Gabby Fittipaldi

Paper 3
15 April 2016
The Fast Food Issue
It was a warm afternoon while I was driving along Pennsylvanias Route
29, on my way home to greet my family for lunch. As soon as I turned into
my development, my phone went off. It was a call from my little sister asking
me to pick up McDonalds for her and my mother for lunch. Its been years
since Ive given up that fast food chain, so naturally I responded back in
disgust. I tried suggesting another alternative, like the nearby Wawa, in
hopes to sway her thoughts away from cheeseburgers towards something
a bit more healthier. No matter what I said though, my sister was adamant
on a number two with cheese and ketchup only and a Hi-C an order Ive
grown to remember throughout the years.
McDonalds is something Americans know all too well. Being the
country that eats the most fast food in the world, its no wonder people have
so many health problems. They know this food is unhealthy for them, yet
many people consume these meals daily.
Why?
Well, for starters, fast food is very easy to obtain, and people are
bound to see these restaurants everywhere they go. To put it in perspective,
there are over 50,000 fast food places in the United States alone. Take my
hometown of Pennsylvania, for example. There are close to 10,000 fast food

restaurants in just this state, and there are 67 counties that make up PA.
Take those 10,000 restaurants and divide it by the 67 counties, then that
would equal about 150 fast food restaurants in each county. Now, this
number is not necessarily true because the actual amount of fast food places
in the county I live in is over 500! Regardless, the point is that the amount of
these places obtainable for people is absurd.
My family knows McDonalds is an easy, cheap alterative to a healthy
diet; although, my mom often thinks ordering a salad can be a healthy
substitute to my sisters Quarter Pounder. What they dont know, though, is
that some of the salads are just as unhealthy and high in calories as the
burgers. For example, theres 480 calories in McDonalds Southwest Crispy
Chicken Salad. Thats 63 calories more than a Quarter Pounder!
Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivores Dilemma, talks about the
meal his family ate from McDonalds. One of Pollans main ideas in his piece
is that most foods people eat are made of corn. Yes, the meat came from a
specific animal; however, that animal was fed on a corn-based diet only.
Thus, all the corn that animal ate is now in our foods. While eating their
meal, Pollan points out how his wife, like my mom, took the more healthier
route and chose to get a salad. She thought she would be avoiding this
corn problem, but that was not the case. Yes, there is lettuce, but the meat
on top of salads, the eggs, cheese, and even the dressing are all made up of
corn. Grass used to be the main food source for farm animals, but now corn
has become what these animals consume for the benefit of the population.

Farms today are not what people had imagined when they originally
thought of them. The open fields with the red house at the end are far from
reality. What farms have become are more like factories that treat their
animals like things instead of loving creatures. Farm animals, such as pigs,
chickens, cows and fish, are not that much different than our beloved
animals. However, they are treated very differently by being fed abnormal
diets, locked in pens, and neglected daily.
Animals on these farms are genetically manipulated to grower bigger
and faster by only eating corn. Workers realized that the less time it takes for
animals to grow means the quicker they can package and sell meat to
hungry omnivores. However, these abnormal eating habits often make the
farm animals develop health problems. On top of that, these poorly treated
animals never receive medical attention for their problems. Plus, the corn
they keep consuming is not actually beneficial for people; its just easier for
factories.
Eating meat is supposed to be good for us, and it does have its
nutritional benefits. However, after all the corn these animals have eaten, its
hard to believe thats still the case. These diets animals consume, and the
health problems that go along with them, are what make up McDonalds
burgers and fries my sister often enjoys. They even make up the salads that
my mom thinks are better for her. This fast food dilemma is a real problem
that Americans face daily.