has it really come to this?

just a brief rant about obesity, candy, and the illusion of corporate responsibility:

a quick disclaimer, i'm not a big candy consumer. but today i had an urge for some sugar to go with my lunch. 'hmm,' i thought, 'a coke? no, that's too much sugar. but i can just drink half?' the vending machine at my work had hershey's with almonds and mr. goodbars staring me down. 'alright, candy bar it is,' i decide. i choose the hershey's with almonds, grab a sugar-free soda, and set down to eat.

so i get to the end of my meal, and, fittingly, the candy bar, and there is some code inscribed inside the wrapper--the WrapperCash(tm) code! i can start banking points today! and below this exciting news is the message: 'Candy is a treat. Please consume in moderation.'

jeez, where to begin? a) the messages are conflicting--'collect points and earn prizes, but don't collect too many points, fatty!', b) do they actually expect binge candy-eaters to cut back thanks to their concern printed in their wrapper (as an ex-smoker, the surgeon general couldn't sway me off those bad-boys for many years, so my guess would be 'no'), and c) have we as a society really reached that point where we need to be told that candy shouldn't be a staple in our diets?

and it's 'c)' that i'm most concerned about. those psa commercials urging us to park farther away from our destinations and walk a few more steps?!?! or take stairs?

and here's the deal: i know we have reached that point as a society. my office spans three floors that are connected by stairwells. i can't tell you how many times i see people using the elevator to advance one floor. i'll do it once in a great while, but that's not until i've traversed the stairs several times. i also walk to work nine times out of ten, and rarely use the elevator at my apt (4th floor, though it helps that that elevator is scaaary), except when doing laundry.

and the people who use the stairs the least are generally the people who need to use them the most.

sheesh.

p.s. if you collect these WrapperPoints(tm), feel free to add these two points to your bank... but this offer is on a first come first served basis: XYFR AMTK EL3F at hersheys.com.