ALEX FERWERDA
Opinions Writers

I’m not a health nut, nor am I a saint. I’m just a regular consumer like the rest of us. But there seems something terribly backwards about having a fast food joint literally a few feet away from where I sit in class.

I’m not arguing that we should completely rid food services from our campus simply because they don a corporate logo. It’s just that with the massive subsidies the fast food industry is granted, eating healthy has become much more difficult than it should be. And now with two fast food joints stationed in such close proximity to where a large majority of the traffic flow in our school takes place, it seems the problem is within arm’s reach.

After hours of studying in the library with the nagging smell of a delicious latte in your nose, it’s just great to walk towards the Arts Building and get molested by the smell of a Papa Burger, isn’t it?

I didn’t have nearly as much of a problem with a fast food “restaurant” sitting in Place Riel — at least some of the thousands of calories could be worked off in my brisk walk there — but when I finish a class and feel a pang of hunger, the last thing I need is the smell of a A&W coming from just metres away.

Contrasted with the United States, we Canadians have a pretty decent track record. However, at the end of the day that really isn’t saying much. Stats Canada has confirmed that 23 per cent of Canadians aged 18 or older, an estimated 5.5 million adults, had a body mass index of 30 or more, indicating that they are obese.

With this in mind, it doesn’t take a great intellectual to come to the conclusion that having a child company of Yum! Inc. (which is also the parent company for such prestigious eateries such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) doing business just a hop, skip and chomp away from where I and many others take classes cannot be in the best interests of our health.

I’m fully aware that we still have the choice not to spend our money at these food franchises. However, when you have midterms, essays and labs on your mind the last thing you think of is how healthy your food is — proximity will be priority number one. It seems certain that the only swine flu epidemic we will see affecting students is the pounds we will put on when asked if we want bacon on our fatty patties.

We don’t need to start a riot to get Yum! Inc. out of our school. Simply choosing not to spend our hard earned dollars at this eatery will suffice. So, let’s vote with our wallets and leave the easy choice of eating unhealthy to other Saskatonians.

Also, has anyone noticed there are not any water fountains on the ground floor of the restaurant-style Murray Library? You can thank Starbucks for that. Oh, and there is no easy workaround either; the water from the tap in the washroom is warm.