Five Reasons Why We Should (But Probably Won’t ) Boycott Fast Food Joints

Number ONE the food is way too expensive.  The amount of money that you pay for one meal could purchase enough food to feed two- four people for a few days.  Take for instance a typical meal deal at McDonald’s, which might cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $6.00-$7.00.  If you were to purchase a loaf of bread for $2.50 and 1 medium sized jar of peanut butter for $3.50, you would come out ahead, financially.   If you went ahead and purchased the meal deal at McDonald’s, that is only a ONE TIME occasion to feed ONE PERSON and then shit the food out later.  WTF!!  

Number TWO, most menu items at fast food restaurants are not very healthy and nutritious.  They are usually loaded with sugars, saturated fats, chemical preservatives, and empty calories that provide little or no nutritional value.  Most people that frequent these joints have know idea of what they are eating.  They would never bother to read the labels and what they care most about is the taste and satisfying their hunger.  I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that most of these food are intentionally made to be addictive.  

Here are some examples of strange chemicals that are used in fast food:

Propylene glycol-  This is a chemical used in anti-freeze, which is highly toxic;  electronic cigarette filler, and laxatives.   It keeps food frozen, enhances moisture and adds to flavor of the food

Yellow 5 and 6-  A dye used in fast food, which has been found to increase the risk of hyperactivity in children

Sodium nitrate-  an artificial flavoring and preservative used in cured meats;  May lead to an increased risk of cancer and heart disease

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)-  a food preservative, that may cause memory problems and headache in persons sensitive to this chemical

High fructose corn syrup made from GMO corn 

Dimethylpolysiloxane-  This is an emulsifier, anti- foaming agent, and anti-caking agent found  in McDonald’s chicken McNuggets. It is also used in silly putty and silicon breast implant filler.  

So most of that food is being consumed for the convenience and instant gratification. People feed themselves this crap day in and day out and this type of food has an accumulative affect on their health.  They may not see what it does to their bodies after a few months, but think about what they deteriorate to after a few years of eating that junk.  As the old saying goes “Garbage in, garbage out!”.  Watch the documentary "Super Size Me" and you’ll learn exactly what I am getting at here.  

Number THREE, look at the quality of the service and the food that you typically receive and you will see that in most instances that you are not getting a good value for the money.  Most consumers of fast food are paying for the brand name, taste, and convenience.   Sometimes the employees have disrespectful attitudes and are very dismissive.  

I can’t tell you how many times that I have been through a drive thru window of certain fast food establishments and received curt service. This is this an example of how you may be treated at a McDonald’s franchise or a Checker’s, etc.   You drive to the window to pay after placing your order.   Once you arrive at the window to pay, the cashier tells you your total,  without even saying as much as “Hello” and then hands you your receipt after you pay.  Another employees may pop up at the drive thru window and say something like “Here you go”, while handing the food to you.  No “Goodbye” , “Thank  you”, or “Have a nice day” .  It often leaves me thinking “What am I? Chopped liver?”  That’s the extent of the interaction at many fast food franchises.  I am not saying that this is going to be your usual occurrence, but it has happened to me too many times to ignore.  

As far as the actual quality of the food goes,  you are very fortunate if you stumble upon a fast food establishment that will give you fresh food.  It really irks me when I visit a Dunkin Donuts and the employees try to pass off stale donuts on me.  I know that they realize the donut is stale.  I know that they  would not eat a pastry that is as hard as a rock, but yet they somehow think it is acceptable to serve this to a paying customer.  There was one occasion where a McDonald’s employee handed me a Hot Fudge Sundae, that was all melted.  It looked as if it had been partially eaten and played over.  I very angrily returned it to the McDonald’s employee and demanded a freshly made Hot Fudge Sundae.  

Number FOUR, Can you really be certain of how your food is being handled?  There have been several instances of employees working for fast food establishments that have been caught doing some very disgusting and unsavory things with the food.  Like, the kids that decided that it would but funny to make a dick sandwich with Subway bread.  Or the fellow that thought that it was cute to lick a whole sleeve of tacos at a Taco Bell franchise where he was employed.  What makes matters worse is that these folks experienced a eureka moment and decided to take pictures of themselves in the act of their hair brain activities and put the photos on Twitter and Instagram.  

Aside from these mishaps you have to worry about whether the food was stored and prepared in sanitary conditions and properly cooked.  There is also a concern of  whether employees washed their hands before handling your food.  A relative of mine once worked at a fast food restaurant and she told me that the soda fountain that they used was really dirty.  It was not cleaned very frequently and was contaminated with mold, dust, and crusted up syrup.    

Number FIVE, the employees at fast food restaurants are paid crappy wages and treated like crap by their management.   So, it almost goes without saying that most of these employees have no real incentive for providing top notch service to customers.  I don’t know about you, but I have some reservations  about disgruntled and mistreated employees handling my food. Some of them don’t appreciate and take their jobs very seriously.  They are basically overworked and underpaid.  I can honestly say that I feel them on that one, because I was a fast food employee in my teens ,working for a measly $3.35 an hour.  Ah.  Those were the days.  There have even been several mass protests staged by retail and fast food workers.  They demand to be paid $15 an hour or more for their time.  


© Copyright 2013 Susan Broadbelt