FAST FOOD and OBESITY

Nowadays, fast food restaurant are develop faster,

almost every countries have fast food restaurants. Fast food
become popular because they can offer a “bigger, better, and
faster” products but after many years later, people realize that
fast food are not good enough for people’s health. Obesity is
one of the famous issue about fast food restaurant. And this
paper will deeply explore about obesity and ethics behind the
issue.

Based on wikipedia. org, “ Obesity is a medical

condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the
extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or
increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight
and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2
and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.” And of course that obesity could
make people get ill.

Fast food is one of the reason, people get obesity.

Consume fast food everyday, will affect people’s health,
because fast food is high in fat content. So its not strange,
if many people against fast food restaurant. And the ethics
behind this business is still controversy. Based on the
ethical principles, the responsibility and duties from
corporation to consumers on Business Ethics book by
Joseph W.Weiss, there are four duties and two of them is
truly related with this case, which are the duties to inform
consumers truthfully and fully of product or service’s
content, purpose, and use; the duty to take “due care” to prevent any foreseeable injuries or
mishaps a product (in its design and production or in its use) may inflict on consumers. Fast
food restaurant, based on the first duties actually have already made it, they have calories and
nutritions contents in its package, but whether its truthfully or not it still in a question and
what’s actually the purpose of this information should be clearly explained. As my
experience, people don’t care about this information, even its already put in the package but
not so many people realize and understand what’s it used for and the dilemma happens while
people get obesity and sue the fast food restaurant because this fast food restaurant not
educate the consumers about their products risk and contents. While, the fast food thinks that
they already did it so consumers have to take control of it self then. And the second duties
also make dilemmas while fast food restaurant should care about their products safety so no
consumers will get ill after consume their products. In business, profit is the basic orientation,
make healthier products in some cases will affect company’s profit, like doing a research to
find the health food recipe or find the best composition of packet menus which more
healthier. All of them is costly and in their opinions, health foods are less profit so that fast
food restaurant don’t want to provide healthy food menu. This is kinds of dilemma, while
profits are still the most orientation, and ethics to make health foods should be do to avoid
further diseases.

Based on stakeholders perspective, they have right to safety but what’s happen, while
fast food can serve faster, bigger and cheaper than the other foods. People try to get it, and
also do not aware with the fat content inside
it. So its just a short- term desires and don’t
think deeply about the long-term effects while
they consume too much fast food. For parent,
bring their children to fast food restaurant are
more easily because of the fast servings time,
cheap and marketing promote like toys
inside it, make children like it. Parent don’t
need to be busy with cooking healthy foods,
just bring it to fast food restaurant, everything
will be okay. Every child almost like fast food but what’s happen if children become addicted
with fast food?! One of the effect is obesity and the dilemmas happen while safety is needed
but there should be sacrificing something, like time. Nowadays, technology and knowledge
have develop faster, and many research already doing to prove that fast food is truly bad for
people’s health but the fact is until now people still consume fast food and bring their
children to there. The dilemma once again happen, while people can’t control it self. They
prefer go with something cheap and fast for simply, and forget about the truth risk of fast
food.

In my opinion, if we talk about right or wrong its still confusing because the fault of
this issue are not totally the fault of fast food restaurant, consumers have take a part also. One
sentences in the book (page 227) that I agreed is “ Buyer beware and Seller take care”. That
means there should be an actions between both of them. Even the fast food already inform the
risk of eat to much fast food and put the nutritions content in their products, but if the
consumer can not beware or don’t care about it, it still the same, obesity can’t avoid. But
while two of them, could consider about the quality and safety of the products they made and
consume, I believe that obesity could be avoid.

My recommendation through the Corporate Social Responsibility of McD to

stakeholders are they have to consider about the health of the customer, with making new
healthy menus or give optional packet menus which contain healthy food and drink, like
vegetables soup, low-fat salads, chinese tea, and etc. It should be something healthy, that can
make the equal proportion of people
consume, so people not only consume
the fried chicken, burger with high fat
contents, but there were also the foods
that can neutralize it. The process of
made the foods also important, while
now the oils to make the foods are
contains tran’s fatty acids, there
should be an alternative oils to make
the foods. And the last is McD must
educate their consumers, give an
information about calories and
nutritionts contents in the package is
not enough, there should be another
way to educate people about the risk
of consume too much fast food,
maybe in their advertising they can
put additional information like “too much fast food caused obesity” or give an educational
information like “Don’t afraid with fast food!If you can burn your calories with run 5
kilometres after eat this”. Make advertising videos that can promote and also educating
people could become the other alternative, that lead McD not only think about their self but
also think further about the customer’s health. The purpose of them are to warn consumers to
be more careful, so they can aware and do something while they want consume fast food.

The case also told about fraud and false advertising, one of the example is “the Hindu
plaintiffs' successful case against McDonald's for advertising "100-percent vegetable" oil
when in fact it contained beef essence”. In my opinion this is very unethical, while its not
only fast food restaurant doing this, almost every companies doing this to promote their
products as well as it is so people interest to buy their products, but forget about the ethics of
ads it self. In this term of case, I disagree with McD, the ads show that they are not honest
while promote their product. Consumer have right to know the truth and treat as it is should
be. McD have duty to inform consumer truthfully. While McD dishonest, consumer’s get the
disadvantages, and they have right to compensated.

