Food and airline travel - a disgrace

It has been a busy week and you are rushing to catch a flight to Melbourne. You have not had time to grab breakfast, but know that since you have booked Qantas, they will feed you on the plane. So, after loading and unloading your lap top, lining up for 20 minutes to check in and been chosen for the security scan you have just made the flight. A few minutes into the hour long flight the hostess brings you a snack – a cookie that contains 1200kJ and 20g of fat – thanks Qantas. Lucky you notice that they also have apples, and the hostess agrees you can have one, even though she appears slightly shocked someone is asking for one at all.

So much of our ability to eat well comes down to the foods we have available to us on a daily basis. Foods available on flights, in hotels, at sporting matches and other public events have a massive impact on the nutrition of the nation. It is time that large organizations including our airlines accept their corporate responsibility to have healthy food choices available for their customers. No one is making you eat the apple, but you should be offered it and no one needs a cookie that contains ¼ of your daily kilojoules and half of your daily fat intake.