Within a five minute drive from where I work there is a Burger King set on a corner and two McDonald’s. There is a Wendy’s down one road, a White Castle down another and two Taco Bells. There are numerous little restaurants clotting parking plazas selling various grease-lathered hot dogs, tacos and burritos.
There is a Boston Market, a Panda Express and, in a single parking plaza, there are two Subways. I have 30 minutes granted for my lunch break, 30 minutes to get out, eat and come back to work on time. Now it may seem as though the only options I’m providing for myself during lunch are unhealthy, and almost like I might be ignoring any healthy options along the periphery.
It’s not that I don’t want to eat healthy, it’s just that it is impractical. Healthy foods take time and need to be purchased in advance and prepared in advance. In case I happen to be busy (busy happens to be interchangeable with lazy) I might just not have the time to eat healthy either. On the other hand there are so many options that take only a few minutes and a few dollars to match, and I’m set and ready to go. It may not be good for me, but it’s cheap, easy and highly available.
It’s not that the fast food companies themselves refuse to recognize the rising demand for healthier food. Some are even providing healthier selections on their menus, while others aren’t quite as healthy as their ad campaign claims.
Taco Bell is a surprising place to find anything that might be considered healthy, but now they have an entire fresco menu with all items under nine grams of fat. At McDonald’s you can purchase their salad without dressing or chicken. At Panda Express they have a wok smart menu, with entrees that have less than 250 calories. If you go to Panda Express and you don’t order rice or orange chicken, you might be able to get a meal that’s under 750 calories!
Subway advertises eating healthy, via the prolific Jared and his old pair of pants, but the healthy eating is both restrictive and conflicts with their opposing ad campaign where random people exclaim their satisfaction in acquiring a foot long for only five dollars. The healthy subs that allowed Jared to move from his former pants to smaller pants are given in a specific list and they’re all six inch subs with restricted condiments and toppings. At the same time, Subway wants us to eat a foot long (for only five dollars!) and these foot long versions of the healthy subs jump the calorie count to above a Big Mac.
The solution to this problem seems quite obvious: I shall continue eating poorly while I wait for someone else to provide the change I desire. I could find time amongst my busy schedule to cook decent food, or when I order my double quarter pounder with large fries and a large drink I’ll skip the additional two pies.