It’s that time of year again: McDonalds is starting up their annual “monopoly” of the fast food industry. For those of you whom aren’t already familiar with the game, it’s fairly easy to play. Consumers buy certain products to receive stamps that correspond to parts of a game board; when you have collected all the pieces of a certain group, you could cash it in for a prize.

With the monopoly game added to their arsenal, McDonalds now not only has the game, but a hold on the fast food industry as well – a literal monopoly of the industry, per say. This seemingly harmless game gives McDonalds an edge on the fast food industry – one that’s not even needed in the first place. McDonalds is possibly one of the most, if not the most, well-known fast food industries globally, so why do they even need to monopolize the industry further? Is it fair that McDonalds not only forces their consumers into participating, but also allures and ensnares other innocents into participating into their twisted monopoly? Will McDonalds hold on the common man ever loosen? Will the masses ever realize the dangers that McDonalds presents?

It’s common knowledge that McDonalds is unhealthy for you, but it’s convenient, which makes it all the more worse. Adding the lack of exercise with the excess of fats (large amounts of trans fat and saturated fats) only equals one thing, obesity. So not only are people supporting an already corrupt industry with enough surplus of money to feed an entire third world country, but we are further ruining our own lives, as well.

Ever since McDonald’s first introduction of the monopoly in 2001, there has been an increase in the percentage of not only teenagers and youth, but also in adults in general. One could call this a coincidence or expected because of the rising numbers of obseity in America. Although there have been no recorded incidents of McDonald’s Monopoly explicitly ruining people’s lives, there is no way to say that it can’t happen in the future. As time progresses, people become more willing to take chances and before they know it, they might actually take a Las Vegas inspired gamble.

As if it wasn’t enough that McDonalds destroyed the common man’s health, now it will change his lifestyle. It isn’t fair that they now yield a monopoly over not only the fast food industry, but our lives, as well.