Friday, August 1, 2014

August - Ban Fast Food

 Between trans-fats, calorie counts, and E.coli infected meats, fast food is anything but desirable. Fast food fuels minimum wage and the world's growing obesity. There have been many studies linking fast food to health problems, and many people have attempted to take a few of the fast food giants to court. So if we all know that fast food is terrible for us, why do we continue to eat the crap? The answer to that lies in the ingredients list. Many fast foods may contain addictive chemicals in their ingredients to keep you hooked on their food. Some of these ingredients include: MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), Cassein (referred to as the nicotine of fast food), and over doses of sugar, fat, and salt. Fast food companies have committed greater crimes than just addicting you to their food. Let's explore some top fast food companies' criminal record starting off with McDonald's.


Name: McDonald's 
Founded by: Richard and Maurice McDonald 
Owned by a corporation?: No, it is one. 
Who do they own?: Krispy Kreme, Au Bon Pain, Baker's Oven, Londis, Millies Cookies, Cafe Giardino, Martin McColl, Threshers, Dairy Queen, Bruster's Ice Cream, and SPAR.  
Offenses: All food poisoning offenses. Unfair treatment of workers, advertisement aimed at kids, accused of rainforest destruction, it has been accused of using expired chicken in China, obesity in children, their "healthy" options aren't so healthy, for a more detailed account of their many crimes click here.
Offenses that it has been punished for: Basically nothing. 
Ironies: Contribute money to find a cause for cancer while many of their ingredients are suspected to cause cancer. Check out this video, McDonald's actually has a website for employees that tells them this stuff! 



Name: Burger King
Founded by: Keith J. Kramer and Matthew Burns 
Owned by a corporation?:Owned by Pillsbury Company which in turn is owned by General Mills.  
Who do they own?: No one
Offenses: Food poisoning and unfair treatment of employees.
Offenses it has been punished for: Not really any. 
Ironies: None I can find



Name: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Founded by: Harland Sanders
Owned by a corporation?: Pepsico
Who do they own?: No one
Offenses: Food poisonings, unfairly treated workers, uses meat from chickens who are abused, and they are behind deforestation in Asia.
Offenses it has been punished for: In 2012 it paid 8.3 million dollars to the family of a girl with brain damage that she got from eating at salmonella contaminated chicken at KFC when 7.
Ironies: The irony is they're causing what they're donating to cure!







Name: Taco Bell
Founded by: Glen Bell
Owned by a corporation?: Pepsico
Who do they own?: No one
Offenses: Food poisonings, unfair worker treatment, and the selling of meat from abused animals.
Offenses it has been punished for: Basically nothing
Ironies: None I can find



Name: Chick-Fil-A
Founded by: S. Truett Cathy
Owned by a corporation?: Not that I can find
Who do they own?: No one
Offenses: they are anti gay marriage, one chicken sandwich has the following ingredients: chicken (whole breast filet, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], seasoned coater [enriched bleached wheat flour {with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening {baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate}, spice, soybean oil, color {paprika}], milk wash [water, nonfat milk, egg], peanut oil [fully refined peanut oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and dimethylpolysiloxane as an anti-foaming agent]), bun (enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, folic acid], water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: liquid yeast, soybean oil, nonfat milk, salt, wheat gluten, soy flour, dough conditioners [may contain one or more of the following: mono- and diglycerides, calcium and sodium stearoyl lactylates, calcium peroxide], soy flour, amylase, yeast nutrients [monocalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate], calcium propionate added to retard spoilage, soy lecithin, cornstarch, butter oil [soybean oil, palm kernel oil, soy lecithin, artificial flavor, TBHQ and citric acid added as preservatives, and artificial color]), pickles (cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate [preservative], natural flavors, polysorbate 80, yellow 5, blue 1).
Offenses it has been punished for: Practically none
Ironies: None I can find.


Level One- You eat out three times a week or more, I mean who has time for cooking? Here are some ideas for you: 
  1. No matter how disturbing it might be read through this ingredient list and health effects of these ingredients. 
  2. Check out this article titled disturbing fast food truths will make you reconsider your lunch
  3. Explore local, non fast food, eating out possibilities. 
  4. Watch this video showing a 4 year old McDonald's hamburger and fries.
  5. Watch Super Size Me a documentary of one man eating nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. 

Level Two- You will sometimes grab a bite to eat at a fast food joint, but oftentimes the guilt hits you. Here are some ideas for you:
  1. No matter how disturbing it might be read through this ingredient list and health effects of these ingredients.   
  2. Check out this article titled disturbing fast food truths will make you reconsider your lunch
  3. Boycott one of the above mentioned fast food "restaurants", and express to others your displeasure. 
  4. Watch this video about what a McDonald's ad should look like. 
  5. Watch Super Size Me a documentary of one man eating nothing but McDonald's for 30 days.  


Level Three- Once in a blue moon you get that urge to bite into a good old fast food burger, or burrito. Here are some ideas for you:  
  1. No matter how disturbing it might be read through this ingredient list and health effects of these ingredients. 
  2. Check out this article titled disturbing fast food truths will make you reconsider your lunch
  3. Watch this video about what a McDonald's ad should look like. 
  4. Boycott fast food altogether, believe me the longer you stay away from it the less you crave it! 
  5. Watch Super Size Me a documentary of one man eating nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. 


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