The largest burger backer was Northwestern Mutual, which had invested $422.2 million in publicly traded fast food corporations, including $318.1 million in McDonald's, according to Mohan's research.
Now I'm not as naive as you might think - I get it, insurance companies want to make some money. But here's the problem I see with it: if fast food chains are doing well, their stocks are up but our health is down. That means we will be submitting more claims, demanding more payment from the insurance companies to pay for statins, heart and gastric bypass surgeries. On the other hand, if (in my imaginary world) Americans jumps on the wellness bandwagon and skip the fast food joints and embrace healthier options, fast food stock plummets, insurance investments suffer. So while we might be more healthful and submit fewer claims, demand less payout from insurance, we have to worry whether our insurance policies will have any value after our years of premiums have been gambled away against us. Fortunately, in this utopic vision, we'll all live to 120, die peacefully in our sleep and there will be affordable public healthcare to all who need it.
