Schlosser describes the undeniable influence of fast food in the United States. He claims that Americans spend more money on fast food than on higher education. As a student attending a private institution where tuition surpasses 60,000$ dollars/year, I was amazed by this fact. Especially given the discounted prices and special offers that attract fast food customers. This demonstrates that a vast percentage of the population chooses to eat in fast food restaurants. I hesitate to write the term “choose” because I feel as though people dine at MacDonald’s, KFC, or Burger King due to lack of access to healthy food and resources. These fast food eateries are conveniently located off of most highways and provide prepared food. After working 9 hours a day, who wouldn’t simply buy 4 happy meals for their children instead of rushing to the supermarket and spending an hour cooking? The power of instant gratification encourages people to drive through fast food areas on their way home from work. Unfortunately, this habit leads to sharp increases in obesity and diabetes rates. As Schlosser writes: “[this is] an industry that both feeds and feeds off of the young” (9). I recently watched a TED talk by Jamie Oliver entitled “Teach Every Child About Food”. He claims that the youngest generation of Americans will have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Industrialized, engineered fast food has become such a staple in young Americans diets that their lives are cut short. Mass consumption is causing irreparable damage to our health.
I have noticed some positive change however. On my way to Indianapolis last weekend, the bus stopped at a rest stop. It was a fairly big building with a MacDonald’s, a gas station, and a merchandise store. Most of the people on the bus rushed off to MacDonald’s to order a quick meal before returning on the bus. I had already eaten so I wasn’t particularly hungry; I was looking for a small snack. After walking through the isles of chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.. , I noticed a plastic tower with cups of fruit. It was hidden in such a way that if you began lining up at the register you wouldn’t notice it because it was behind you. I am not sure that the vendors intentionally placed it there, or if it was due to a lack of space. This was my first time finding fruit at a rest stop. Thus, it is possible to find healthy food in unlikely locations, but one should be ready to search for it. These items should be displayed more obviously to remind people that there are alternatives to chips, cookies, and fast food. Being conscious of options might lead to healthier habits.
Raphaelle, your emphasis on the word “choice” is unbelievably important. It is true that many working, single parents have little choice but to serve their kids happy meals because they have neither the time nor money to do otherwise. Another factor is location, where lots of particularly urban and especially rural areas can be very isolated from grocery stores and there are many obstacles to reaching them. Your example says it all. Not to mention that it tastes good. Petrini’s assertion that our pleasure is lost from us removes us further from our own free will. This is the tragedy of the industrialization and cheapness of today’s fast food. “Choice” is exactly the rub here. As you descend the economic ladder and as chemical food engineering and market research grows against us, human free will is undermined and our question of choice is brought to the forefront.
Well said Raphaelle.
I think that your hard time finding fruit at a rest stop highlights the fact that healthy eating really takes a lot of effort and there is not enough support. Even for supermarkets that are labelled to be more healthy, local and organic such as WholeFoods, what you see right next to the cash registers are unhealthy snacks. In my opinion, products right next to the cashier are always the most tempting. They target those waiting in line because they are cheap (usually $1-2) and grabbing a few does not really matter. What supermarkets can do to help encourage healthy eating is simply to replace these with healthier options such as dried fruit.
As you mentioned Jamie Oliver’s TED talk on “Teach Every Child About Food”, another way to increase support is through education. The key is to start young as it is much easier to create habits than change habits. For work, I traveled to an early childhood center that my organization was working with. Since June, this center has been serving healthy foods and almost all children are receiving it well, except for a few. These few, particularly, grew up in families that didn’t really understand the importance of eating healthy. This highlights the influence of family on an individual, even if it is only a 4 year old child. With nutrition education, I see more and more young children being the leader of change in their family and hopefully affect their family memebers too.