I used to believe that the reason Americans ate poorly is because they simply live in a fast-paced society and are misinformed. I know I don’t believe that. With so many great products available, like “super size me,” Americans should realize that fast food is terrible for you. I remember in my psychology class we were talking about eating disorders and the girl sitting next to me mentioned to our teacher about “super size me.”
She told our teacher about the negative effects fast food had on Americans. And the last thing she said she annoyed me she said that right after she saw the movie she went to get something McDonald’s! Some people know the information, but just don’t care. I will have more understanding for someone who has no idea, but if you are an adult you should take more responsibility for your eating habits.
One for your health and well-being, and two if you have children and want to call them eating good things. Ok, now let’s talk about fast foods. Most people know that fast foods are not good for you, but most don’t know exactly what makes them unhealthy. Well let me tell you something about fast food restaurants; in the early years they weren’t so bad for your health. That’s right, when McDonalds started, it was a decent place to eat.
Everything was made from scratch, as food should be. The potatoes were cut, peeled and fried that day. They didn’t add any chemicals or who or what else to the food, it was all natural. Well, with industrialization comes its benefit, but nevertheless, it had its negative aspects. In the 1960s, McDonald’s began to reduce its labor costs, so it got rid of people who cut and peeled vegetables. They soon discovered the idea of prefabricating everything. That translates to processed foods. Many people did not notice the change in flavor.
As I was writing this article, I decided to call my local McDonalds and ask the manager a few questions. I asked how the fries are made and what equipment they use to fry them. The manager didn’t have a clue, she just said that the French fries they arrive from the truck every day and they fry it in the fryer. That’s all he knew about him. French fries. What surprised me is not only how clueless customers are about the food they get from fast food restaurants, but also how clueless the people who actually work there are. It’s like getting food from a truck and I just make it and eat it. Do you really trust that? Well, many people do that when they eat pre-frozen foods and don’t read the ingredient information.
McDonald’s restaurants became an assembly line. There were huge factories that mass-produced food products and hired people to do individual tasks, whether it was frying potatoes, putting seasonings on hamburgers, or serving drinks. They needed an easier way to mass-produce their food. In the early years, McDonald’s made French fries with cottonseed oil and beef or tallow. That’s what gave McDonald’s French fries their secret flavor. Well, since then there have been complaints and etc about the overdose of saturated fat in McDonald’s food. So, in 1990, in order to replace the saturated fat content, they began to use vegetable oils, in particular, hydrogenated vegetable oils. The effects of hydrogenated oils are much more dangerous than those of saturated fats. Are they worth it for your health?
