien and grow it in a lab, but I do not think they sell it at McD's.

I honestly do not mind, McD's because I think they have good coffee and some healthy choices.

Just to be clear, their menu (when I'm driving) is better than the alternative fast food places.

Shelly13

If ya protest McDonald's fer thair "bad" food an thair proximity ta schools, regardless of now many McDonald's are in town, an ya don't protest Carls, Taco Bell, Little Caesar's an Jack in th Box fer doin th very same thang yer accusin McDonald's of doin, all "for the protection of children" yer a hypocrite.

An it seems ta me yer of th notion all of these fast food outlets are corporation owned stores when in fact very few are and are owned by independent franchisees (read small business people) instead.

We don't need government tellin us what ta eat an when we can eat it. We need people ta monitor thair eatin habits out of knowledge instead of force.

Fer instance, perhaps we should ban all liquor sales, includin yer favorite wine an beer, because alcohol is a big problem with DUIs.

Smokin, th same. No one would say smokin, either tobacco or pot, is good fer ya. So since it's bad fer yer health, simply ban all of it.

Next, because it seems ta get people all riled up whair they fret over it an take violent actions because of it we can clean up that mess by elimatin these comment sites on the internet an have th government more closely monitor our TV.

shelly13,

How healthy are school lunches?

Chris

You are aware of course that McDonalds sells apples, salads an juices? Yes, thair are thangs that if ya eat em all th time ain't that good fer ya. But ta throw th blanket that all thair food is bad an ya don't or can't make a healthy choice simply ain't true.

Take milk as this "healthy" food people often talk about. Healthy? Really? Since many believe in evolution an a survival of th fittest, please tell me why only th mammal man will injest th milk of other mammals long after th growth period requiring milk for the development of th body, has passed.

How long does a cow nurse? A pig? A dog? Only man continues ta "nurse" through his entire life an call it good. The other animals will drink milk if they can get it but it's not a basic food source for em an it shouldn't be one fer man past th weanin period when mother's milk naturally takes care of th problem by dryin up.

Point is, if yer gonna make significant changes in th way people eat, yer gonna have ta get them ta agree why they shouldn't eat that stuff an ta just stop eatin it.

Use ta have problems with joint pain. Stopped drinkin milk an cut way back on cheese consumption. Not only did my joint pain go away but so did my allergies as well. Haven't touched a glass of cold milk in 20 years now an don't miss it a bit.

Havin government force people on what ta eat don't solve th problem cus thair gonna eat it anyway an ya simply can't police every individual. A better approach is ta get them ta understand an agree that stuff isn't good fer ya an thair's healthier thangs ya can select frum th menu.

Once knew a triathlon athlete in town that was a heart surgeon an a total vegan ta boot. Ran ten miles a day, ate all th right foods, didn't drink alcohol an got plenty of sleep every night.

Mom sent thair daughter ta, "Call daddy in from the garden for dinner." Th little girl came back after a couple of minutes and said, "Daddy's asleep on the grass and I can't wake him up."

The guy died from heart failure brought on by clogged arteries. Didn't even know he had the problem. Did all th right thangs, ate all th right thangs an still died an early death anyway.

Could th problem also be genetic? Know lots of people older than I am that smoke, drink an eat over a dozen eggs a week yet thair still movin an doin better than a lot of folks that are 15 to 20 years younger.

Shelly13

Of course ya know that Organic foods, really, fer th most part, are not all that "organic."

Point is that unless ya raise it yerself ya really don't know. Oh right, we have laws on that don't we? Then why is it that they still catch people all th time passin off food as "Organic."

An if yer afraid of antibiotics in yer food, lets be certain yer not eatin anything with honey in it as it's filled with natural antibiotics.

Had an "organic" food health nut come by my camp one evening as I was grillin some "inorganic" chicken. He wanted ta know since I had a fire goin an he didn't if it would be OK fer him ta throw a couple of weeners on my grill so he could cook em.

Bein rather charitable I said, "sure, throw em on."

He did an I noticed these two scrawny pale thangs that sorta looked like hot dogs an said, "What on earth are those?"

He got all puffed up with pride, looked me in th face with a grin and said, "Those? Why those are organic turkey dogs."

I floored him with my next question, "Please tell me, what that is eatable on a turkey that is inorganic?"

He grabbed his two emaciated, death colored hot dogs an beat a hasty retreat.

My daughter-in-law said, "Dad, that wasn't very nice of you." I replied, "Neither was his pompous stupidity."

Then if ya do it ta one by all rights an fairness ya need ta do it ta others.

So, are ya bold enough ta march inta Carl's over on Tracy Blvd an announce yer gonna close em down because thair just across th street frum a middle school?

An who's gonna tell th Ltl Caesar's an La Costa they gotta shut down cus thair right across th street frum Tracy High School.

An ta thank, someone says that Tracy ain't a business friendly town. Seems it's th citizens here that are th unfriendly ones an not just th City.

Small wonder why other businesses don't want ta locate here. But ya all want jobs an th tax revenues these places bring in don't ya?

An th exercise places, how many do we have an why are thair rates/membership fees so low? Also whair are all those healthy eatin establshments an food stores springin up all over th place in Tracy?

Could it possibly be that most people don't want em an a business like em can't survive without customers?

Yep, evil ole McDonald's makes money off of kids, th money thair parents give thair kids ta eat thair.

Look, all of ya might be happy as clams fer th government ta make all yer decisions fer ya but as fer me I'd much rather be free ta make my own decisions about what I eat an how I spend my money.

Oh, that's right, I need ta give all my money ta th government an let it tell me how ta live in return. Might work fer ya but it don't work fer me an a whole bunch of Americans.

Smaller government an less socialism, AKA Liberalism, is what I am fer. But it's plain ta see others here don't value thair personal freedoms an just want th government ta do everythang fer em, includin tellin em how thair gonna survive.

Shelly, I want to start by saying I think you are one of the more reasonable people who posts comments on this site, however in this instance I think you are off base on something.

Other than those born with or develop disabilities or health issues beyond their control, each of us controls our body. In youth we depend on guidance from our parents to set us on the right path and eventually develop the ability to think for ourselves. Where exactly do the excuses for being unhealthy come in? Answer, there are no reasonable excuses, it's all on the individuals failings.

I'm not acusing you directly but we now live in a society of excuse makers, whiners, and people with no concept of personal responsibility.

Convenience? How about a little thing called discipline? If a kid is too weak mentally to pass up the temptation of going to the McDonalds he or she passes everyday and has to gobble up chesseburgers & fries, fine. After doing so they can buck up, put down the cell phone or XBox controls and take themselves to a gym everyday and work it off, hell, run around the block, do pull ups using rafters in the garage, do push ups, just get in shape and stop making excuses.

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The point some of you are not getting is that right now the economy sucks. McDonald's $1 menu is great for the pocketbook...but bad for the body. Unfortunately in these times most of us are having to be more worried about our pocketbooks. Yeah I love Trader Joes. They are great and have great healthy food. But they are expensive. High schooler's would not be able to eat there everyday.

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Isn't the yogurt parfait on McDonald's dollar meal menu?

I used to go to the McDonalds in another city for breakfast everyday. It worked perfect for me at one dollar.

Sometimes I would get two.