Reading Post #2: The True Cost of Fast Food

Eating fast food has been my guilty pleasure since I was little partially because I was rarely given the freedom to do so. My family has always believed in eating healthy, so fast food is usually the last option when it comes to picking what to eat for a meal. On rare occasions like a family road trip, where we didn't have time to find a sit-down restaurant, my parents would grant us the precious permission to indulge some McDonalds burgers and fries. After moving to the states, and especially after starting college, I've become a slightly more frequent visitor to the various fast food chains California's got to offer. I know it's not the best for my health, but the food is cheap and tasty―what's not to love? Nonetheless, after reading Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma, I realize that fast food cost us way more than its surface value. In fact, we compensate for eating unhealthy indirectly through taxes and health care. Here's the quote that reminds me about how I should be a responsible eater:

“The ninety-nine cent price of a fast-food hamburger simply doesn't take account of that meal's true cost--to soil, oil, public health, the public purse, etc., costs which are never charged directly to the consumer but, indirectly and invisibly, to the taxpayer (in the form of subsidies), the health care system (in the form of food-borne illnesses and obesity), and the environment (in the form of pollution), not to mention the welfare of the workers in the feedlot and the slaughterhouse and the welfare of the animals themselves.” 

                                        

                                                                                                                           -Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan

It's probably impossible to completely get rid of fast food from Americans' diet, but moderation is always the way to go and something that we need to work on. Hopefully, if we cut down our consumption of fast food, we can reduce the harms these "cheap" meals bring to our health and environment.