The American Obsession: Fast Food
The most obvious and striking trait is that Americans always seem to be going somewhere and always seem to be in a hurry. In New York, where the streets are usually choked with traffic, drivers try in every way to get ahead of each other, while pedestrians run through the streets often disregarding traffic signals. Nowhere is this impatience more evident than in American eating habits. Sitting down to a leisurely meal seems to be a luxury. It is quicker to serve oneself in a fast food restaurant like McDonald’s. McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s are nationwide food chains specializing in the most popular of all foods, the hamburger.
The popularity of these eating places has much to do with being inexpensive, but more important, with fast service. Fast and instant are the key words. A salad bar, a central feature in most restaurants, has a dizzying variety of uncooked vegetables, pickled salads, cold fish, and cheese. Putting together your own choices makes sense but you also don’t have to wait to be served.
The salad may be your main meal, or the appetizer which will keep you busy until the rest of the meal is ready. “Takeout” food is an American way of life. One can place an order over the phone with any of the take-away food shops in the neighborhood for an instant meal to be taken to the office or to eat at home from barbecued chicken to pizza. With a little patience, you can go to the supermarket and buy instant foods that take a little time to prepare —instant cereals, instant soups, instant rice, instant coffee — all of which require only boiling water, or frozen dinners available in infinite choices. Here the meal needs only to be heated. With all the possibilities of eating instantly and constantly and with the abundance of food in America, is it any wonder that Americans tend to be overweight?