I read a disturbing leaflet at my gym concerning the fastfood industry practice of manipulating portions. Truth is, I see these games at the supermarket with weights (if the per roll price is too steep they change to per 100 on paper, per LB might change to per 100 gr)… In this case I went to the McDonald’s website to get some digits on a typical value meal…

Quarter Pounder With Fries: The QP is 4 oz by itself – The website reports that a serving is 6 oz with all the goop: 410 calories, the fries are another 380 calories, 210 calories for a regular Coke…all this Medium and taken from their website which contains a very good section on putting together your meals (regardless of quality) – they are disclosing what you are stuffing. It is up to you to deal with it, I am still not convinced they are presenting totals as opposed to portion totals (a smaller amount equal to 1/4th of what you are actuall eating). Okay, so 1000 calories without a refill on the Coke… Keep that number in mind and lets go back to breakfast with Dunkin Donuts: Using their website I found…

Supreme Omelet on a Croissant: 530 calories with a whopping 300 from fat! (blame the Croissant on this one…)

Say you are not as fond of eggs as I am – 380 calories on a Sesame Bagel with a sensible 70 cal from fat (15-25% of your total), slap on some cream cheese and you end at 570 calories!!!!

You need to wash it down with something, how about Coffee? Only 15 cals if you can do D&D coffee with out sugar, but if you are like most of us, some cream and sugar is in order: 120 cals!!! that is for a tiny 10 oz cup, so say 150 for the 12 ouncer, you are now at 720 cal for breakfast and hit 1720 by 1 o clock…

A 25 year old Man, 5′8 and 180 lb would only need 2500 cal daily to sustain a healthy diet (source: healthychoice.com), a Woman, 2100 cal… So going home and having some dinner (assuming you work all day)…  say a nice salmon fillet with rice would only set you back at around 300 cals and guess what, you  ended at the mark. The problem is that people seldom adhere to 3 meals through out the day… I am no expert, but if you hit the coffee twice at the office, you added 300 cal to the total. Get another Coke instead of water things add up more. A quick energy bar can be 200 cals… So, do we blame the supplier? Do we blame individuals for not taking responsibility and learning more about what to eat instead of following the cars to the take out window?

I am going to expand on this section – I need to find out totals on typical Latin American breakfasts… I suspect the total will be less than the D&D options…

I was somewhat taken aback the first time around when I saw the breaking news about the Agriprocessors Plant in Postville Iowa being raided by immigration officials. My first thought had been, why are they not doing the same at IBP? Why picking on the Kosher plant and not the Treif one?

Yesterday, while with a friend, we discussed libertarianism and the issue of human predation. How one needs to find a medium between the “Nanny State” and the “Laissez-faire’ extremes… in the following case – there should be no need for a Nanny State – Yirat Shamayim (Fear of Heaven) should suffice – or does it?

Today while at the gym, the New York Times lay in a basket waiting for my wandering eyes… there I read in a column on the left side with more recent developments concerning this particular case – Former workers allege 13 hour days… being overworked with sharp knives, unsafe conditions….It reminded of me of a friend who worked at a restaurant for 13 hours shifts and as well for a G-d fearing man…

- Agriprocessors moving fast to address the situation
- Change in Management at Agriprocessors

Note – I won’t honor Peta’s axe to grind – they are the same PETA that protested against Palestinians for using donkeys to carry explosives that would kill people. PETA-philes should have been born vegetables. End Note.

it donned on me that I had avoided commenting about this case, as I know the owners, and was always an object of their kindness. They employ over 800 people directly, have built a community around them (Non-Jewish as well, and have prospered). It pains me to read these allegations in the NYT, not because I do not believe they could be true – slaughterhouses seems to have these same recurring themes – but because it lends credence to those looking to vilify Jews because of the actions of a few misguided entrepreneurs. A friend of mine always stated – “If the business is not profitable legally, it is not a business” – here it holds true. Using illegal labor to lower operating costs is a widespread practice in Iowa, Georgia, Colorado and anywhere slaughterhouses hang their hat. To the point that immigration raids have affected the economies of many states – is it a coincidence that we have gone downwards in our “productivity” after the Bush administration started to crackdown and allow crackdowns on illegal immigrants? I digress – but in any case, the Agriprocessors case is one that hits home. It is not the first time this company has been in the news – there was concern in the past over their shechita as well (in 2004) – then effective April 15, 2008 KAJ (Kehillat Adath Jeshrun) or the “Washington Heights Heksher” pulled its supervision out owing to other issues there. Quoting a respected Rabbi: “If you ever have a doubt about kashrus, just look for the KAJ seal, no matter what hashkofa you hail from, they are to be trusted, even above our own!”.

My comments won’t be many more – except that If a person is going to use G-d as a partner, as the kosher businesses do, they would do well to go back and review the Chofetz Chayim’s works concerning Business Ethics and practices. Illegal aliens are humans too – and the halacha applies to “bein adam le chavero” – between a man and his neighbor, and this applies to each and every human. If the river is loud, it’s because it has rocks – scoff at Hebrew National’s kashruth, but how is your stuff even kosher?

Part of the appeal of kosher products is the elimination of pain in the slaughter process, (the animals toxins are not released into the flesh you will eat)) yet when human suffering is involved, how can you allege that the morsel you are eating is still kosher?

Standing up to his own President, Julio Cobos broke party ranks by disagreeing on Kirchner’s warpath with Argentine farmers concerning the export tax. This willingness to follow the path of honesty has earned him immense respect in Argentina and the World. Televised images were proof that it was a heart wrenching decision for him. Bravo Julio, te la comiste!!!! Idolo!!!!!

One can only hope that our own Vice Presidents would show this type of independence.

Julio Cobos, Vice Presidente de la Republica Argentina

Cristina Fernandez Kirchner has been decidedly in a bad space. She is confrontational and wants it to be her way or the highway. She was handed a message by way of even some of her own party members” “Acknowledge the other side and sit down to the table”. Argentina’s won reputation has been marred thanks to her arrogance and intransigence. Farmers had refused to export goods given the honerous taxes/duties Ms Fernandez Kirchner was looking to impose. Again, punishing excellence by enforcing mediocrity.

With the price of food hiking around the world and especially in developing countries that rely on Argentinian produce in the world marketplace, it is high time Cristina looked beyond her own self-interest and show some responsibility towards Argentina and the World.

Eres una egoista politiquera y la historia probara que estas al borde de la criminalidad.