Fast food is a global enterprise. From McDonald's chicken burgers in New York City to McDonalds's curry burgers in New Delhi India, deep-fried squid and peanut satays in Phuket Thailand, to Subway in Sydney Australia, fast food now accounts for approximately 50% of food revenue around the world. Unfortunately it's changing the way we think about food, our average body shape and our attitude towards the way we eat. Nutrition has been left along the wayside while KFC and a host of other popular fast food restaurants lure us to their doors.
Even developing countries are now talking of fast food restaurants and this concerns many nutrition experts. Why? Because the consistent promotion of fast foods has many of us mistakenly thinking that if it is so popular, surely it must be good for us. Fast food is convenient, relatively cheap, quick and basically over-rated. There are no health benefits to these foods other than a fast-fix when the hunger pains hit. Those burgers dripping all over your car seat and down your chin are full of fat which harden the arteries, yet the world seems totally oblivious to that fact.
Ok, there might be a small slice of pickle to be a found in your cheese burger and if you dig deep enough you may find a minute piece of lettuce in their somewhere. But surely you don't believe that fast foods are a good substitute for a healthy home-cooked meal? Baby boomers are throwing their arms up in despair and wondering what happened to home-cooked meals we once shared with our families. The traditional roast has now been replaced by a large family sized barrel of chicken with side dishes of fatty fries, shakes, ice-cream drowned in hot fudge and humongous M&M covered cookies or double cheese burgers and an upsize of fries and cola.
These are high in fat, salt and sugar, no wonder the majority of the world's population is suffering from obesity, chronic ailments, diabetes, blocked arteries and other illnesses. Behind the scenes farmers are battling to keep up with the demand for crops, beef, chicken and so forth. The world's population is now fixated on fast food and it's not going to change in a hurry. Millions of dollars are spent on fast food each day; it seems ironic that even while the world is reeling from the shock of a global economic crisis, we still see that the lines in the fast food restaurants are just as thick.
What the public fails to see or be aware of, is the fact that just one meal at a fast food restaurant can have us eating more than 100% of our recommended intake of sugar, fats, salt and cholesterol. In America alone, approximately 65% of adults are deemed obese or overweight and statistics state that a loss of 300,000 lives annually are due to unhealthy eating. Add to the fact that approximately $117 billion in health care was added up in 1999 and one is left to wonder why. Over-indulgence perhaps?
Fortunately governments as well as large corporations are beginning to sit up, take notice and display their concerns about the damage fast foods can do to our health, and it's about time. Perhaps all countries should incorporate a junk-food tax and just maybe the world's population would give serious thought to their eating habits. This money is channelled back to the public via additional revenue in lieu o f health education. Now that's an excellent concept, one we all could benefit from.
Unfortunately fast food often comes at a cost, the suffering of caged animals. But 2002 was a good year for animal liberationists and public health groups. This was the year that McDonald's finally buckled under pressure and stopped purchasing eggs from chickens which were confined to battery cages. This chicken suffered from starvation which forced them to unnaturally lay additional eggs. They also demanded that suppliers not feed their birds any antibiotics which promoted their growth.
So what are some of the fast foods on offer around the world?
UK:
The UK is well known for its battered fish and salt covered chips, traditionally laced with vinegar and wrapped in newspaper. This dates right back to World War II, it was usually cod, smoked haddock or whiting which was served up after being deep-fried in hot fat or oil. Back in the post war days Friday nights was treat night and families would shout out to their pals as they passed them in the street Just going up to the fish and chippie love, be back soon!
AUSTRIA:
Over in Austria, Baden is well known for offerings such as take-away apple strudel, liverwurst with sauerkraut and a great array of other authentic Austrian sausages. Pork, beef and chicken sausage is the most popular. Apart from the apple strudel which is heavily laced with sugar and icing sugar, most take-away meals are much healthier than in other parts of the world. The sausage is usually boiled in water, at times it is steamed in a dry pot over another pot filled with boiling water. This stops the sausage from losing its skin. Austrian waffles are very popular and laced with a load of sugar or as the Austrians say zucker. Austrian steamed sweat dumplings are popular in their fast food stores and once again laced with zucker.
THAILAND:
Thais love their rice, and this tops the list of fast foods, followed by Tom Yam Kung which is a spicy shrimp soup. Green chicken curry runs a close third in popularity while fried noodles usually accompany most meals. Roast duck is extremely popular while Tom Kha Kai a chicken in coconut soup is deemed a delicacy. Chicken coated in Turmeric is on most menus while Kai Phat Met Mamuang Himmaphan which is chicken fried in cashew nuts, is the favourite of many. These meals are quite nutritious in comparison to fast foods in other parts of the world. Peanut satays can be purchased on just about every street in Thailand. Peking Duck is one of the most popular choices of food in Bangkok. Unfortunately the ingredients are often of very poor quality and there appears to be no set criteria in lieu of health standard laws.
ITALY:
While McDonald's and Burger King can be found in many parts of Italy, the most popular version of Italian food is Spizzico, which is their own version of pizza. One can find Panini (sandwiches.) You will be surprised to know that the Italians even have vending machines which actually sell pasta! The most popular Panini is called tramezzini and this is simply round flat bread with your choice of filling. Tramezzini with olives, mozzarella cheese, jalapenos and assorted cold meats are very popular. Roasted chestnuts ( castagne ) are popular in the winter months.
While some fast food around the globe is relatively healthy, fast food is NOT good for you if it is laced with excessive amounts of sugar, fat and salt. Junk food which has no or low nutritional value, should be replaced with meals full of vitamins and minerals. Always carry healthy snacks so that you do not succumb to the lure of unhealthy fast foods. Try to eat healthy at all times, Lebanese bread with sliced cooked chicken and salad is much healthier than fatty, salty, cholesterol laden fast foods.