Fast Food, Junk Food | Correr Es Mi Destino

Fast Food, Junk Food (4/10)

6 December 2008By Zhu 16 Comments

Amer·i·ca·na
Pronunciation: \ə-ˌmer-ə-ˈkä-nə, -ˌmər-, -ˌme-rə-, -ˈka-nə\
Function: noun plural
Date: 1841

1: Materials concerning or characteristic of America, its civilization, or its culture ; broadly : things typical of America
2: American culture

In this series, I’d like to explore various aspect of life in North America. Each topic will be illustrated by a black and white picture.

Beavertails House

Snacks, sodas, take-outs, pastries, desserts, appetizers, food stalls, fast food… you would never go hungry in North America provided you have some spare change in your pocket.

Food is everywhere. It is advertised on TV and on billboards and chances are that there are franchised coffee shops at every corner. Malls have their food courts, gas stations usually sell snack bars, chips and even donuts, vending machines are ubiquitous and yes, there are Mcdonalds inside Wal Mart.

It seems that each daily activity requires a food stop. Three meals a day — are you kidding? I’m hungry, now!

As if constant eating wasn’t bad enough, food is getting fatter and fatter. Nutritional values are appealing. Weird combinations are popular, such as bacon and donut, peanut butter and jelly, fried chicken and pizza — a true nutritionist nightmare. But junk food is cheap and easy to store in the fridge, or conveniently picked up on your way from work. Eating healthy requires choosing fresh ingredients, paying a premium for low fat products and — gasp — cooking.

Fortunately, North America is also a multicultural land and immigrants brought various dishes from home. Going out to eat often means eating Chinese, Italian, Indian, Greek etc. food. Otherwise, feel free to grab some poutine. Do you want some wings and a 20 ounces Coke with that?

Picture: a Beavertails house in the Byward Market, Ottawa