Entry #9 Fast food

Fast food chains are very popular in the United States. Because of their cheap prices and quick service, Americans have relied on fast food restaurants more than they should. This reliance on quick and fulfilling service creates unhealthy habits that are normalized by society because there are so many fast food chains across the country. While driving, it is extremely easy to fall into the trap of fast food restaurants. There are so many around that you will most likely encounter one while having a family lake trip or just simply on the way to work. So when the family is hungry there is a high chance that a fast food restaurant will come to mind and you will swing by to grab a McDonald's burger or maybe some Raising Cane's chicken tenders. Since people in the United States always seem to be in a time crunch, the overused excuse for not cooking homemade meals is always "I don't have time". But there should always be time to take care of yourself, which is what you are doing when making a healthy meal instead of stopping by a fast food restaurant.

The cartoon demonstrates how unhealthy fast food is in a sarcastic way. Even though this image is meant as a joke, there is an important message that is conveyed. The man on the left is asking the fast food worker if there is any food he could eat from there that would not make him fat. The worker sarcastically responds with "straws". Obviously, the man ordering food cannot eat straws but it is implied that anything else that is on the menu will cause him to gain weight since the food is processed which makes the cooking process go faster, but it is not the healthiest option. The dull emotion on the workers face also symbolizes the stereotype of how unhealthy fast food is. When asked if anything on the menu is non-fattening, the worker simply makes an annoyed facial expression suggesting that the answer is actually obvious.  

Americans are aware of the unhealthiness of fast food and yet, they continue to consume their products that will hurt their health and their wallets. Would it not be the smartest decision to make your lunch or dinner at home? Well it is not that easy. Growing into the habit of picking up some food before work or school can be hard to change. For example, I had a friend in high school that would get McDonald's for breakfast everyday before school. I asked her if she knew the impact of the daily McDonald's stops on the long run. The McDonald's menu might be cheap but if you get a dollar item everyday that is already $5 by the end of the school week and $20 by the end of the month. Once I told my friend the end amount for the month she looked shocked because she did not realize how much money she spent on fast food even if she were to get the cheapest item on the menu. Of course, she always got a coffee or some fries to go with her meal but I wanted her to think about the least amount of money she could spend and how much that actually is. After my comment she said she would try to stop the habit of buying food everyday. But sure enough, she expressed her frustration because she was already used to going every morning. So once she stopped she mentioned that the change was extremely hard on her but also how it helped her learn new breakfast recipes to cook at home.

Overall, the cartoon is meant to open the viewer's eyes to come to the realization that fast food cannot be a daily thing. Sure it is fine to treat yourself once in a while, but the continuous consumption of unhealthy food like the McDonald's breakfast my friend had every morning, can cause some serious health problems in the future. We have to understand that fast food chains know what they are doing. They know that if they lower the price for more low quality food, people will buy it simply because it is cheap and fulfilling like I previously stated. But Americans must outsmart these fast food chains and think about better ways that you could spend your money instead of falling for those tasty meals you see for fast food commercials.