Is it too late to say Happy New Year?
Nonetheless, I hope your 2013 has been great so far! I’ve been too busy to update my website this year, but here is a trail of Tweets to retrace my January.. I’ve only had time to create content that’s 140 characters or less, in between:
1. Applying to grad school:
2. Starting a volunteer internship with a consultant that works across the country:
I started serving as a Volunteer Intern for Rosetta Thurman, author of the book How to Be a Nonprofit Rockstar and it’s been great! We’ve created a new teleseminar series on career and leadership development and I’ve learned tons already about consulting. More on this later. Check it out!
3. Doing my best to contribute to positive change:
In short, Taco Bell put out an ad that indirectly disparaged vegetables, and people who are promoters (and practicers as much as possible) of healthy eating (like me!) were not pleased. So based on a campaign initiated by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), nutrition advocates across America Tweeted like angry birds @TacoBell.
The cool thing is, they actually responded:
You can read some of the coverage here on Forbes. I don’t read too much Forbes (maybe because I am a nonprofit professional?), but I was pretty surprised that they had such a strong opinion:
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| Forbes say “Taco Bell Will Win Super Bowl XLVII.” |
They make a good point in that Taco Bell did not intend to diss vegetables, but the article quickly unraveled into something that made my stomach feel worse than if I had eaten that 12-pack of tacos.
While I agree that Taco Bell should be commended for being the bigger person and taking down the ad, I am disturbed that the writer goes on to criticize CSPI for addressing the ad at all.
“There is nothing about football or Super Bowl Sunday that is meant to be a teachable moment.”
Not a teachable moment?!
Okay, when just about $133,333.00 per SECOND is spent on Super Bowl advertising (oh you know, about twice the amount that most American households earn in a year), we very well SHOULD be learning something from the Super Bowl and its advertising.
When watching commercials, we should always ask the question: “Where does America put its money?”
“Where its mouth is,” of course! Unfortunately, America’s mouth is not only promoting and subsidizing really unhealthy obesity/diabetes/heart disease-inducing junk food, but is also subtly hinting that we should hate on people that provide or prefer healthier options.
The funny thing is, I think Taco Bell tastes good. It was my favorite fast food as a kid — in fact, one time on a long drive my older sister covered my eyes as we drove past a Taco Bell and I CRIED. True story (no she’s not that mean anymore, haha).
I personally have avoided Taco Bell since college because my body no longer embraces greasy junk food; at the same time I also think that people will eat and advertise what they choose. But companies like Taco Bell that have a lot of money and thus a powerful media voice need to be careful about the messages that they might spread in an already overweight and heart-disease ridden country.
For now, I’ll continue to produce yummy, healthy food alternatives from my kitchen and here on Dining at Tiffany’s, and of course continue supporting communities like CSPI that contribute to the improvement of our country’s well-being.
See you in February!
With love,
Tiffany R.
Dining at Tiffany’s
Facebook.com/diningattiffanys
Twitter: @diningattiffs (Same for Instagram, too!)
Dining At Tiffany's 