Eat Healthfully? Not at the Expense of Profit

Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture is recommending Americans eat less, but some fast food companies are preferring profits to healthy living. Beth Mansfield, of CKE Restaurants, Inc, owner of Hardies, says “if we wanted to listen to the food police and sell nuts and berries and tofu burgers, we wouldn’t make any money and we’d be out of business.” (La Crosse Tribune, 2-7-2011).


This is the same kind of reasoning tobacco companies use to defend cigarette smoking: if it makes money, no matter what the long term impact, give people what they want. Companies with this type of attitude absolve themselves of any kind of social responsibility.

The implication from Mansfield’s statement is that it’s perfectly acceptable to sell unhealthy foods, as long as people will buy them. While this idea has some merit, after all, everyone should be accountable for their own health, it lacks any kind of ethical support. Mansfield seems to acknowledge that the foods her company sells are unhealthy, but not worth reevaluating in terms of lower profits.