The Myth of "Fast" Food

Have you ever noticed that today's labeling of junk food restaurants as "fast food" is kind of a misnomer? I don't know how often my readers eat out at these places. I would suspect it is or has been in the past, often as America is indeed the fast-food nation.

It is my belief, however, that today's "fast" food is neither fast, inexpensive, or even really what I would call FOOD, as much of the meat at these places is nothing short of processed pink slime, most likely from cows treated with rBST or rBGH (these are both growth hormones given to cows to increase their size and milk production) as well as being overfed on corn feed, which leads to obesity in all animals, including US, as humans, in excess consumption.

"Fast" food joints are generally known today to be the distribution arm of the industrial food operation, complete with CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), GMO additives, and inhumane treatment of the animals that are meant to be food, be it cows, pigs, or chickens, as these are the primary meats of the majority of the human diet, well at least in the U.S.

Despite the convenience of the "fast" food industry, the overall health and well-being of the American populace has suffered immeasurable consequences, the least of which is obesity, although that opens up a whole new portal for heart disease, a whole slew of cancers, free radicals, and diabetes type II.

Yet, not enough people actually seem to care. We pump billions of dollars a year into these massive food conglomerates like BioNTech (formerly known as Monsanto, now owned by Bayer pharmaceuticals), Tyson, and Cargill. These companies even get government subsidies, meaning that the government pays our tax dollars to allow them to poison us. It seems to me like the more we keep buying into it, the more these companies throw out the regulations, buy up the politicians, and continue to openly and blatantly poison the populace, generally without remorse.

I have the solution though, if you want to hear it...

Are you sure? Really sure?

Okay, since you scrolled down, I will tell you the obvious answer. Large multi-national companies will change their policies and standards of operations ONLY if they are hit where it hurts them the most... got a clue? THEIR POCKETBOOKS OF COURSE!!! If you STOP buying their products and DEMAND a healthier better alternative and YOU as the consumer must be willing to PAY the higher cost of better-quality food. This includes your plant-based alternatives and fresh organic produce, plant milks and products free of dairy, eggs, and meat and their various byproducts.

How can we do this, you ask?

Well, I keep telling my readers that EVERY single dollar you spend is a vote for policy. I KNOW that it is cheaper to buy a cheeseburger for 2 dollars at McDonald's or a cheap burrito at Taco Bell than to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I KNOW. But the truth is that you really DO get what you pay for: Government subsidized BULLSHIT! My theory is that the government WANTS you to be fat, stupid, lazy, obedient, and stuck in front of the propaganda spewing idiot box. It also doesn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out that THEY WANT the system to be this way. How can this be? Well, there are at least 3 factors involved...

1) There is a LOT of money in the food industry as human beings eat at least 2 to 3 times per day on average and snack a whole bunch in between meals. In ANY system that there is SO MUCH money, much like the gov't itself, it is prone to corruption and cutting costs to make more money.

2) If the government actually WANTED you to eat healthy then they would subsidize farmers that grow fruits and vegetables rather than products containing processed and refined sugars, both whom cause obesity as they are put in EVERYTHING that is pre-packaged in a box, cellophane wrapper, or can at the grocery store/fast food joints.

3) Once you are obese from eating this food, then you are a slave to the pharmaceutical industry that makes BILLIONS to watch citizens slowly die from the poisons (hormones, chemicals, poisons, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.) in the food, which we ALL eat in abundance.

The moral I suppose once again is that you get what you pay for. Crap in = crap out. Every single dollar is a vote for policy and so far, our voting record has been EXACTLY where the industries with the biggest profits to protect want it to be. How can it be any other way when our livelihoods have been destroyed and we cannot afford to eat healthy? Or can we? It seems that we either pay the UP-FRONT cost of healthy, organic, locally grown foods... OR... we pay the cost on the BACK END with elevated health care expenditures, over-inflated pharmaceuticals, and funeral costs.

It is my personal opinion of course that it would be a healthier alternative to eat at a place, if you must eat out, go to a place that cooks the food fresh and uses locally sourced ingredients. Or just eat at home, I suppose that would just be the over-all best choice. Ultimately it comes down to the consumer to change the personal and political policies that have been set up against our will and with no vote or say in the outcome. Spend your money wisely. You really DO get what you pay for. At the end of the day it is your right to choose what options you decide for the wellness of you and your family.

Helpful tip is to prepare snacks ahead of time for you and your kids in the car for times when there aren't convenient places to get a healthier meal option besides fast food. Thankfully, there are a growing number of options in restaurants and fast-food establishments that are offering healthy alternatives such as Chipotle, Baja Fresh, Del Taco, Panera, Subway, Panda Express, Starbucks, etc. Many chains now carry the Impossible and Beyond brands of burgers, sausages and chick'n products, like KFC, however, most of the time the plant-based burgers and fried foods are cooked on the same surfaces or in the same fryers as the meat items.