Food Challenge: Accepted

Remember when your parents used to say, “Eat up! There are hungry kids in Africa”? I never really had a problem with this since I usually guzzle whatever is on my plate down to the tiniest piece of rice. No joke. However, some people have taken this concept a bit too far.

I’m talking about Man v. Food and the guys of the YouTube phenomenon Epic Meal Time. Out of all the cooking shows or food shows out there, these two stand out because their main objective is not the culinary art per se, but to wolf down whatever absurd creation is set on their plates. Both have been described as Jackass in the kitchen but it’s all in good fun.

In Man v. Food, the charismatic host, Adam Richman faces off against the most ridiculous food eating challenges in America. Facing meals ranging from five 24 ounce milkshakes in less than half an hour to eating a dozen buffalo wings soaked in habanero sauce in ten minutes, safe to say he doesn’t always win the challenge.

Epic Meal Time takes the gluttony to another level. In one episode, the team sets out to buy a ton of meals from different fast food restaurants (about 15 burgers from each major franchise) only to blend it into one huge junk-food lasagna. They proceed to consume large quantities of alcohol and devour the dish.

But America is too fat and I blame bacon. Obesity and overweight related conditions are some of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Strange to think that at a worldwide level one of the leading causes of death is malnutrition. This means that a “food challenge” in a place like Kenya consists of stealing antelope meat from a pack of hungry lions, whereas a food challenge in any diner in America consists of how much bacon you can jam into your esophagus. I love bacon, but I see a problem here, does anybody else?

I’m not about to promote the persecution of fat people (although let’s face it wouldn’t be a long persecution since fat people can’t run), however, organizations like the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance who fight against the discrimination of obese people in America have gone far enough.  Santa Claus has mislead us into believing fat people are jolly. But it isn’t always true. Obesity is dangerous and it affects more and more people every day.

So why are people obese? Because they eat too much and they don’t exercise. Simple.

Big Macs worldwide, for example, have a bit more or less than 500 calories. That’s ¼ the amount for an average 2000 calorie diet and nobody has just the sandwich.

Obesity can be catalyzed by bad genes but it isn’t an excuse for the people I’ve seen walking around Disney World. So let us leave it at this:

If you’re a bit chubby it’s fine, nobody expects everybody to be perfect.

If you don’t fit in an airplane seat you have some dieting and exercising to do.

I propose we begin a new version of Man v. Food, where Adam Richman gets in an arena with a cow with nothing but a fork and knife and only if he can bring it down and kill it can he begin to eat. Truly epic.