I like McDonald's. I’m not a health guru/freak that drinks unidentifiable green juices and shies away from the processed and chemically engineered foods of America. I can put away a 10 piece chicken nugget and fries in 10 minutes. I could live a month off Chef Boyardee lasagna and easy-mac. I’m not in a position to advocate a super-food lifestyle, but I’m a sound minded person. Any sound-minded person, whose judgment isn’t being clouded by stubbornness, can fairly infer that the food industry in this country is corrupted.
It’s a easily known fact that 1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will have diabetes; Easily known, but unsettling at that. Our country as a whole however spends an average of 10% of their disposable income tax on fast food a year. Why would we continue to give money to the mass corporations that are essentially killing people every day?
The denied fact of the matter is that these foods high in sugar, calories, and fat, are addictive. So addictive in fact, studies have shown these foods affecting the brain the same way cocaine or heroine would. Scientists gave lab rats an equal dose of sugar-water and cocaine. After some withdraw, the rats were given the choice between cocaine and sugar-water. 94% of the rats chose sugar! Fast food is loaded with sugar, so it’s no surprise why America can’t stay away. These foods are also ridden with MSG, or sodium glutamate. Consuming MSG can keep an individual feeling hungry, even after a large meal. This causes an addictive overeating pattern that is very difficult to get a handle on.
The obvious fast foods aren’t the only problem. Our grocery-store shelves look nothing like they did before the industrialization of food during World War II. Our foods are packed with preservatives and began being processed in factories. Foods have become a product of a corporation, rather than a fuel for the sustaining humans. The foods marketed “Low fat” are filled with sugar and other additives to make them taste better. Even the produce has been affected by the industrialization of farming. Without soil rich in potassium, magnesium, copper, and iron, we no longer have nutrient rich fruits and vegetables. Evidently and unfortunately, the only way to guarantee you’re getting the benefits you desire from fruits is to grow it on your own.
So what do we do? Do we outlaw the fast foods our country is hooked on as we have outlawed cocaine and heroin? We all know what happened with that infamous portion cap on soda. Do we regulate the corporations monopolizing and producing our foods in a factory? Who’s to know how that could affect our economy? People will always be quick to shout “violation of my rights”. They aren’t wrong; the government’s job is not to regulate people’s life choices, but its job is to protect the people. It is very hard, however, in situations like these, to protect the people without dictation choices and violating rights.
So what have we got? Free choice. America is blessed to have such a right amongst every citizen. It is a blessing, and can also be a curse. It all relies of course on how we use it. The pure fact that most people really do enjoy the food being processed for them, throws a wrench in the movement, along with people’s defensiveness of government regulation despite the fact that it could save the existence of the future generations. While it seems like a lost cause, we must for now rely on individual efforts to make the right choices, because if enough people do then change can be made. So chose healthy, chose organic, and say no to chemicals. Your hand can’t be held for you, and it’s not fair that these low price, and addictive unhealthy options are at every corner, which you turn. Change itself is never easy, but education is the first step.
