This is a preview of this week’s reflection on how commercial determinants show up in real life. Free readers get the opening story. Paid subscribers and founding members get the full piece.
A couple of weeks ago, we took the kids to our local Lego Discovery Center in Atlanta. We’d been meaning to go for ages and were excited to make toys, try the VR ride, and do the master build workshops.
Fun activities always build up an appetite. “No outside foods or drinks allowed,” read the online policy. I checked ahead of time as I didn’t want to have our snacks confiscated or thrown out if I tried to bring fruit and sandwiches. Wasting food hurts me on a deep level. Being forced to feed my kids junk hurts even more.
So, you can imagine how upset I was with the non-nutritious cafeteria offerings. The only entrees available were burgers, hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, and cheese sticks. The only “snacks” were chips. There were plenty of desserts, with cookies and dip and dots ice cream. I guess at least they had water available to drink, but it was more expensive than the sodas, Powerade, and juices.
Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of fruits and vegetables around, but they were fake. A plastic corn on the cob Lego character by the check out. A painted cherry, carrot, and banana on the wall. A banana split caution sign marking a wet spot on the floor. That felt like adding insult to injury. Fruit and veg we could see but not eat!
If you’re thinking, “yeah, it’s not great, but that’s just kid food and it’s sold everywhere.” That, there, is exactly the problem.
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