Fast Food….the fast way to poor health!
It is a favorite daydream of mine to see organic REAL FOOD drive ins pop up across this country.. Places that I can take my kids to. A brightly colored kid friendly environment that they enjoy. Like Chucky Cheese only with REAL wonderful pizzas topped with organic goodies. To wash down the pizza an array of stevia sweetened sodas in a myriad of flavors.
OR… on a hot summer day to be able to jump in the car or ride our bikes to the drive in, order a delicious grass fed burger with organic fries, fried in non gmo oil and go to the park down by the Boise River…While at the park I can sip on a fair trade organic iced coffee while the kids enjoy an ice cold, organic, strawberry lemonade..
But until my dream becomes reality I MUST stay away from the existing dead food giants. These franken stein fast foods ARE compromising our childrens’ health and robbing them of years of life expectancy.
I know how hard it is to resist the convenience of the drive through…. that low blood sugar, mindless trance of hunger pulls you right over into the turn lane and before you know it you are hearing ” I’ll take your order when you’re ready”.
Hopefully the videos that I include at the end of this post will give you some will power..
In the mean time look for alternatives
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natural food market’s deli counter
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down town bistros and delis. Many of these offer better food choices.
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Local restaurants (not chains)
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chains that are trying….. Baja Fresh and in a pinch Subway but watch out for GMO s and MSG !ASK!
When trying a new place ASK questions about menu items. Don’t be embarrassed. You are feeding yourself and YOUR kids. You check out babysitters and make sure that the movies and video games are age appropriate. For crying out loud!! check the FOOD!
I recently found a restaurant that offers organic beef burgers and fries prepared without gmo oil! Even though the burger bun and potatoes are not organic it is a much better option then the media perpetuated, gut bomb factories, that have some how become an American icon…Grrrr\
Knock it off! STOP eating trash!
Teach your children that one way to care for their bodies is to be picky about what they eat. You teach them about stranger danger…or at least you should.. Teach them about strange food danger. Encourage them to be savvy.. Let them know that they’re being marketed to.
Nasty ads for NASTY FOOD!
Speaking of marketing…Burger Kings latest disgusting ad campaign http://tinyurl.com/no2burgerking should have parents everywhere telling them to stuff their kids meals aka Club BK in the trash where it belongs… If you are as irate as I am about the ad… remind them that they MARKET TO CHILDREN and INAPPROPRIATE ADS with SEXUAL CONNOTATIONS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY DECENT PARENTS! Their food stinks and now their image is following suit…….I haven’t eaten at BK in YEARS!
Burger King contact info click here
Tell ‘em to quit being STUPID and GROSS! and PLEASE don’t take your kids there… you vote with EVERY dollar that you spend!
Educate your kids AND yourself .
Provide your kids with information that helps them understand WHY you are loving them enough to just say NO to junk food! Tell them you want them to live long, happy, disease free lives. Share the fact that eating fast food is an unhealthy choice, just like smoking or doing drugs.
Please teach YOUR children.
Don’t leave something so vital to over worked public school teachers or children’s television programming. YOU the PARENT are their primary teacher. Other input is great, but it should only reinforce what your kids are learning from YOU!
There are side benefits to children learning self-control in regards to food..
Kids that have an awareness of their body’s nutritional needs and have an understanding that poor nutrition is the root of many illnesses are equipped to make better choices. When you’ re not around they can figure out for themselves if this food is indeed a food or a poison in disguise.
This knowledge combined with peer group/media resistance prepares kids to say NO to alcohol , drugs or premature sex. They will have had practice in making healthy choices in something that occurs everyday…. EATING!
ENJOY the VIDEOS if you find them appropriate share them with your kids …… don’t forget to leave a comment
~Blessings~
Keep Food REAL!!
My burger should NOT age better than ME!
This video was done by some kids…..I think they did a great job!
For the Star Wars fans.. my 11yr old son found this one for me!
No mention of GMO’s or MSG ( I wish there was) but she makes a great point about calories and fat intake….
