My New Mid-year Resolution

After reading Fast Food Nation, I vow to never give in to my fast food urge again, especially my McDonald's cravings.

I'm not going to spoil this fun read by giving you the statistics and specific examples of the diseases, poor treatment of employees, the ill treatment of animals, faux-care of environmental issues, the tremendous amount of murders that are carefully hidden from the public, and the destruction of family farms--all stemming from the rise of fast food chains. I will, however, include one of the concluding paragraphs from the epilogue that really solidified my new resolution:

"Nobody in the United States is forced to buy fast food. The first step toward meaningful change is by far the easiest: stop buying it. The executives who run the fast food industry are not bad men. They are businessmen. They will sell free-range, organic, grass-fed hamburgers if you demand it. They will sell whatever sells at a profit. The usefulness of the market, its effectiveness as a tool, cuts both ways. The real power of the American consumer has not yet been unleashed. The heads of Burger King, KFC, and McDonald's should feel daunted; they're outnumbered. There are three of them and almost three hundred million of you. A good boycott, a refusal to buy, can speak much louder than words. Sometimes the most irresistible force is the most mundane" (269).

(Note to self: I MUST use this paragraph in my comp classes as an example of an effective "call to action.")

It's not like I eat Mickey D's (0r other fast food besides Qdoba b/c McDonald's owns Chipolte) every day, every week, or even every month. But every few to several months I crave/must have it. The clown still has a power over me. But not anymore. All I needed was to read this book. Now when I want my "comfort food" that reminds me of the happiness only a Happy Meal could bring, I'm going to remember this book. Then I'm going to go to the store and buy free-range, grass-fed, organic beef and make my own damn burger.

My only temptation will be the fries...but Alexis makes some fab frozen fries...

Fast Food Nation gets 4 Hello Kittys. Beware: this book is not for the faint of heart, stomach, or mind.