farmdoc's blog post number 140

Devonport calls itself a top centre – because it’s half-way along Tasmania’s north coast. Last Thursday its newspaper, The Advocate, reported that ‘A massive hamburger has been labelled a health hazard deserving of a warning sticker’. Hungry Jack’s A$5.95 Stacked Quad Burger – with its four beef patties, four cheese slices, two bacon rashers, barbecue sauce and two sugared buns – contains 71 grams of fat (including 34.7 grams of saturated fat) and 1,080 calories. Devonport GP Dr John O'Sullivan has urged a boycott of this hamburger which, he said, was ‘almost offensive…particularly in this part of the world where health statistics for cancer, cardiac health and diabetes are terrible’. There are many jokes about Tasmanians, and I’m inclined to think they’re deserved – because Dr O’Sullivan’s boycott call has sparked a sales surge. A Devonport Hungry Jack’s drive-through attendant said demand for the Quad Burger had increased because customers wanted to try it after seeing it criticised. In a statement, Hungry Jack’s said its customers could add or remove ingredients to meet their own taste or dietary preferences. It’s hard to imagine a more irresponsible corporate attitude. This company is a disgrace, and its customers are fools. Of all Australian States, Tasmania has the highest incidence of heart disease. And despite Dr O’Sullivan’s admirable stand, it looks set to remain the nation’s heart disease top centre.