Fast Food Desert

In my experience, U.S. Americans are generally considered to be particularly well-fed. For anyone with a little money and a means of getting from point A to B, “hot” food can be instantaneously obtained at any time of day from one of the hundreds of local fast food restaurants. Gigantic grocery stores provide every food item imaginable all in one place, and in infinite quantities. One would imagine that amidst such abundance, hunger and malnutrition would be among the least of our worries; however, one could argue that extreme abundance has had some negative consequences in the U.S.

Consider the following: each McDonald’s spicy McChicken patty contains over twenty different ingredients, many of which are completely synthetic. The entire sandwich provides about 14 grams of protein, 16 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, and 360 calories. The sandwich contains only trace amounts of three essential vitamins and minerals: Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin C. Priced at only $1, the spicy McChicken was once a staple of my diet. I would go through little “mcphases” a few times a month, sometimes replacing 4-6 meals a week with McChickens and french fries. Even though the food I was eating made me feel full, the reality is that up to six of the meals I ate each were almost completely devoid of nutrients.

The western diet is one of extreme luxury. Many Americans enjoy enough affluence that they can eat whatever they choose.  However, due to the fast-paced lifestyle to which most of us are accustomed, our choice is often to eat the quickest meal available. The result is that several times a week, we pick up our “food” from the comfort of our vehicles and proceed to fill our stomachs with empty calories.  

Why, with such a variety of ingredients at our fingertips, do Americans choose to eat crap? Why do we shy away from the tradition of buying and cooking whole foods? One possible explanation is that the highly individualistic nature of U.S. Society discourages families from taking the time to dine together. In the average U.S. family, it is common for both husband and wife to pursue careers, as well as for children to participate in several after-school activities. Everyone is doing their own thing, which is why it’s also common for family members to have different eating schedules. Slowly, feeding one’s family becomes less of an event and more of a task. Rather than spend time planning and preparing a meal, we always have the option of driving around the corner and receiving instant gratification, so we do it.

Unfortunately, our fast-food obsession comes with consequences. Each time we decide to forego the task of preparing our own food, we are contributing to the dissolution of age-old culinary traditions.  We know that enculturation is a learning process, so If the elder generations aren’t available to pass down their knowledge of recipes and cooking techniques, we can only expect future generations to become less and less concerned with autonomous dining.

As quick food continues to alter our cultural reality, the identification of healthy food is becoming a profoundly convoluted task. Each year, scientists declare that they’ve isolated the real culprit behind America’s expanding waistline. Sometimes it’s carbohydrates, sometimes saturated fats, sometimes sodium. Or, maybe its always bologna.

Regardless of the validity of each year’s health claims, food manufacturers take full advantage of the frenzy these claims whip up amongst consumers. They’ll put a big sticker reading “reduced sodium” on a box of potato chips, and interpreting this as a sign that said chips are a healthy snack. In his article, “Unhappy Meals,” Michael Pollan does a good job of summing up this relationship: “...if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.”

When Pollan talks about “food,” he is referring specifically to whole fruits, vegetables, and animal proteins in their (relatively) unadulterated form. He explains that many essential nutrients contained in natural foods are only accessible to the human body when they are consumed in their natural state.

Pollan suggests that Americans dislike buying whole foods because they usually lack the nutritional labels that we all love to read so much. Without a scientific breakdown of an avocado’s contents, how can one determine whether it is truly “healthy?” I, on the other hand, am compelled to believe that fast-food culture is at the root of America’s nutritional problems. We must take care to preserve our culinary traditions by cooking our own food and sharing our knowledge of the culinary arts with others. It may never again be a necessity for us to work with whole foods, but we must do everything we can to prevent that tradition from fading out of memory.