Sometimes I have to wonder why so many millions from all corners over the globe bust their humps trying to get to this country. Yeah, I know; economic opportunity, freedom, personal space, yada yada yada.... Still, when you consider some of the ways Americans settle for the generic and the artificial, even I have to wonder what it is that we're really selling. What got me thinking along these lines was the revelation that the farthest any American could be from a McDonalds is 107 miles. It seems that no matter where you go in this country, you're never far away from truly bad, artificial, and disturbingly unhealthy food. What's worse is that we seem to generally be OK with that. Wouldja like fries with your consternation??
Go to virtually any other country in the world, and meals are social occasions. Friends gather to enjoy one another's company, families catch up on the events of their day, people relax, unwind, and enjoy the good things in life. In this country, food is viewed as fuel. Just as you'd never linger in a gas station after filling up your car's gas tank, most Americans simply want to fuel up and go. Somewhere, we seem to have lost our connection with food and it's ability to not only fuel our bodies but also to enrich our existence. No, I'm not a foodie, or a snob, or whatever appellation you'd choose to attach to someone who thinks like I do, but I'm convinced that our cultural relationship with food is both unhealthy and unsafe. We consume vast quantities of fast food, and we've elevated the marketing of cheap, easy, and mass-produced food products to an art form. We're probably the only country where poor quality, mass-produced hamburgers are considered a birthright and a rite of passage. We hand our unhealthy diet and skewed view of nutrition from generation to generation, and we've created a culture which elevates speed and uniformity over health and nutrition.
I'm becoming a fan of the Slow Food Movement, and not because I aspire to become the next Food Network star. No, when I look around, it's hard to escape the conclusion that we're digging our graves with our teeth. Our devotion to fast food has increased obesity and heart disease rates. It's turned our view of mealtime into something to be endured and sped through rather than something to be cherished and savored with friends and family. And it's made America the country that not only invented but now defines the term "food desert".
For years now, I've conducted my own personal boycott of McDonald's and most other fast food franchises. Part of it is that I think fast food is by definition inherently unhealthy. (If you doubt me, sit in a parking lot at any McDonald's and watch the people entering. I doubt the words "svelte" or "healthy" will be the first things that come to mind.) It's not as if there's a lack of proof for the assertion that fast food is both dangerous and unhealthy. I have no ambition to subject myself to the side effects of prolonged consumption of cheap, overly processed, and just plain bad food. Yes, I suppose the argument could be made that fast food is one of the "benefits" that accrue to a nation and a people so economically successful. I can't help but think that that economic success would if nothing else buy Americans opportunity to treat food as something more than fuel, an annoying requirement that must be attended to quickly and easily.
McDonald's take it as a point of pride that you can get the same hamburger whether it's in Shreveport, LA, Anniston, AL, or Wenatchee, WA. Uniformity may be good for the corporate bottom line, but it's not exactly a stretch to say that it's doing little for our waste lines. In an era when so much debate is being devoted to health care reform, we've completed blown by the reality that so much of our collective health future can be controlled simply by paying more attention to what we put in our mouths. Yeah, I know; Americans didn't fight and claw their way to the top of the food chain to eat a plant-based diet. Still, you'd think we'd want to live a long and healthy life in order that we might better and longer enjoy the fruits of our successes.
WE DESERVE BETTER. And we have it within our grasp to achieve it. We just don't think we have the time for it...not when there are soccer games and piano recitals and swim practices to get to. And so we continue digging our graves with out teeth. Health care reform? How about starting with the choices we make about what we put into our bodies? We would never even consider putting cheap, low-quality gasoline into our SUVs...and yet we have no problem putting cheap, low-quality and unhealthy food into our bodies. 'Splain that....
