Against the Fast Food Restaurant in the US - Essay Example

Against the Fast Food restaurant in the US Introduction Generally, when people aspire to have something that will be of assistance to their lives or community, they only look at the good side, or rather the advantages that that particular change may bring (Bursten, 2008). Nevertheless, all affirmative changes have their own disadvantages, as well. This paper discusses the fast food industry in the US, followed by an argument of its advantages and disadvantages. It will then conclude by supporting the fact that fast food restaurants brought more harm than good in the US. Arguments for Fast food industries in the US Americans, in the past, yearned to have food at their own convenience in terms of availability, price, and time. This desire was met by means of fast food outlets that are growing and expanding, day and night. They are nowadays located everywhere; in the places of work, schools and homes (Schlosser and Wilson, 2006). Despite the fact that they wanted convenience that would result to an improved society, the ignorance of the complications that would be brought by fast food restaurants was not put into consideration since the disadvantages of fast food chains outweighed its expected benefits. Nonetheless, the advantage and convenience of having less time in the kitchen was felt. While these chains have been of advantage to the people, and the economy at large, good traditions that were valued in the past have been replaced. One of these values includes the sharing of meals with family. Arguments against Fast food industries Even though, there are numerous advantages linked to fast food chains, the disadvantages cannot be overlooked. On a social level, fast food chains created a magnificent revolution in the ancient and traditional way in which meal time was understood by most people in the society, making life more flexible because people were given time off their kitchens and given the opportunity take a bite on the move. When these restaurants started growing bigger and bigger, the advantages could be felt even more especially for those who had the responsibility of preparing meals (Dunn, 2012). This was mostly done by women as the fast food chains grew before the women liberation movement, in the 1950s. Besides meal preparation, women also had to take good care of the children and the home. Concisely, the opportunities provided by the increasing number of these restaurants gave women freedom to concentrate on other important chores. Debatably, the chance to evade the cooking of a big family meal by simply going out to a fast food chain had the chance of revolutionizing how the housewives of this time may have their week planned. Other advantages, like the opportunity for colleagues to have a short time lunch break and rush to a fast food restaurant to have a lunch presented variety in diet and time off the custom of workplace cafes or ordinary packed lunches (Schlosser and Wilson, 2006). On an economic level, fast food chains gave a considerable improvement to the US economy because Americans spent a lot of money on French fries, fried chicken, hamburgers, and other affordable fast foods. These fast food chains also greatly contributed to the creation of jobs and gave students and unskilled workers, an opportunity to generate income besides any other industrial site or factory (Bursten, 2008). Even though there are a number of advantages brought about by fast food outlets as discussed above, there were various disadvantages as well. Intriguingly, for each advantage resulting from the occurrence of fast food outlets, there is an equivalent and connected disadvantage. For example, whereas these outlets gave people the opportunity to evade the conventional way of taking meals together, especially during a huge meal prepared at home, there is a huge setback. The quality of the meal from a fast food restaurant could not be compared to the homemade one, plus, it was not healthy at all (Dunn, 2012). Whilst the general family meal would include meat, fruits, vegetables, and starch, most of the food offered at fast food restaurants lacked variety and would mainly consist of fats that clog the artery, high sugar and salt levels, among other harmful additives and preservatives (Schlosser and Wilson, 2006). Similarly damaging was that uniting together as a family and sharing a meal, was no longer a family tradition to be performed on a daily basis. When a meal is prepared by the members of a family at different participation levels, there is a lot of effort in it and therefore every family member is expected to sit at a common table and have the meal. On the other hand, when a meal is just bought at a fast food restaurant, no effort is put in it and therefore it becomes allowed to eat casually, as the meal is assumed to be for consumption reasons only. Eating together as a family was therefore devalued. To add on that, even though women, whose role was preparing family meals, may have had more time at their disposal, they were not entirely eased from other problems (Dunn, 2012). For example, it would be much cheaper getting food from the grocery and preparing it rather than buying fast foods. Consequently, men had to work extra hard to provide for the family. When looking at economics on an individual ground, it was much cheaper to carry packed lunch than drive to a fast food near the work place (Schlosser, 2012). Locating a fast food incurred costs like gasoline, spending money on the food, and wastage of time. Eating packed lunch at work saved a lot of time, fuel, and money as one would eat at the office chatting with fellow colleagues. Whereas the economy immensely benefited from the introduction of fast food restaurants, it triggered the construction of growing number of chains, contributing to environmental clogging by congested but similar fast food restaurants. Generally, fast foods are unhealthy as they contribute to disease and obesity. Many people go for fast foods as they are lazy to prepare a healthy meal. Fast foods contribute to weight gain. They are very addictive, and have pleasant tastes (Bursten, 2008). Basically, the consumption of excess fast foods contributes to high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which eventually contributes to laziness. Laziness immensely leads to weight gain. Conclusion From the above, it is clear that these fast food joints brought more harm than good. Although it is alluring to have a readily prepared meal, the disadvantages that it brings with it are not worth it. Looking at the social level, it is evident that fast food restaurants do not have anything to offer. They are not a supporter of family, workmates, and friends sitting down to have a quality meal but instead encourage people to eat just for consumption purposes. Although fast foods save the time used in family food preparation, prepared meals are healthier. A high obesity rate is experienced in US due to the high fat and calorie content food. Looking at the economic level, the ever-increasing fast food industry helped the economy derive numerous profits. The health effects that come with it are not worth the money earned from it. The negative effects to the environment resulting from over-constructing these chains are also not worth it. In conclusion it can be stated that although various advantages came about the fast food industry, the disadvantages they brought carry more weight. References Bursten,J. (2008). Fast food: slowing us all down. St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Publishers. Dunn, R. A. (2010). The Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Obesity: An Analysis by Gender, Race, and Residential Location. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 92(4), 1149-1164. Schlosser, E. and Wilson, C. (2006). Chew on this: everything you don’t want to know about fast food. Boston: Houghton. Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast food nation: the dark side of the all-American meal. Boston: Mariner Books. Read More