Παράθεση:
WINDSOR, Ont. — Whenever Melanie HeskethΆs kids get a hankering for junk food, all she has to do is point to the kitchen counter.
ThatΆs where she keeps an unwrapped cheeseburger that turns one on Thursday, and it looks pretty much the same as the day it came off a McDonaldΆs grill.
Mould, maggots, fungi, bacteria — all have avoided the tempting meal that sits in plain view.
“Obviously it makes me wonder why we choose to eat food like this when even bacteria wonΆt eat it,” said Ms. Hesketh.
The meat patty has shrunk a bit, but it still looks edible and, with a faint but lingering greasy, leathery odour, she said it “still smells slightly like a burger . . . it hasnΆt changed much.”
As a professional nutritionist at WindsorΆs Lifetime Wellness Centre, Ms. Hesketh was already armed with the education and all the proper facts and information to steer her children — ages 13 and 15 — toward the best food choices.
But what self-respecting teen is going to listen to well-meaning lectures from mom, especially on a product sold by the millions annually?
The Internet and social media are filled with tales of fast-food products made for quick consumption but seemingly immune to the ravages of time, and thatΆs how Ms. Hesketh got the idea on how best to educate her own kids.
ItΆs worked marvellously. Despite peer pressure to hang out at the cheap and fast burger chain outlets popular with young people, Ms. Hesketh said her oldest son has been back “maybe twice” to McDonaldΆs over the past year.
“ItΆs made him more aware, and he makes better choices, definitely,” said Ms. Hesketh.
The experience has triggered other healthy changes around the Hesketh household, including the familyΆs decision this year to create a garden and start growing some of their own fresh food.
The tough cheeseburger travels well and Ms. Hesketh has brought it to work to show off to those, like her teens, who need visuals for extra convincing.
