A farewell to an old friend....

Well, its been a good thirty years. I've loved you unconditionally all this time, even though I always knew you were no good for me. You were there in good times, and in bad. You were always there to give me a comforting hug when I needed you.  I kept coming back for more, knowing each time I was opening myself up to your charms, and once again, falling into your intoxicating aroma and sweet, sweet taste on my lips - only to make me feel dirty and guilty afterwards.

Today.... I ate my last Big Mac.

I've known for some time that this day was fast approaching. The signs are everywhere, people keep telling me... Mr Big (Mac) is no good for you. So, driving home from the mountains tonight without having had any dinner, I stopped off at a roadside service centre. I thought about dropping in to the service station instead of the Maccas to try to find something that resembled food (and not an egg and lettuce  sandwich that had been made and packaged probably eighteen hours earlier). But his pull was too strong, so I drove past the Caltex, and into the drive-thru.

'Small Big Mac meal with a diet coke please'. Within two minutes, he was in my hand, his sweet buns begging me to bite into them and release the special sauce, (along with the lettuce, cheese, pickles, and those two thin slabs of slimy beef patty, and about 65 other ingredients, a lot of which are not actually food products at all).

In all seriousness, tonight really is going to be my last McDonald's purchase. And, its not like I succumb very often - maybe once every six-eight weeks or so - but there really are too many reasons which affect my health and well-being. Most important of all though, McDonalds' irresponsible marketing of their nutritionally deficient products to children, is what tips me into the boycotting pool. And worse still, this marketing is often disguised as charity or assisting learning in schools. Who really wants to see a happy meal voucher for their children on the back of their report card for achieving good grades (this was an actual proposal in the US)?

Maybe it was Jamie Oliver's campaign showing the truth about what goes into chicken the nuggets- scary stuff when you watch the video!

Anyway, whatever it was, it came to a head tonight. All of this literally put a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't finish my Big Mac. I felt like for the first time, I could taste every single chemical and preservative that had been added (I could go into the list of lots-of-letters-in-their-name ingredients in their different products, but I am already feeling little queasy!)

So, this really is goodbye my big friend. While I'm at it, you should pass my au revoir on to your sidekick, French fries, and your jobshare buddy, Sausage and Egg McMuffin  (I might never be able to drink excessively again, knowing I can't cure my hangover with that spiced sausage, perfectly shaped fried egg and that deep fried golden hashy).

So from today, your golden arches will never sit on the horizon and draw me to you with some sort of  magical power.... ever again.

This is my promise to you (and myself), Mr M!