How to Make a Difference: health

Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

28 January 2009

McDonalds is Coming to Town

Yes, its true. The Golden Arches are coming to Gore and will be peddling their wares 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the McDonalds New Zealand website McDonalds restaurants spend around $100 million a year with Kiwi suppliers - in fact some 90% of the products they use in their restaurants are sourced in New Zealand and 80% of their restaurants in this country are owned by New Zealanders. They employ over 6000 staff throughout New Zealand. Which all sounds good . . . right?

Obviously having a McDonalds in town will not be without benefits to some local businesses. They will need tradesmen for maintenance and repair, they will encourage more visitors into Gore - the closest McDonalds around is a good 40 minutes drive South in Invercargill, and they will employ more people in the town. . . mostly at the bare minimum wage of $12 per hour.

McDonalds workers who are member of the UNITE Union of Workers have recently won a settlement that will, from March 2009, increase the base level of pay for a crew member from $12 per hour to $12.50 and allow them some level of shift security. It has been a hard won fight - and despite the McDonalds Corporation posting significant profits recently, it took 50 strikes by union workers before McDonalds would come to the party. Is this really the kind of employer we want to encourage into our community?

Now, McDonalds is not the first fast food giant to land in town. We have Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway currently gracing our main street, so we are already spoiled for choice when it comes to fast food joints that add little value to the local economy. Do we really need another? Surely it would be wiser as a community to support the local eateries that spend their money here in town?

Although McDonalds have , in recent years, begun to offer healthier choices on their menu, ultimately what they sell is junk food. In fact, what they sell is more junk than food - and I'm not just talking about the poor nutritional value of their products. Fast food outlets are fantastic producers of waste - from unnecessary packaging to food waste.

In the UK McDonalds is responsible for 29% of the fast food rubbish that litters the country's streets. Here in New Zealand, Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws is considering a levy on fast food corporates because the Wanganui Council feel it is unfair that ratepayers should have to pay to clean up their packaging litter. In Gore the local council has stipulated as part of the resource consent granted to McDonalds that they need to install extra rubbish bins around their restaurant. But unfortunately, many fast food consumers don't eat on site and throw their rubbish elsewhere.

Of course, you can't hold McDonalds responsible for their customers being too lazy to properly dispose of their rubbish. But, the fast food mentality - the eating in a hurry, the sacrificing your body's nutritional needs, the generic food and service . . . if you can't take the time to eat mindfully and fuel your body well, then why would you take the time to put your rubbish in the bin?

I'm all for encouraging business into our area of the world. In fact, I am actively involved in trying to build up the local economy in Mataura, where I live, just out of Gore. But I think that we need to be more choosy about the type of businesses we encourage into our communities. We need to be looking for businesses that will strengthen our local economies, that impact positively on the environment, that offer fair wages for a days work, that sell products that contribute to our wellbeing. . . I don't feel that our new McDonalds will do any of this.

post signature

24 October 2008

Make a Difference - Take Your Own Lunch to Work

When it comes to changing the world for the better, its easy to get overwhelmed by the big picture and forget how the little actions that everyone CAN do really add up over time to make a huge difference.

Take a look at the following list to see how something as simple as taking your own lunch to work can end up having a significant positive impact!

Its healthier
If you make your own lunch then you can make sure you are choosing healthy foods. For delicious, nutritious lunch ideas, take a look at 'How to Make a Healthy Packed Lunch'.

It produces less waste
When you take your own lunch you can use reusable containers - so you're not generating rubbish to the landfill, or encouraging takeaway restaurants to waste perfectly good food and you are reducing the amounts of energy, water and packaging that go into making pre-packaged and takeaway lunches.

It saves money
Taking your own packed lunch to work could save you around $10 per day. Thats about $50 a week, or approximately $2500 per year. That's a lot of money! (You could purchase more than 100 WE ADD UP Plant Trees T-Shirts for that - and plant over 1000 trees in the rainforest and raise almost $250 for SALVEASERRA!!)

It saves time
Just think how much more time you will have to enjoy your lunch break if you don't have to race around town buying your lunch! Being able to have a relaxing lunch break without needing to queue for food will definitely help you face the second half of the day with more enthusiasm and focus!

07 September 2008

5 Ways to be More Resiliant

Image via Wikipedia Lets face it, life is full of stresses and difficulties. Its not easy to make it from one day to the next without some sort of stressful situation rearing its ugly head.

If you don't learn to handle stress in a positive way, you increase your chances of suffering from all manner of health problems - anything from heart disease, and obesity to anxiety, depression and infection. Not to mention the fact that you probably aren't much fun to be around!!

1. Exercise
Nothing beats working up a sweat for helping beat stress! And keeping yourself fit and healthy helps your body counteract the effects of stress.

2. Dwell on the Positives
Take the time to remind yourself of the good stuff you have going on in your life - and remember to include your own skills and positive qualities. Don't let negative self-talk take over. Make a point of not saying anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to your kids (or your mother, or dog . . . )

3. Be More Assertive
Learn to say 'No'. Set boundries and stick to them. Deal with issues before they become problems. In other words, take control of your life.

4. Express Yourself
Talk about how you feel with a trusted confident or counsellor. Be upfront with people who are adding to your stress (in a polite, respectful way of course!). You don't have to pretend everything is ok!

5. Laugh
Nurture your sense of humour - especially in times of stress. Laughter reduces levels of certain stress hormones, can help boost your immune system and its a pretty good aerobic workout. So go on, have a good giggle!!

post signature

25 March 2008

How to make a healthy packed lunch

A lunch sits on a blue tablecloth with a brown...

Image via Wikipedia If the idea of taking your own lunch to work sounds dull, boring and a bit like hard work then think again. It doesn't have to be soggy tomato sandwiches and a banana every day (unless that's what you like!!). Here are some ideas to help you get creative with your lunches.

To make sure your packed lunch is a healthy one, make sure you include something from all the groups below - and make sure to mix it up a little so you don't get bored.

Breads and Cereals
Bread - ciabatta, panini, pita pockets, wraps, buns
Crackers
Muffins or Scones
Pasta or Rice Salad
Sushi

Fruit & Vege
Fruit - fresh, raw, stewed, dried
Salad
Vege sticks - carrots, celery, cucumber
Olives

Dairy or Dairy Alternative
Cheese
Yoghurt
Milk or Soy Drinks

Meat or Meat Alternative
Meat - ham, chicken, fish, last nights left over roast meat
Egg
Beans
Tofu
Nuts

Making your own lunch might sound like just one more thing to do in an already busy morning, but there are ways to save time. If you have lunches to prepare for the whole family you can try the assembly line approach - line up all the slices of bread, butter them all, then add fillings. If you have older children they can help you here and save even more time. And kids are more likely to eat something that they helped prepare - or at least have no excuse if they don't like it!!
You could also try making your lunches the night before. You could cook extra dinner and have the left overs for lunch. Or prepare meals such as soup or casseroles in advance and freeze them. Thaw them overnight and you can heat them up at work - or if you don't have facilities to do this, invest in a thermos and simply heat them up in the morning.

You can keep your lunch fresh by taking a frozen drink packed in your lunch box - but be sure to wrap it so it doesn't make your lunch soggy as it thaws. Another way is to use frozen bread - its easier to spread and will be thawed by lunch time.

To spice up the whole packed lunch experience you could organise a 'Packed Lunch Club' with other like-minded work colleagues where you all bring something to share each day. Or try and find a pleasant spot to eat and have a picnic.

For more great packed lunch ideas go to Kiwi Families or FabulousFoods.Com