McDonald’s CEO Death May Fuel Fast-Food Critics
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Distasteful or not, the sudden death of McDonald’s Chief Executive Jim Cantalupo from an apparent heart attack on Monday may turn up the spotlight on criticism of the restaurant’s food as fatty and unhealthy.
McDonald’s Inc. and other fast food chains have come under attack from health and nutrition experts who say its hamburgers and french fries are a major cause of obesity.
In related news, critics of healthy eating and general fitness are set to shine the harsh light of social justice on nutritional supplements and “any kind of muscle-building paraphernalia, like that crazy looking Bowflex thingamajig,” says anti-healthy eating industry analyst and comfortably obese New Jersey housewife Paula Zabki; similarly, critics of cardiovascular exercises such as jogging or walking are purportedly gearing up for a legal assault on jogging shoes manufacturers and “anyone involved in the design, marketing, or manufacture of sweatsuits, running shorts, biking helmets, or anything made from lycra. Seriously, we mean it this time.”
[update: Ipse Dixit has more.]
McDonald’s is in one great mother of a Catch-22. Their best defense is, “He didn’t eat any of his company’s food,” but then the critic’s obvious response is, “Then he must’ve known it’s bad for you.” The alternative, “He ate tons of his company’s food,” is damning in a more obvious fashion.
The founder and author of aerobics and jogging, Jim Fixx, died at age 52.
Brian Maxwell, founder of the multimillion-dollar PowerBar empire and a former world-class marathon runner, has died of a heart attack, friends said. He was 51.
I just underwent triple by-pass two years ago. I played basketball twice a week, year round. It was genetic and anyone that has a family history of heart attacks, as Jim Fixx did, better monitor their blood chemistry closely.
What should they look for, Tom? I’m adopted, so this is a real worry for me—especially now that my BP has been a bit high and my cholesterol elevated (both good and bad), despite a good diet and daily exercise.
What’s the world coming to when a company has to worry how the press will respond when it’s CEO unexpectedly dies? Sometimes heart attacks happen, just like strokes. You can be as careful as you like but it cannot prevent the inevitable. Good diet and exercise still matter, but even they can’t do everything. Perhaps the anti-exercise group can adopt a slogan: “Sandshoes don’t kill people; exercise does.”
As to linking the CEO’s death to the company’s food, you’d like to imagine most people realise that’s a very long bow to draw.