Wealth Over Health?
And What that has to do with Red Lobster filing for Bankruptcy
LOCAL LOVE: I decided to start a new section here and give love to someone local. I’ve never met Sean at #carnivoreishh, but I enjoy his posts. 
Sean goes to local stores in Miami and posts and educates us on what to look for to eat well. I’d never know Publix started selling raw cheese if it weren’t for him.Mr. Skeptical starts, “What? Are you a financial guy now? Did you have a finance degree we don’t know about and that you went to prison for, again?”
I stare at Mr. Skeptical. He must see the fumes of fury floating out of my head.
He asks, “Why will you talk about the Red Lobster restaurant chain? How can that be related to health or Subconscious Fat?”
“It has a lot to do with how Americans eat. It’s like putting a mirror up to America’s face, showing us why and how we choose our food.”
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
There’s a financial podcast I listen to, which is called The Best One Yet. On May 21, they spoke about how Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy. And it was, in a way, a divine intervention, for I’d been thinking of how many restaurants give away free bread. A ton of restaurants do.”
“Yes, I’ll judge an Italian restaurant by how good their bread is. If I like the bread, I’ll likely go back.”
“I used to think the same way.”
Mr. Skeptical’s eyes narrow in on me. I get it. We rarely agree on anything.
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
Giving away free bread or other cheap food is financially intelligent for many restaurants. For example, Chipotle has free chip promotions. Krispy Kreme gives away free donuts at certain hours of the day each month.
However, the best comparison is comparing Red Lobster with Olive Garden. Both companies were owned by the same corporation just ten years ago. They had similar revenues and about the same number of locations. Nonetheless, Olive Garden had endless breadsticks and salad. On the other hand, Red Lobster decided in 2023 to expand their Ultimate Shrimp All Day from Mondays to every day. This allowed anyone to eat all the shrimp they wanted every day. This ended up being a huge cost for the company.
Mr. Skeptical crosses his arms. “You’re saying that’s what made them go bankrupt?”
“The CEO of Red Lobster blamed many other things, but the guys on the podcast said the real cause was the free shrimp. And that makes sense. Shrimp is much more nutrient-dense, healthy, and expensive than carbs or salad.”
“So, if you get a shrimp cocktail, you don’t eat the lettuce it comes with?”
“Exactly, I eat the shrimp and skip the cheap, flimsy lettuce, which is not as healthy as people think.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
I experienced this personally when I promoted an Argentinian barbecue with a friend of mine. People paid money for tickets to the barbecue. We had expensive grass-fed beef and were scared we’d run out of meat. My friend decided to buy lots of cheap corn on the cobs and barbecue them. That one act alone saved us. Without corn on the cob, we’d run out of meat.
“I’m sure the guys at Red Lobster were pushing for servers to hand out more biscuits, hoping less shrimp would be served.”
I laugh. “Yes, that likely happened. It was mentioned in the podcast.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
If you, the reader, are wondering why I avoid bread and wheat, read my post on why I do here.
When I get free bread or chips, if I eat them, a part of me feels like a sucker. It makes me feel like the restaurant said to me, “Please eat this shit so that we can make a profit.”
The truth is, I value my health over their profit.
I even value my health over my own profit.
Sometimes, I need to order more meat to feel full, but I’d rather do that and eat nutrient-dense food I enjoy than something unhealthy.
I value my health over my wealth.
Do you?
Be aware.
PS Links in Facebook and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
Great article!!!!