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children's health, Daily Musings, fast food, frankenstein food, GRASS FED Beef and Lamb, kids nutrition, No GMO's, obesity, saturated fats, SUSTAINABLE stewardship, trans fats, whole foods
Themocracy
Judith, this is a fabulous article! It is a straight forward address of many of the concerns and effects related to fast food and its influence over our children. Parents must stop condoning the fast food industry and the industry must re-assess their marketing tactics focused on children. End of story. If you’re interested in helping campaign against the fast food industry check out http://www.valuethemeal.org, a campaign pushing to hold the fast food industry accountable for our current state of obesity. For update to date news check out their blog http://valuethemeal.blogspot.com
A great campaign that is really gaining ground in the battle against fast food!
Thanks for the encouragement and the info I WILL be getting involved with http://www.valuethemeal.org, !!!!
While I agree with several things mentioned, I also believe that kids and parents have choices. You are not giving enough credit to kids and parents: they are a lot smarter than what you think. Obesity rates have leveled off not due to activists pushing to ban fast food, but because these same fast foods you are targeting have offered better choices.
As far as your dream of having organic drive-thru’s or drive-ins, hang on tight; there are some concepts being developed and are expected to hit the market in 2010.
Here is a good read about how kids are making healthy choices WHEN allowed to do so:
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3921
Angel
I agree that kids and parents have choices…I choose not to eat junk food and encourage my children to do the same..
As for Fast Food “choices” …until MSG in all it’s devious forms is either banned or properly labeled and GMO’s are eradicated from our food supply or at the very least clearly identified through labeling is there really a choice???….The CHOICE is to eat organic, non GMO foods free from harmful excito toxins.
Simply reducing the fat in a few menu items or throwing in a few salads made with conventionally grown produce and treated with who knows what to keep it “pretty”, are not choices of any REAL merit. And offering water as the only healthy beverage doesn’t constitute any meaningful option for my taste buds or my 9 yr olds.
I am genuinely excited and hopeful about the “concepts” being developed. I am however afraid that there are too few organic growers to keep several large chains supplied with any integrity… But I won’t stop dreamin’ ;0)
Angel– I definitely agree that parents deserve both responsibility and credit when it comes to teaching their children how to eat. A lot of times however, parents’ attempts to do so are undermined due to pointed marketing to children and targeted fast food locations right next to schools. I checked out that website Geetha posted, and I found this map: http://www.mapsforamerica.com/valuethemeal/map?tid=3439. It shows how close fast food restaurants are in comparison with schools, and there is no question that our children are being targeted.
So should we teach our kids how to eat in a way that is good for them? Of course. But at what point are we going to take notice of the growing health problems and the role that fast food giants are playing with their marketing?
Targeting kids as consumers just plain makes me mad. HOWEVER we live in a country that was founded on a free enterprise system.. and I like it that way BTW.. SO we are going to have DEAL with marketing issues…Marketing needs to be discussed with children. Kids need to understand the concepts behind advertising. If they can engage their understanding they won’t become an easy target…and they need to learn all this before they’re 18 and have a credit card ;0) The BEST way is to simply not buy from companies that are acting irresponsibly towards children…
As for REAL FOOD CHOICES …until proper ethical labeling is mandatory we really don’t KNOW what we’re choosing…
[...] Fast Food….the fast way to poor health! [...]
the great thing about stevia is that it is also tooth friendly like xylitol sweeteners”`,
Great article and videos Judith! I do remember way back in the days, I use to be one of those parents taking my sons to McDonalds so they can eat a cheese burger, fries, and a small coke…lets not forget the Happy Meal with the toy inside! I did that because they were cheap and because I have to admit, I wasn’t educated health wise just like many, many parents are not today. It was out of convenience to hit the fast food restaurants because it was ‘fast’ and easy.
I really believe that parents need to take charge in what to feed their children at home first and start introducing more healthy foods to them. Parents need to set that example for them by eating the right foods and by explaining to them why you eat them. That’s what we did with our sons. At first they were like “ewwwww” or “this doesn’t taste good”, but little by little they liked it! Sometimes I even ask them if they want to go to McDonalds or other fast food joints, but not they say, “No way!” Training them up and educating them will sure help them make choices of their own when they leave the nest. Well, I hope so!
The most killer Honey Lemonade Recipe: 1/2 gallon warm water, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice. Just mix it all with your hands (their warmth will disolve the honey and sugar) and pour mixture into a gallon container filled 3/4 with ice. You can even experiment with different tpes of honey to get different flavors.