Fast food companies have a responsibility to list all of their ingredients. It is a basic consumer and human right to know what we are ingesting. McDonalds and other companies complain that giving away all their ingredients will result in them losing their secret recipes. As a culture we must face the reality that these ingredients and fast food products are making us extremely overweight and very ill.
McDonalds is the fast food leader of the world. They market to young children by providing playgrounds, happy meals, and cartoon characters. Unfortunately, these children do not know about the horrible side effects that eating fast food has on their bodies. “On average, Americans now eat about four servings of french fries every week” says Schlosser. The increase in portion size and the increase in the volume of eating at fast food restaurants directly relates to America’s bulging waist lines.
Recently two over weight teens sued McDonalds because the teens felt the restaurant neglected to properly inform them of the side effects its food would have on their weight and health. Lawsuits such as this one are becoming more and more popular. There are two sides of this debate, but regardless of which side you are on one thing can be agreed upon, fast food is not the most nutritious meal available.
Fast food companies have a moral and social obligation to their customers. We as a nation have a right to know what we are eating. Once the truth is finally told and nutrition labels have all ingredients and chemicals, consumers can begin to make educated decisions. At that point the blame would rely solely on the consumer and not on the fast food company. However, until that point is reached we cannot expect Americans to understand the impact fast food will have on their health and well being.