Why Fast Food Companies Must Be Help Accountable for Their Ingredients

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Title: Why Fast Food Companies Must Be Help Accountable for Their Ingredients

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Author: Lynn VanDyke

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Why Fast Food Companies Must Be Help Accountable for Their Ingredients

Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com

Drive down any suburban or city street and you will witness

an overload of fast food marketing. Brightly colored

signs, cheap value meals, happy cartoon logos, and a

familiar smell will fill your senses. Fast food

restaurants have established themselves as a leader in our

nation's daily menu. What is the net affect fast food and

its ingredients have on our health? What, if any, moral

and social obligations do fast food companies have to their

consumers?

Obesity is believed to lead to diabetes, heart disease,

hypertension and other illnesses. Over 60% of Americans

are considered over weight, and the rise in diabetic

individuals has increased dramatically. In 1999 there were

42 billion people on direct diabetes medicine. That figure

has more than doubled in less than three years.

" Fast food is literally shortening the life span of our

citizens, " states Lynn VanDyke, certified sports

nutritionist, personal trainer and owner of

www.strength-training-woman.com. Mcs serves 46

million fast food meals every single day. As the

documentary Super Size Me points out, each Mcs

employee is trained to up sell the size of each order.

This increase in meal and drink proportions is becoming so

widely acceptable that cars now come with larger cup

holders.

The fast food process truly begins with the ingredients.

As Schlosser mentions in his article " Why Mcs

French Fries Taste So Good " , the federal Food and Drug

Administration does not require companies to disclose the

ingredients of their color or flavor additives so long as

all the chemicals in them are considered by the agency to

be generally recognized as safe, or GRAS. Unfortunately,

consumers are not able to tell a products full ingredient

list by reading the nutrition label. Terms such as

'artificial' and 'natural flavoring' are often seen at the

very end of most ingredient lists. We are completely

unaware of exactly what constitutes a natural or artificial

flavor.

Fast food companies owe it to their consumers to disclose

all ingredient information. Many people have special

dietary restrictions due to allergies or religious

affiliations. Some people simply prefer not to eat a

product that contains any animal or any part of an animal.

According to Schlosser, " The Vegetarian Legal Action

Network recently petitioned the FDA to issue to labeling

requirements for foods that contain natural flavors. " At

this point in time, it is difficult for anyone to refrain

from using animal products or added coloring or any a

specific chemical to do so.

Consumers cannot make educated decisions about a food

product if they do not know the full ingredients list.

Some may be shocked to know that Dannon strawberry yogurt

gets its coloring from Dactylopius coccus Costa, a female

insect that feeds on berries and produces berry colored

larvae. " The insects are collected, dried, and ground into

a pigment. It takes about 70,000 of them to produce a

pound of carmine, which is used to make processed foods

look pink, red, or purple " states Schlosser.

Another example of a misleading ingredient label comes from

Burger King. Its strawberry milk shake lists artificial

strawberry flavor as one of its ingredients. By taking a

closer look, we learn that the following ingredients make

up the artificial strawberry flavoring: amyl acetate, amyl

butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl

acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl

isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil,

diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl

ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate,

ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl

methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate,

ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenol-2-butanone (10%

solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate,

isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol,

4-methyllacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl

benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate,

methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential

oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate,

orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether,

y-undecalactone, vanillin and solvent. Simply stating

artificial strawberry flavoring is not educating consumers

on what they are eating and what possible effects these

food products could have on their bodies.

Fast food companies have a responsibility to list all of

their ingredients. It is a basic consumer and human right

to know what we are ingesting. Mcs and other

companies complain that giving away all their ingredients

will result in them losing their secret recipes. As a

culture we must face the reality that these ingredients and

fast food products are making us extremely overweight and

very ill.

Mcs is the fast food leader of the world. They

market to young children by providing playgrounds, happy

meals, and cartoon characters. Unfortunately, these

children do not know about the horrible side effects that

eating fast food has on their bodies. " On average,

Americans now eat about four servings of french fries every

week " says Schlosser. The increase in portion size and the

increase in the volume of eating at fast food restaurants

directly relates to America’s bulging waist lines.

Recently two over weight teens sued Mcs because the

teens felt the restaurant neglected to properly inform them

of the side effects its food would have on their weight and

health. Lawsuits such as this one are becoming more and

more popular. There are two sides of this debate, but

regardless of which side you are on one thing can be agreed

upon, fast food is not the most nutritious meal available.

Fast food companies have a moral and social obligation to

their customers. We as a nation have a right to know what

we are eating. Once the truth is finally told and

nutrition labels have all ingredients and chemicals,

consumers can begin to make educated decisions. At that

point the blame would rely solely on the consumer and not

on the fast food company. However, until that point is

reached we cannot expect Americans to understand the impact

fast food will have on their health and well being.

Spurlock, creator of the documentary Super Size Me,

explains how we live in a toxic, fast and cheap

environment. America is home to over 3 million vending

machines and countless convenient stores. Gas stations

sell more candy and prepared foods than gas. Soda machines

are in our schools and our school lunches are being filled

by chain restaurants such as Mcs and Pizza Hut.

The availability of fast food products is overwhelming.

The abundance and mass marketing of fast foods along with

the low cost fare makes it a habit of continually eating

these foods. We grow used to the aroma, textures and

tastes. Often a Mcs happy meal reminds us of happy

childhood memories when we did not have a care in the

world. For many consumers to stop eating fat food, it

would be like breaking a smoking habit after 20+ years.

The increase in diseases and illnesses is alarming.

Americans are becoming more and more overweight. Obesity

is in line to become the number one cause of preventable

death. Fast food companies have the moral and social

obligation to inform their consumers of all ingredients.

It should then be the consumer’s decision to stop eating

this toxic food.

Learning about proper nutrition does not take a degree form

Harvard. It takes the commitment and dedication to truly

change your life once and for all. Nutrition and fitness

are our best defenses against the mounting health care

crisis. According to the National Institute on Aging, " If

exercise could be packed in a pill, it would be the single

most widely prescribed and beneficial medicine in the

nation. " I whole heartedly agree with their statement.

About the Author:

Lynn VanDyke is the Internet’s leading fitness and

nutrition advisor. Her ebook has been ranked " The best

fitness ebook on the net " by the No Limits ezine. Learn

more about her services and grab her best-selling ebook by

visiting:

http://strength-training-woman.com/31-no-holds-barred-answer

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