What is Fast Food? Is it always unhealthy?

What is Fast Food? Is it always unhealthy?

By Candace Gentry

As a student from a big fast food chain town, going to school in Chapel Hill was quite a shift. First, there are no chain fast food restaurants; except McDonalds which lacks an important fast food attribution, a drive-thru. Then, many restaurants don’t serve the typical fast food meal of burger and fries, but instead healthier options like burritos with rice. Restaurants in Chapel Hill aspire to change the negative connotation associated with fast food.

Drive-thru’s are not allowed in Chapel Hill or Carrboro. However, Sunrise Biscuits on East Franklin Street has a drive-thru; the town ordinance is that any business constructed after 2003 cannot have drive-thru windows (Zayed). Many businesses disagree with this ordinance and believe a drive-thru would increase business; however, the town council feels that having drive- thru’s will cause traffic problems. The streets near UNC’s campus are very small, and having lots of cars compacted into one space could create horrible traffic jams, which is not desired by residents.

“I think a drive-thru would be great for the McDonald’s but I do worry about the traffic problems that could result from the addition of a drive-thru. The parking in Chapel Hill is already horrible, what will the traffic from a drive-thru do for the nine parking spaces located just outside of McDonalds?” asked UNC student Robbie Anderson.

Even the chain fast food restaurant, McDonalds, is not the typical McDonalds. The McDonalds offers happy meals for a discounted price when Carolina wins a game. The foodie town of Chapel Hill adjusts for the younger college population of students who thrive on Carolina pride. Yet, the McDonalds is still upscale and not the typical golden arches, which appears only on the side of the building. McDonalds has even redesigned their cups to include the words “Enjoy” to influence their customer’s feelings. Not only has McDonalds redesigned their cups, but they now are required to provide the nutritional content of their food on their products (Rosenbloom). Customers can no longer eat the delicious French fries in the bright red container without knowing they are consuming 370 calories; almost 18.5 % of the daily calorie allotment. Requiring fast food restaurants to include nutritional information on their food allows consumers to know exactly what they are consuming contains.

“Before nutritional information was included on food, I had no idea the number of calories I was consuming. Now though, I can choose to go to McDonalds, and eat grilled chicken sandwich, instead of the 500 calorie Big Mac” said Chapel Hill resident Wendy Shipplett.

By including the facts, the consumer can chose a healthier alternative because they know the nutritional facts. Before fast food restaurants were not required to include calories; this change has not only been required for McDonald’s restaurants but other fast food chain restaurants as well. Just like Shipplett, many consumers were not aware that they were eating more than half of their daily allotted calories when they chose to eat a Big Mac, fries, and a large sweet tea. The government forcing fast food establishments to provide nutritional content may change the way many people order at fast food restaurants.

Giving employees Sundays off is a tradition that has died out. However, one exception can be found with the chain restaurant, Chick-Fil-A. Some people will go to Chick-Fil-A because they support the moral aspect of the company giving their employees Sundays off to spend time with their family. Does this make people eat there more often because their values are similar to their customers? Some people say it does. The idea of a corporate company still believing in old time traditions, like not working on Sundays, is obsolete in big cities. But it can still be seen on Franklin Street. Imagine after dinner, coming to shop on beautiful Franklin Street; it’s virtually impossible because every store closes around five o’clock. The town of Chapel Hill may be a foodie town, but it is still a town rooted deeply in tradition.

The values or morals of a fast food restaurant determine whether people eat there or not, but the information that is available to the public when choosing where to eat is another important factor. The Orange County Visitor’s Bureau website lists places to eat; none of the fast food restaurants have a description except Chick-Fil-A, which is not the typical fast food restaurant.

By describing the restaurants, the visitor’s bureau is trying to persuade the readers to try local and healthier alternatives to the chain fast food restaurants found in every town. The website does this not only to persuade the reader, but to shape their view of Orange County. The visitor’s bureau wants Orange County to make an impression on the customer; by describing what restaurants serve, the bureau will initiate more consumers to try local shops in comparison to the cheaper chain fast food restaurants.

Evo’s serves reduced fat hamburgers and fries that are cooked in an oven, and not deep fried. This is the complete opposite of the golden arches of McDonalds, which boasts its great deep fried and salty French fries that you can get for only one dollar. Evo’s is concerned with healthy fast food which the consumer will pay more for in the short term. However, in the long term, it will benefit the consumer more by having them understand the consequences of what they eat.

“I come to Evo’s and pay eight dollars for a cheeseburger that’s much better for me than McDonald’s because I know that ultimately paying a little more for healthier food now, rather than getting instant gratification of the McDonalds cheeseburger, will be better for my health. Plus I’m teaching my children to understand that what they eat has consequences, maybe not right now, but one day it will” said Chapel Hill mother of two Tammy Whitt.

