There may be more issues with eating whatever you want than just getting fat...

In Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, he argues that most people don’t think too much about what they eat as long as it tastes good, and in some degree, he’s right. People buy the same items week after week because they like what they taste, and find the food to be a reliable attribute to a successful meal. If what you’re eating tastes good, you’re less likely to look at the label or box it came from, and indulge yourself in the fact that you’ve just eaten X amount of calories in what seemed to be a harmless snack. You’d much rather go on about your day without giving the calorie and fat intake a second thought. But what Schlosser neglects to mention is that there are plenty of health-conscious foodies out there who thrive on organic groceries, which only adds to the increase of healthy produce being created. In Whole Foods, you’ll see aisles and aisles of food nuts each of which are reading the entire label start to finish, and if finding the product unsatisfactory, return it to the shelf and leave empty-handed. However, there are far more of the former than there are of the latter, so although there are many people who are conscious of what they’re eating, most of the population is not.

In addition to claiming that people fail to realize what they’re actually eating, Schlosser also maintains that there are larger ramifications to these “seemingly innocuous choices’ that we as a people make three times a day. From watching Kenner’s Food, Inc., and reading Schlosser’s works, among others, it is evident that there are bigger problems with eating whatever you want than just getting fat. There are other health risks involved with eating these types of foods like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma and I’m sure there are many others which I am unable to list, or spell. Not only does eating food that you are not knowledgeable about increase the possibility of food borne illnesses, but it most certainly supports the big corporations that are monopolizing America’s and other Western European countries’ food industry. Purchasing these foods encourages the manufacturers to make more of their product, which in turn adds to the amount of pressure the workers are put under, and the treatment of the animals is worsened due to the demand of their meat, and it being needed so quickly. The use of corn in America is so vast, that the farmers who are sowing the seeds are unable to reuse the previous season’s seeds and must waste more money purchasing new seeds each season/year. So in conclusion, there are many more issues with eating whatever you want than you may think.