Posted on 01/14/2002 1:57:09 PM PST by lormand
The food cops didn't wait long to make a postmortem arrest of Dave Thomas. Thomas, founder of the Wendy's hamburger chain, died last week at his home in Florida of liver cancer.
Like all of us, there was much more to Thomas than how he made a living. He used the fruits of his labor to make life better for children waiting for adoption. Thomas used the celebrity garnered by Wendy's commercials to underwrite national and regional adoption organizations.
Thomas died around midnight eastern time Monday. By Tuesday, Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, faxed a letter to news organizations blasting Thomas and his chain for their menu.
After giving Thomas grudging credit for pioneering healthy alternatives to the Wendy's menu, Barnard let fly:
"Wendy's has heavily promoted a meat and dairy oriented diet whose consumption contributes to serious health problems. . . . Unfortunately, most Wendy's fare is unhealthy and has helped tempt tens of millions of Americans down a disastrous dietary path."
Imagine that, a hamburger chain pushing hamburgers.
Barnard urged Wendy's to consider offering veggie burgers and soy yogurt. Oh, yum.
Whatever the doctor's intent, the timing of his letter left a bad taste. As much as the food cops may disapprove, hamburger chains such as Wendy's are popular because there is a demand for the product. Whether there ought to be a demand is an argument to have some other time.
Barnard's message might have been better received had the good doctor displayed basic human courtesy in giving the family at least a day or two before stepping on its grief.
Thomas accomplished a lot in his brief time on the planet. Adopted when he was 6 weeks old, he created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, an organization focused on raising public awareness of adoption. The profits from his books, "Well Done!" and "Dave's Way," go to the foundation.
Testifying before a congressional committee about the importance of creating incentives for adoption, Thomas said, "I know firsthand how important it is for every child to have a home and loving family," he said. "Without a family, I would not be where I am today."
He deserved more respect than the nutrition police showed him.
-- Arnold Garca Jr.
Hey! I remember that d00d from when I was a little kid. After I saw his commercial, I tasted a piece of pine tree bark and it tasted like crap.
Then I tasted Grape Nuts. It looked like cat litter and tasted even worse than the st00pit pine tree. I felt like I had a mouth full of soggy saw dust.
I remember wondering what this awful stuff had to do with grapes, or nuts for that matter.
Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Aren’t these the same political whores who are trying to make gun-grabbing a medical mandate?
Why would they try to sell stuff like this that less than 1% of the population is interested in eating?
Typical leftist. Condemn somebody at a truly rude time because it will get more publicity then, and condemn him for not doing something it makes absolutely no sense to do!
Dave Thomas was an American hero and a great role model. He started out with no money, and through hard work, he became very wealthy. He is a great example of what one person can do.
I don't eat meat. I don't smoke. I have never been drunk. I have never used illegal drugs. However, I have no desire to force my way of life on to other people.
Actually, I have way, way more respect for meat eating conservatives and libertarians, than I do for the radical left vegetarians like the ones in that article.
Rest in peace, Dave.
The same syndrome occurs in the names of nations. If the word "Democratic" appears in the name of the nation, you may conclude with no further evidence that the nation is a dictatorship.
Congressman Billybob
I guess there are at least two types of vegetarians.
1) those who are concerned about diet
2) those who are concerned about animals
It is #2 who are the dangerous ones.
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