Day Thirty-Five: Fast Food Nation

Isn't it odd that an "All Beef Patty" can be sold for around a buck? Doesn't the phrase seem like a strange choice of words...what else would it be but all beef? The fact that one can find that all-beef-patty cheaper than they can find a head of broccoli is also disturbing.

It should be.

It should be bothesome that one probably drives by a dozen or two fast food restaurants to get to the nearest health food store...probably even the nearest grocery store.

Fast food tastes amazing, but that burger 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.

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.

I challenge you to examine your fast food intake, making any adjustments you feel led to make.