While Evo’s boasts air baked, reduced fat hamburgers, Subway boasts about subs that have less than 400 calories. The napkins at Subway even remind the consumer of how many calories they are saving when they choose to eat a turkey breast sub with 280 calories instead of a Big Mac which has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. Subway for years has tried to steer clear of the image of being fast food, but to many in today’s world, the chain is considered fast food. Fast food for many people means exactly that food made fast; the sub is made right in front of you, and you control exactly what you want on it. Another aspect of fast food restaurants is making consumers feel better about eating fast food by allowing them to have a decision about what is put on their food.

Subway is not alone in making the food in front of the customer; Japan Express is becoming a type of “fast food”, which here means getting your food fast. By expanding the idea of what fast food is, the town of Chapel Hill has more options for consumers to choose from. Consumers are now able to choose healthier options like Japan Express or Chipotle Mexican Grill; not only can these restaurants offer healthier options, but it also allows the consumer to have variety. Chapel Hill is a town full of people from multiple backgrounds and ethnicities; the fast food of the town reflects the diversity of the town.

Not only are restaurants in Chapel Hill more geared to giving the customers more say in what they eat, but the restaurants are also becoming eco-friendly. Chipotle Mexican Restaurant fixes the burrito, taco, or bowl right in front of the customer, much like Subway, but if eating in the restaurant the food is wrapped in foil then placed in a plastic basket, that can be re used. The restaurant also features napkins that are made of 90% post-consumer recycled paper. This means that no trees were harmed in the making of this napkin. Making customers feel that they are not creating a big carbon foot print will allow them to enjoy fast food more because they won’t feel guilty about the waste they produce from eating out. The environment has been a major concern for many and today fast food restaurants are catering to the customer’s drive to be more environmentally friendly. Not only does Chipotle offer biodegradable napkins, but cups as well. Chipotle is not alone in the effort of making their products more eco-friendly.

Restaurants on Franklin Street are not the only ones changing their definition of fast food, so are the UNC dining halls. Lenoir and Ram’s Head both feature fast food buffet style, which for many students is a quick meal where they get whatever they want and it only take half an hour. This fast food caters to the college student, whose life is busy, but the buffet allows the students the chance to choose high quality food, not cheap fast food. The dining halls expose the students to healthy food that they can eat fast.

“I absolutely love the fact that I can get a banana or apple everyday to eat with my meal, and I don’t just have to settle from French fries as a side item there’s always some fresh vegetables available” said UNC student Anna Radford.

Along with the town, Carolina Dining Services are trying to expose students to healthier foods. Both locations, like Subway, have the calorie and nutritional content of the food. Instead of featuring the nutritional intake on napkins, the dining halls have signs that state how many calories are in the food, along with the amount of sodium, sugar, and fats. Before coming to college, I really didn’t care what the food I ate contained, but now after being exposed to nutritional content; I feel the need to check nutritional facts and choose healthier alternatives. Dining services feels that by exposing the students to healthier alternatives, some students may change their eating habits when they are forced to see exactly how many calories, grams of sodium, and fat that cheeseburger you wanted contains.

Lenoir and Ram’s Head try to incorporate local food days where all the food comes from local farms, which according to some students has the best food of the whole semester. Students crowd into Ram’s at five; to see what local food they can try today. Most people feel better about eating at the dining halls on these days because they are supporting a local farmer, whom they may have met at Carrboro’s Farmers Market instead of some big food company. Including local and organic food make people feel better about eating, because instead of harming the environment, they are helping it; they are also supporting the local economy and choosing healthier foods for themselves that contain no harmful chemicals or pesticides.

The town of Chapel Hill and UNC are out to change the idea that fast food is unhealthy food, by broadening the term to include restaurants like Chipotle, Japan Express, and Subway. These restaurants differ from the typical fast food restaurant by allowing the consumer to have greater decision in what they eat, posting nutritional content, and using eco-friendly products. Although the town of Chapel Hill is known as a foodie town, the town is still deep rooted in tradition were drive-thru’s are not allowed and stores are closed on Sunday. Chapel Hill’s idea of fast food should be incorporated into other towns, as a possible solution to the growing obesity epidemic. Chapel Hill has shown that to be considered fast food, a restaurant doesn’t have to be the chain Industry McDonalds, but can be anywhere from a dining hall, to more upscale local restaurant that features reduced fat air cooked burgers.

References

Rosenbloom, Stephanie. “Calorie Data to Be Posted at Most Chains.” The New York Times. New York Times, 23 March 2010. Web. 31 March 2011.

Zayed, Michelle. “Chapel Hill seeks to clarify drive-through rules.” Daily Tar Heel.com. The Daily Tar Heel, 4 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 March 2011.