There are three major issues connected to the nature of fast food, its distribution, and consumption. Firstly, it is the economics of fast food – fast food is the cheapest food on the market in terms of a calorie per dollar. This is a significant advantage for many people, especially for those from lower socio-economic strata. For many, fast food is the only type of food they can afford to eat three times per day. The solution to this issue may involve government regulations – the prices of healthier food may be subsidized, at the same time, a higher tax rate may be imposed on the fast-food producers.
Secondly, lobbying is a significant issue for the food industry in general. Lobbying slows down any initiatives aimed at regulating the fast-food industry. One of the ideas voiced in the video may be the only way of dealing with lobbying – initiating massive changes in the election law to reduce corporations’ influence on politicians. For instance, the law on super PACs may be essential in solving the lobbying issue.
Finally, there is an issue of education and ignorance of people. According to Al Jazeera’s report, there are vast areas of “food deserts” in the US – the districts with no fresh food supply. People in such places do not have any habits of using fresh food for cooking, and they are used to mainly consuming fast or processed food. Moreover, school education does not fully cover healthy eating; thus, children do not have information about the advantages and disadvantages of different types of food. This issue can be solved on different levels; firstly, more healthy lifestyle courses can be added into schools’ curricula; secondly, the government can launch massive healthy eating media campaigns to educate the population.
Reference
Al Jazeera English. Fast food, fast profits: Obesity in America. YouTube. 2010. Web.