Fast food restaurants are one of those things people are continuously cautioned against but will anyone ever really stop eating at them? A lot of times the warning goes beyond just the restaurant being an unhealthy option, but a life threatening option. Some statistics about fast food:
1. One out of four Americans eat fast food everyday.
2. Americans spend more than $100 billion on fast food a day. This amount of money could stop world hunger for years.
3. One meal at a fast food restaurant contains all the calories you need for one day.
4. Because of fast food, 60% of Americans are obese.
Even with knowledge of these statistics many people will still choose fast food over other options because it is cheap, quick, and easier to obtain than cooking or sitting down in a healthier restaurant option. Although it is one thing for customers to not want to eat fast food, it is another thing for the employees at these fast food restaurants to warn people of the conditions of the food they are helping the restaurant sell. When people talk about unhealthy fast food a lot of time people believe they are solely talking about McDonald's, one of the most common restaurants. However, unhealthy fast food is not limited to just McDonald's or Burger King but a variety of fast food restaurants all over America.
Employers have revealed certain secrets to how some fan favorites in various restaurants are made. In McDonald's an employee warned that the McCafe machines that make the ice cream, frappuchinos, and other McCafe items "are disgusting and the employees have not been properly trained on how to clean the machines." Even the ballpark hotdogs people tend to buy at baseball, basketball, or football games are usually recycled for the next day if all of them are not bought.
Former employees at Taco Bell described the steak and beans dish as "cat food mixed with hair gel and a little extra water for flavoring." These are just a few of the items employers have warned about. Employees also warned about anything listed on the secret menu at Starbucks, movie theater popcorn, and Panera's pasta. Employees at Starbucks claim to not even know what is put into the items on the secret menu themselves.
Some movie theater employees have seen the leftover popcorn from the previous day thrown into trash bags, reheated, and served again the next day. Panera is known for their healthy options, but their pasta is all microwaveable pasta which defeats their FRESH and healthy purpose of the entire restaurant.
Health is something that many want a lot of, but few are actually willing to work to keep and get. Maintaining a healthy diet is especially hard for many college students depending on where they go to school, how they live, and how much money they have. Sometimes if the cafeteria is closed then fast food is the only choice we have, especially at Hampton University because we are not allowed to have fridges in our room which means if we go grocery shopping to cook our food has to be put in a community fridge. Then our food is at risk of getting stolen our contaminated which has been the case several times for a few people in the dorm. One way a college student could reduce the amount of fast food they consume is by going for healthier options on fast food menus if that is the student's only choice.
Try to eat more fruit and vegetables with different meals and sometimes choose lighter options, such as fish and chicken instead of beef and steak. For adults living in their own homes alone or with families a healthy lifestyle should become a focus. Try to eat unhealthy foods in moderation and cook more than go out. Deaths from bad health, obesity, etc. can be prevented if people become more aware of what is being put into their bodies.
Fast food can taste good for such a low price and is served quick, but when the people selling you the food warn against it signals should go off that this food is harmful to your body. This is not to say that every restaurant does these things, but this goes to show that there is no telling what these fast food restaurants are serving because restaurants are now more focused on making a profit than actually creating a good eating environment for customers. The longer Americans continue to eat their food without looking into it the longer restaurants will continue to serve up whatever they want.
