Writing the Essay

Essay 1

     Do you like hamburgers?  I do.  My mom tells me that eating hamburgers every day is not good for me.  Fast food has been around for a long time.  In this essay, I will tell you why eating fast food every day is bad for you.

     80 percent of Americans eat fast food once a month (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/crispy-salty-american-history-fast-food-180972459 Links to an external site.) and that is too much because fast food is bad for you even if it has vegetables and protein it can still have chemicals that can cause cancer or hurt you in other ways.  

     The very first McDonalds opened in 1940 and since then they have sold a billions of hamburger.  They also sell french fries and checkin sandwiches and ice cream.  There is a lot of choices to eat at the McDonalds.  This is why you shouldn’t eat at McDonald’s even though they are a famous restaurant.  They just want to make money and don’t care about your healthy.  

     In conclusion, you should not eat fast food because it is bad for you.  Listen to your mom and not your friends.  Peer pressure might make you want to eat fast food but it is not good.  That is why you should not eat fast food.

Essay 2

     Every day after school my friends and I walk to an area of our town that has shops, restaurants, and a beautiful, three-tiered fountain.  It is a central part of our town and is always bustling with people, especially in the afternoon when everyone is craving something to eat or drink.  It was inevitable that fast-food restaurants would open in this area to compete for business from shoppers, people meeting each other, and school kids like us. In 2000, the first fast-food restaurant, Chicken Fluffy, opened in this area and it was immediately a popular place to gather.  My friends and I would usually go there after school and order their famous chicken wings and milkshakes as we talked about our day and planned for the weekend.  After an hour or so we all would go our separate ways to do homework and have dinner with our families.  I never gave this ritual a second thought other than looking forward to spending time with my friends. The first McDonald’s opened in 1940 (Klein, 2019) and, just like Chicken Fluffy’s in my town, it became very popular,  but there has always been competition in the fast-food industry. Every restaurant wants to be the one known as the fastest and tastiest, but some restaurants have traded fresh ingredients for food that is full of preservatives and chemicals because it is easier to prepare quickly. there is a trade-off for these complements.  In recent years, some fast-food restaurants are trying to have more healthy options and provide a larger variety of fresh ingredients.  For many, the convenience of eating at places like Chicken Fluffy and McDonald’s often wins out over healthier options or eating at home. 

     McDonald’s didn’t start out as a fast-food establishment.  According to an interview with Richard McDonald (qtd. in Klein), he and his brother started out selling slowly roasted barbecue meat and then realized most of their customers bought hamburgers rather than the barbecue.  The restaurant changed its focus to quickly serve a high number of customers and a high volume of food.McDonald brothers discovered this was the method of making the most money in their restaurant business.  They were giving the hungry public what they wanted:  fast service, not a meal they could cook at home themselves. America’s first fast-food chain, White Castle, had figured out this system in 1921 when the owners realized they could incorporate the assembly line technique of a factory into making sandwiches in their restaurants (Diamond).  Although it was not nutritious, the ability to give every customer the same food at every visit was a big plus in the industry at that time.  

     It is common knowledge that eating fast food is not healthy.  It doesn’t matter if you choose tacos, pizza, or burgers, the calories and chemicals consumed are greater than if you made these same foods at home using fresh ingredients.  According to Matthew Thompson, an editor for Eating Well  Magazine, a Big Mac from McDonald’s has 540 calories and 29 mg of saturated fat.  Thompson states that if you made this same burger at home, you would consume 375 calories and 16 mg of saturated fat.  While the homemade burger is still on the unhealthy side, it is significantly fewer calories and fat than the Big Mac made at McDonald’s.  Thompson also looks at the sodium in Big Mac, which is double that of a homemade burger coming in at a whopping 1,010 mg. According to Thompson, another issue contributing to the unhealthiness of the Big Mac is the buns, which are highly processed and contain several different chemicals.  He compares this to a bun you could buy from a local bakery that has just five ingredients.   The problem of making unhealthy choices is compounded when unhealthy foods take the place of healthy foods in our diets. A study has shown that children who attend school near fast-food restaurants eat fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, more sugary drinks and had a higher propensity to be overweight when compared to children who did not attend school near these places of business (Davis and Carpenter 505).   Faced with the growing concern over childhood obesity and the growing concern about unhealthy ingredients, many restaurants are expanding their healthier menu options.  

     There are lots of ways to make healthier choices, even when dining at fast-food establishments.  The Mayo Clinic has made a list of tips that can help you.  These include keeping portion sizes small and choosing grilled rather than deep fried meats.  They also recommend passing up soda because 30 ounces can have more than 300 calories.   McDonald’s now has an Asian Grilled Chicken Salad with only 380 calories and 6 grams of fat (Ali).  If you think salads are the only healthy option take a look at the Steak Fresco Soft Taco at Taco Bell.  It comes in at 150 calories and 4 grams of fat compared to their Fiesta taco salad which has 760 calories and 39 grams of fat (Ali).  In this case, salad is definitely not the healthiest option.  These are just two fast food restaurants but, with a bit of research, you can find healthier options at any place you choose to visit.

While Chicken Fluffy is still tasty and a great place to hang out with friends, it is easy to see that ordering fried wings and milkshakes isn’t the healthiest choice.  As I get older and participate in sports that are more competitive, I realize the value of eating right.  Not only does getting good nutrition help me at sports, but I feel better about myself because of my healthy choices.  This confidence translates to my grades at school and my relationships with classmates and family.  Researching the nutrition of various fast food restaurants has made me more aware of how I can make healthier choices and be a role model to my friends.  We will still meet at Chicken Fluffy after school, but we can eat grilled chicken instead of fried and reserve those calorie-laden milkshakes for special occasions.  

Works Cited

Ali, Rasha.  “6 healthy options beyond salad at your favorite fast-food restaurants.”  17 Jan 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2019/01/17/healthy-fast-food-mcdonalds-taco-bell-starbucks-chipotle-chickfila-panera/2582149002 Links to an external site.. Accessed 29 Jan 2020.

Davis, Brennan, and Christopher Carpenter. “Proximity of fast-food restaurants to schools and adolescent obesity.” American journal of public health vol. 99,3 (2009): 505-10. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.137638

Diamond, Anna.  “A Crispy, Salty, American History of Fast Food.” Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Jun 2019, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/crispy-salty-american-history-fast-food-180972459 Links to an external site..  Accessed 29 Jan 2020.  

“Fast food: Tips for choosing healthier options.”  Mayo Clinic, 03 Jul 2019, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fast-food/art-20047179 Links to an external site..  Accessed 29 Jan 2020.

Klein, Christopher.  “How McDonald's Beat Its Early Competition and Became an Icon of Fast Food.” History Stories, 7 Aug 2019,    https://www.history.com/news/how-mcdonalds-became-fast-food-giant Links to an external site.. Accessed 29 Jan 2020.

Thompson, Matthew.  “How does your burger compare to the calories in a McDonald’s Big Mac?”  Eating Well Magazine, 2019, http://www.eatingwell.com/article/17390/how-does-your-burger-compare-to-the-calories-in-a-mcdonalds-big-mac Links to an external site..  Accessed 29 Jan 2020.