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Why Fast Food Companies Must Be Help Accountable For Their
By Lynn VanDyke, Thu Dec 8th
Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com Drive down any suburban or city street and you will witness anoverload of fast food marketing. Brightly colored signs, cheapvalue meals, happy cartoon logos, and a familiar smell will fillyour senses. Fast food restaurants have established themselvesas a leader in our nation's daily menu. What is the net affectfast food and its ingredients have on our health? What, if any,moral and social obligations do fast food companies have totheir consumers? Obesity is believed to lead to diabetes, heart disease,hypertension and other illnesses. Over 60% of Americans areconsidered over weight, and the rise in diabetic individuals hasincreased dramatically. In 1999 there were 42 billion people ondirect diabetes medicine. That figure has more than doubled inless than three years. (Article continued below)
"Fast food is literally shortening the life span of ourcitizens," states Lynn VanDyke, certified sports nutritionist,personal trainer and owner of www.strength-training-woman.com.McDonalds serves 46 million fast food meals every single day. Asthe documentary Super Size Me points out, each McDonaldsemployee is trained to up sell the size of each order. Thisincrease in meal and drink proportions is becoming so widelyacceptable that cars now come with larger cup holders. The fast food process truly begins with the ingredients. As EricSchlosser mentions in his article "Why McDonalds French FriesTaste So Good", the federal Food and Drug Administration doesnot require companies to disclose the ingredients of their coloror flavor additives so long as all the chemicals in them areconsidered by the agency to be generally recognized as safe, orGRAS. Unfortunately, consumers are not able to tell a productsfull ingredient list by reading the nutrition label. Terms suchas 'artificial' and 'natural flavoring' are often seen at thevery end of most ingredient lists. We are completely unaware ofexactly what constitutes a natural or artificial flavor. Fast food companies owe it to their consumers to disclose allingredient information. Many people have special dietaryrestrictions due to allergies or religious affiliations. Somepeople simply prefer not to eat a product that contains anyanimal or any part of an animal. According to Schlosser, "TheVegetarian Legal Action Network recently petitioned the FDA toissue to labeling requirements for foods that contain naturalflavors." At this point in time, it is difficult for anyone torefrain from using animal products or added coloring or any aspecific chemical to do so. Consumers cannot make educated decisions about a food product ifthey do not know the full ingredients list. Some may be shockedto know that Dannon strawberry yogurt gets its coloring fromDactylopius coccus Costa, a female insect that feeds on berriesand produces berry colored larvae. "The insects are collected,dried, and ground into a pigment. It takes about 70,000 of themto produce a pound of carmine, which is used to make processedfoods look pink, red, or purple" states Schlosser. Another example of a misleading ingredient label comes fromBurger King. Its strawberry milk shake lists artificialstrawberry flavor as one of its ingredients. By taking a closerlook, we learn that the following ingredients make up theartificial strawberry flavoring: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate,amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzylisobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamylvalerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethylacetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate,ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethylmethylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethylvalerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenol-2-butanone (10% solution inalcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate,lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methyllacetophenone, methylanthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptinecarbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mintessential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate,orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether,y-undecalactone, vanillin and solvent. Simply stating artificialstrawberry flavoring is not educating consumers on what they areeating and what possible effects these food products could haveon their bodies. Fast food companies have a responsibility to list all of theiringredients. It is a basic consumer and human right to know whatwe are ingesting. McDonalds and other companies complain thatgiving away all their ingredients will result in them losingtheir secret recipes. As a culture we must face the reality thatthese ingredients and fast food products are making us extremelyoverweight and very ill. McDonalds is the fast food leader of the world. They market toyoung children by providing playgrounds, happy meals, andcartoon characters. Unfortunately, these children do not knowabout the horrible side effects that eating fast food has ontheir bodies. "On average, Americans now eat about four servingsof french fries every week" says Schlosser. The increase inportion size and the increase in the volume of eating at fastfood restaurants directly relates to America's bulging waistlines. Recently two over weight teens sued McDonalds because the teensfelt the restaurant neglected to properly inform them of theside effects its food would have on their weight and health.Lawsuits such as this one are becoming more and more popular.There are two sides of this debate, but regardless of which sideyou are on one thing can be agreed upon, fast food is not themost nutritious meal available. Fast food companies have a moral and social obligation to theircustomers. We as a nation have a right to know what we areeating. Once the truth is finally told and nutrition labels haveall ingredients and chemicals, consumers can begin to makeeducated decisions. At that point the blame would rely solely onthe consumer and not on the fast food company. However, untilthat point is reached we cannot expect Americans to understandthe impact fast food will have on their health and well being. Morgan Spurlock, creator of the documentary Super Size Me,explains how we live in a toxic, fast and cheap environment.America is home to over 3 million vending machines and countlessconvenient stores. Gas stations sell more candy and preparedfoods than gas. Soda machines are in our schools and our schoollunches are being filled by chain restaurants such as McDonaldsand Pizza Hut. The availability of fast food products is overwhelming. Theabundance and mass marketing of fast foods along with the lowcost fare makes it a habit of continually eating these foods. Wegrow used to the aroma, textures and tastes. Often a McDonaldshappy meal reminds us of happy childhood memories when we didnot have a care in the world. For many consumers to stop eatingfat food, it would be like breaking a smoking habit after 20+years. The increase in diseases and illnesses is alarming. Americansare becoming more and more overweight. Obesity is in line tobecome the number one cause of preventable death. Fast foodcompanies have the moral and social obligation to inform theirconsumers of all ingredients. It should then be the consumer'sdecision to stop eating this toxic food. Learning about proper nutrition does not take a degree formHarvard. It takes the commitment and dedication to truly changeyour life once and for all. Nutrition and fitness are our bestdefenses against the mounting health care crisis. According tothe National Institute on Aging, "If exercise could be packed ina pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed andbeneficial medicine in the nation." I whole heartedly agree withtheir statement. About the author:Lynn VanDyke is the Internet's leading fitness and nutritionadvisor. Her ebook has been ranked "The best fitness ebook onthe net" by the No Limits ezine. Learn more about her servicesand grab her best-selling ebook by visiting:http://strength-training-woman.com/31-no-holds-barred-answers.html | Sign In |
