The Fast Food Trap

I’m rarely shocked — but my jaw has just dropped to a new low. I’m well aware that fast-food restaurants don’t give a moment’s thought to our health; in fact, they make their profits on the back of America’s growing obesity, diabetes, and cancer crisis. They raise and slaughter animals with no regard, and they control vast tracks of farmland. But last night I saw a commercial for a fast-food restaurant that, although it may seem innocuous or even delicious to some, makes me scratch my head and say, “Really?”

For $5.99 one can purchase a “bread bowl” filled with pasta: an 8-inch carbohydrate bomb that gets filled with your choice of pasta (three-cheese mac-and-cheese, alfredo, etc.) and meat (bacon, salami, Philly cheese steak). The suggested serving is for two, but sure as I’m writing this, I know people will be gobbling these down on their own at an estimated 1300- to 1500-calorie count. Yikes. The sodium levels must be high, too. Sadly, they probably taste good.

Just when I think we’re making progress and people are really thinking about where their food comes from, big business is going to make it easier to destroy that work. Easy on the wallet, but at what cost to the body? And, frankly, what is the overall health-care cost down the line? Perhaps these businesses ought to contribute to a national health-care fund for all the damage they do.

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