An Open Letter to Jenny McCarthy

Dear Jenny McCarthy,

You pissed me off today. And I mean REALLY pissed me off. 

I am fairly new to your show.  Prior to this season, I had only seen The View a handful of times.  And no, I did not start watching it because of you, but now my schedule allows me to catch it once or twice a week and it is good background noise.

I kind of  feel like I grew up with you.  I watched Singled Out religiously as a teenager.  My boyfriend had a poster of you on his bedroom wall.  I read some of your book Belly Laughs as a new mother.  I remember questioning my doctor regarding my sons vaccinations after you were so adamant that your son had autism because of said vaccinations.  (Luckily, I am smart enough to get my advice from a medical professional and not a celebrity so my son did receive vaccinations.)  I have always liked you.  I thought you were beautiful and funny (things most girls aspire to be) and you seem like a great gal pal to have.  But after today, I am adding ignorant to the words I would use to describe you. 

Today you and the ladies of The View were discussing the recent finding that if a pregnant or nursing mother ate unhealthily during pregnancy and/or nursing, that child was 40% more likely to be obese than children whose mothers ate healthy foods.  (At least I believe that was the statistic, I did not record the episode so I am unable to fact check that.)  Whoopi astutely brought up the fact that not all neighborhoods have a Whole Foods Market and not all families can afford to shop there, even if their neighborhood was equipped with one.  That sparked one of those famous (or infamous) "everyone talking over each other and no one can get a coherent sentence in and the audience is super confused moments" that I would imagine makes most people turn the channel.  But today, I was able to hear what you said.  And this is where I decided we can't be friends anymore.  You said (and I am not quoting but it was along the lines of) "Well, maybe Mom should skip her Starbucks then."

This statement offended me beyond belief.  I realize that you are a superstar and probably have very little concern regarding your grocery bills but I can promise you, most people do not have that luxury.  I am very fortunate that I also do not have to worry about putting healthy food on the table to eat.  Not to put us in the same category but I am very fortunate that I have a good job and am able to provide with my family without making the choice between paying the electric bill to keep the heat on or putting food in my children's' bellies.

There is a huge misconception in this country that people on food stamps or that get paid the minimum wage (or even people that get paid a good wage but still have trouble making ends meet due to other circumstances) are lazy and mismanage their money (i.e. going to Starbucks instead of buying healthy food.)  I am a frequenter of Starbucks and I rarely see people in there that look as though they are spending their last few dollars on a latte.  Instead you (and many others) fail to realize you can get 3 boxes of macaroni and cheese for the price of one bag of organic greens.  Those 3 boxes of mac and cheese could feed a family 3 meals (albeit, not HEALTHY meals) instead of 1 meal.  And anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that mac and cheese is far more filling than lettuce.

The problem in this country (one of the many) is that healthy food DOES cost exponentially more than food filled with chemicals, dyes (that are largely illegal in other countries) and GMO's.  And until we can fix that issue, we cannot fix the issue of obesity.  They go hand in hand.  I went to the grocery store tonight and spent almost $7 on two half gallons of organic milk.  $7!  That could have bought 7 cans of ravioli or white bread and peanut butter (with change) if that is all the money I had to feed my family for a couple of days.

I realize, Jenny, that you were likely not meaning to offend me or others and you were probably not meaning to make a mass generalization but that is what you did.  And maybe you think that the obesity problem, the hunger problem, the healthy food problem and the poverty problem in this country are unrelated but they are not.  They are absolutely, 100% related to each other.

The bottom line is this, not all people that have trouble putting healthy food on the table are spending their money on Starbucks or other frivolous things.  Some of them are spending their money on medical expenses, daycare, an elderly parents' care, or electric bills.  Don't assume because a mother chooses to feed her kids a box of chemically laced foodless pap for dinner instead of grilled fish and veggies that she bought herself a $4 coffee that day.  Remember, it might not be a CHOICE.  Maybe that is all she has.

Sincerely,

Lynsey