Fast-Food: Is It Really Convenient?

Fast food has been a part of our lives for God knows how long. When we’re busy with work or school and have no time to bother cooking food for ourselves, we’ll just drop by a fast food chain and grab something. It’s pretty convenient, especially to people who are always on the go. But have we really ever considered if the daily consumption of food products from these fast food chains is really okay?

According to certain historians, the whole idea and concept of fast food or selling of ready-to-eat food products originated from the Romans. Most of the lower-classed citizens who simply cannot afford kitchen facilities relied on fast-food. The pilgrims and travelers who once flocked the Roman cities were also regular customers. I’m actually quite amazed that people actually bothered researching the origin of something like fast-food but I guess everything should eventually be thrown into the light. Nowadays, these fast-food chains are simply everywhere, to the point that you can find them at every single corner of the streets. Well maybe not, but my point is, there are a lot of them now all over the world. I doubt that there’s actually someone who doesn’t know what fast-food is since, like what I’ve been saying, it’s a part of who we are now. Our usual varieties of fast-food includes hamburgers, French fries and carbonated drinks - they come in as a package most of the time. Although there are others, these are the most-renowned around the globe.

Fast food has come under criticism for the past few years over concerns ranging from claimed negative health effects, alleged animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. About the health-based criticisms, the issue was proven to be quite true. The fast-food chain McDonalds, for example, was criticized for serving food products that are high in saturated fat and calories which doesn’t exactly help our body. Sure, it will give you the energy that you need and a stomach refill but those high amounts fats and calories spell trouble for any human being. Of course, it’s never bad to go visit your usual fast-food chain for breakfast, lunch or supper. What we all need to do is minimize it, even just a little bit. According to experts, some fast-foods can even give you cancer so it would be best if we eat the stuff in minimal quantities. After all, it wouldn’t be that bad if we at least try to cook our own food every once in a while.

One of the good things that fast-food gave us is employment. According to the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 1.9 million American workers are employed in food establishments. And with the fast growth of the industry, comes a great need for workers. Although the pay for working at such establishments isn’t that good, it does help, especially to college students who are in great need of money.