Fast Food America

I'm getting really disgusted with fast food chains. The food is so cheap and convenient, and that makes it hard to resist. Which is exactly what they want. They engineer the smells and tastes to lure you in and hook you. Really...a scientist created the delicious double cheeseburger. Fast food chains study Americans to target us to buy their products. And we give in every time.

It's hard to resist the dollar menu. I wish they'd make it harder for us the eat so poorly. And remember that it's only so cheap because most of the ingredients are corn-based. And corn is dirt cheap because we swindle the farmers. So we take advantage of the farmers, manufacture disgusting foods, and sell it cheap to keep Americans interested. I think even Subway is gross. They use processed meats containing nitrates, veggies swimming in pesticides, and "fresh baked breads" that are probably full of high fructose corn syrup. I appreciate their efforts, but it's brainwashing. It's a better alternative to a burger and fries, but can't we just cook a meal at home? When did making food from scratch become such a foreign topic?

This really drives me bonkers...not only are we too lazy to cook, we're too lazy to get out of our cars. The other week I was on my way home and there were 7 cars in the drive thru line at Burger King. Really?? If there was one car in line, I'd skip the fast food meal. I think it is a whole other problem that is related. We're getting less and less personal. If you're going to eat fast food at least turn off your car, save the emissions, go inside, and say hello to the workers.

It's hard to avoid fast food. But we very rarely eat fast food meals--and we both work full-time. If we're going to eat out, we try to support local restaurants. Our favorite in Huntington is the Brick House Grill (www.brickhousegrill.com) in downtown. It can't say it supports sustainable living, but we know the owners and I'd rather fill their wallets with our cash. But my preferred choice if I don't make food from scratch is to pay someone else to make my meal from scratch! Kenapocomocha in N. Manchester sells "take and bake" frozen meals. I can buy a turkey pot pie and when I don't have time to come home and make something, I pop in my frozen meal. I've found several places to buy these style meals. They "cost" more than fast food, but it's better for our bodies. The long-term benefits outweigh the initial cost. It just costs more for someone to use their hands to make a crust from scratch rather than a robot in a factory. And I'm ok with that. In fact, I prefer it.

I think this article relates to the topic. The American diet needs to change.

http://www.wholefoodfarmacy.com/2005/aboutus2.asp

Over the past century, we've seen enormous advances in medical technology. We have more doctors, more pharmaceutical medicines, and more hospitals than ever before. We also have the sickliest generation of Americans in history. The number one culprit: THE AMERICAN DIET.
The processed food and fast food industries are serving it up, Americans are gulping it down, and wide spread obesity and chronic disease is the result. From there, the masses are driven into the "waiting hands" of the highly profitable pharmaceutical industry. We're offered pills that alleviate our symptoms while the simple underlying causes are ignored. What incentive does the pharmaceutical industry have to focus on prevention? If disease rates decreased, so would their profits.
The ingredients to health, happiness, vitality, and longevity are no secret. Every major non-profit health organization in the world has been offering the same advice for many years. Eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water, exercise on a daily basis, lose weight if you need to, don't smoke, avoid toxins, & reduce stress.