The food police at CSPI -- who previously tried to get us to stop eating Chinese food, lasagna, and other delicious meals, while their diet seems to consist entirely of lentils and scallions -- have a new report on how bad movie theater popcorn is for you. They claim that, because it's cooked in coconut oil, the popcorn contains way too much fat, even without the 10W40 derivative the concession stand laughingly refers to as "butter."
So what? It's not like we're at a movie theater all that often anymore. With more and more Americans watching movies at home -- where we don't have to endure endless commercials and previews, the snacks are cheaper, and you can pause when you have to go to the bathroom -- we only go out to a movie a few times a year. And if we want to splurge while we're there and have a few hundred extra calories, where's the harm? It's not like we're scarfing it down daily.
Besides, when theaters did try to offer air-popped popcorn as an alternative a few years ago, they saw their concession sales drop because people want an unhealthy snack at the movies. Try putting a bag of dried apricots in there next to the M&Ms and SnoCaps and see which sells more. Then, leave us alone in our temporary debauchery.