Imperfect markets and market failures bring

customer to unhealthy food and how’s to protect
customer from this?!? Government actually
already set regulations about this, especially in
U.S, since 2005 they already discuss about this
situation. While fast food restaurant bombarding
people with advertisement that encourage
overconsumption of unhealthy eating choices.
People as consumer can sue fast food restaurant
while they are make a false advertisement, like paragraph before. Consumer get loss, because
of dishonest advertisement bring a false information of the product, which ads can influence
the consumer choices before buy products. Next, fraud while process the products also one
things that consumer can against for. Especially for food, the safety of foods should be the
first consideration whether the food igredients are good as it should be or not. A restaurant
can put something chemical or toxic into our food, and we don’t know until this additives
bring bad effects to our health. So that, as customers we have right to be compensate while
that products injured us and cause damage for our health. This right usually called “Product
liability”. In U.S the agiencies who control and set the standard of drugs and foods igredients
is FDA “The Food and Drug Administration”, while in Indonesia the responsibility is own by
BPOM “Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan”. Consumer also can suit fast food restaurant, if
they don’t tell the truth facts about calories and nutritions in their products, or they hides
some igredients in their information which could be injured people who consume it. With a
strong evidences, law will protect our rights as customers. More over, if all of the stuffs
already put in as it should be, but people still not aware with the danger of fast food then they
get obesity and sue fast food restaurant, I think its not fair enough. As consumer we have
right to choose what’s food we are going to eat and if we choose fast food frequently then get
obesity, its our fault because we can not control our self even many information related
already inform to us about the risk of fast food.
 CONCLUSION
In my opinion, whether the fault is on the fast food restaurant or the consumer, I think
all of them are fault. The fast food restaurant have fault while they are made a wrong
advertisement than it should be, and also while they do not consider about the nutritions
health of their products. Although that, consumer also have fault because they already know
the bad effects of consuming to much fast food, many books or articles already explained
about it but still they consume fast food. So who is the responsibility with this condition?!? I
think no one want to be the fault one, so it should be a solution.

In fast food restaurants perspectives, try to think not only about how to get profit as
much as it is then forget about product’s quality. Fast food restaurant have to response and
make some changes, while consumers complained about fat content in its products. They
have to consider about the health of the consumer when eat their foods. The code of ethics
while doing business, should be obey whether it is difficult or less profit. The effects are not
for short-term but long-term, because the confidence of customer with our products will lead
the going concern of the business it self.

For me, consume fast food for once time will not make us obesity, or make our health
damage but if we consume frequently, not strange if we get obesity. Nowadays, many medias
already told about the damage of fast food, so in my opinion people of course already know
also and they have right to choose whether eat fast food which is unhealthy or not. Even we
know that, we are as a consumer are not totally wrong in this case but our awareness and
control of our self are the most important thing that we can do. Not all the things are under
our control, and fast food restaurants are one of them, although Government already has
agencies to control them but they also have limitations so that the responsibility of this case is
the customers as consumers.

One simple sentences, but for me is the main point of the solution on this cases and its
already explained also in the previous pages, which is “Buyer beware and Seller take care”.
Simple but let us know, that not all the things are under our control, so the best thing that we
have to do is control our self. Start from ourself first. When every people could do this, both
the consumer and the fast food restaurant, I believe the bad things could be avoided.
 REFERENCES
Weiss, Joseph W (2009). Business Ethics 5th edition, Chapter 5.

Werner, William B. and Andrew Hale Feinstein. May 2007. The risk to the American fast-food
industry of obesity litigation, (http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/163394871.html,
access on October 18th 2010).

Unknown. October 15th 2010. Obesity, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity, access on

October 18th 2010).

Unknown. August 20th 2009. Ethics Management : KFC,

(http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/08/ethics-management-kfc.html,
access on October 18th 2010).

Shapiro, Alycia. December 27th 2009. The impact of ethics on decision making- fast food or
fresh food, (http://ethics.pricesstop.com/2009/12/27/the-impact-of-ethics-on-decision-
making-fast-food-or-fresh-food/, access on October 18th 2010).

Wald, Jonathan. February 17th 2003. McDonald’s Obesity suit tossed,

(http://money.cnn.com/2003/01/22/news/companies/mcdonalds/index.htm, access on October
18th 2010).

Unknown. October 7th 2005 - October 26th 2005. Congressional Record,

(http://books.google.co.id/books?
id=74brGsoymBoC&pg=PA1119&lpg=PA1119&dq=protect+consumer+from+fast+food&so
urce=bl&ots=6Lnub3YvzT&sig=rc-
JHE8nZiig2VZKcnkia0XDdNM&hl=id&ei=wTu9TMc4g4i4A9-
2nBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q
=protect%20consumer%20from%20fast%20food&f=false, access on October 19th 2010).
APPENDIXES