Day Twenty-Six: Fast Food Nation

I used to be a sometimes-consumer of fast food, but I've never really been into it. I've always found it a little off that an "All Beef Patty" can be sold for around a buck. I thought the phrase was a strange choice of words...what else would it be but all beef? The fact that I can find that all-beef-patty cheaper than I can find a head of broccoli is also disturbing. It should be.

I cringe when my son asks if we can stop at McDonalds. My husband & two children will eat their chicken nuggets & fries while I munch an apple I brought & sometimes have a cup of coffee. The only true benefit I see from visiting one is that they get to play indoors on a slide that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in two weeks. If you can't tell, I tolerate fast food restaurants when I have to. Right now, I'm in a stage where I detest them.

It bothers me that I have to drive 4 miles to get to the nearest health food store, and on the way I'll pass somewhere between 50 and 80 fast food restaurants. We are inundated with the way America now eats, and its scary.

Fast food tastes amazing, but that burger you're eating is comprised of about 100 different cows. They add sugar to the patty because they know its addictive. They add sugar to the fries because it makes them toast golden brown when deep-fried, & it gives them that almost-sweet taste. Again, addictive. In fact, there are three substances that have received considerable funding amongst food addiction studies: Sugar, salt & fat. All are good if from the right source in the proper quantaties. However, none of that applies inside a Whataburger. Those Wendy's corporate execs are no dummies.

Fast food companies are the number one purchaser of beef, pork, chicken, & potatoes. With that kind of clout, they are able to influence legislation, the FDA, the EPA, and literally determine the way that factory farming is conducted in the US. In my opinion, factory farming is one of the most inhumane things we could ever do to animals. Try, if you can, to sit through an entire episode of a movie dedicated to exposure of factory farming without having to walk out.

Animals that eat grass by design are fed corn because it's government subsidized & therefore cheap. Because the animals are not supposed to eat corn, they get sick. To keep them alive long enough to slaughter, they are given antibiodics. We feed chickens hormones to make their breasts bigger, then we eat the chicken, then girls at younger ages start developing breasts earlier. Hmmm...

If you've ever wished you didn't want to eat fast food, all you've gotta do is educate yourself. Believe me, once you know what's in it, you'll lose your appetite. When we have investigative journalists conducting investigative research on our food system, that should be a huge warning sign.

Do: Watch the movie, "Food, Inc." Follow this link http://www.foodincmovie.com/ & click on "Watch The Trailer" on the left-hand side to get a preview. There are a number of books & movies out on this subject. Some of the ones I like include, "Super Size Me", The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan & Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.