Good Food Served Quickly

Karen Varner, a female of age twenty from Cabot, Arkansas, slowly drives her car up to the intercom system at a local McDonalds’s drive through service.

After ordering a meal, which comes with a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a large milkshake, she completes her transaction with the employee and drives home.

According to Fatcalories.com, a website that lists the nutritional facts of fast food products, Karen has purchased 1340 calories of food, which is more than half of her recommended daily calorie intake.

Millions of Americans eat at fast food restaurants everyday, regardless of the health hazards associated with their products. Throughout the past decade, though, the media has created a growing, public awareness on the fast food industry. Many Americans are concerned to the point where they are pushing for legislation on the fast food industry.

According to Supersize Me, a documentary film that criticizes the McDonalds Corporation, the government forces fast food franchises to reveal the nutritional facts of their food products. The government also inspects restaurants for health hazards, and places their scores on the wall for all to see.

Obesity, a disease associated with being overweight, is becoming more and more common in America. According to Discovery Health, a cable television network, obesity is an epidemic.

“Obesity, to a large extent, is an avoidable condition that leads to a number of avoidable diseases,” says Dr. Moshe Shike, a professor of medicine at Cornell University Medical College.

In March of 2004, Congress passed a bill that banned all lawsuits regarding fast food franchises from obese Americans who claim that fast food caused their obesity.

If I were in the United States Congress, I would have supported this bill, because I agree with Dr. Shike. Obesity is avoidable. Thanks to the media, the public can be aware of the health hazards associated with fast food. These people should take responsibility and blame themselves for eating the food. They know the consequences of fast food consumption, and it was their choice to eat it.

I do not believe that the United States Congress should pass legislation to restrict fast food restaurants from producing their unhealthy food products. As long as the nutritional information is out in the open, American citizens should be allowed to make their own decisions.

“I know it’s unhealthy,” says Varner, “but I know don't gain much from it. And besides, it’s not fast food- it's good food served quickly.”