My 8 year old daughter wrote a speech for school earlier this year that is worth sharing, titled “Fast Food should be healthy”. However my children decide to eat in future, I think their knowledge of food additives and the potential for adverse reactions will stand them in good stead! Reproduced here with permission, from a combination of her own research, her prior reading and a few reputable websites.
“While I was in the city, I counted no less than 18 fast food outlets. This included McDonalds, KFC, Boost Juice and Sushi takeaways. Out of these outlets, only three sold salad, fresh fruit, eggs or dairy. It was hard to tell if the fast food contained artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, additives or numbers such as 160b.
We should aim for less fat, salt and sugar in fast food. I think that all fast food should be healthy, fresh and additive and preservative free.
Did you know that milk bars came before fast food? Milk bars sold milkshakes, ‘spiders’ and hamburgers. The first fast food shop to open was Kentucky Fried Chicken, known as KFC. Now young Australians say their favourite fast food outlets are McDonalds, Subway, KFC, Hungry Jacks and Dominos Pizza. The amount that Australians spend on fast food is 15-30% of food-related spending.
If fast food was healthy, it would be better for our wellbeing. Right now, fast food might affect YOUR health! Buying fast food more often will affect your whole body. So we need more information about what’s in our fast food, for example, energy and additives. By eating less fast food less often, you will be able to think better in work or class and less people will be able to distract you. You will get good marks at school or finish the project at work.
But what if you were at before and after school care? Well, if fast food was healthy and Mum and Dad were working late, you could buy fast food and know it is still healthy. Make takeaway the healthy way!
If fast food was healthy, more people with intolerances (like me) could have more fast food. I’m intolerant to additives, preservatives, and numbers like 160b. If there was none of these in fast food, I could have so much more! Make takeaway the healthy way!
What if you could buy fast food more often and know it is still healthy and appetising? What if you could walk into McDonalds and see a menu with the following options: a fresh fruit slushy, choose your own ingredients to make a fruit salad, celery with cream cheese or peanut butter and optional poppy seeds, fresh hot soup or jacket potatoes with fresh topping?
Australians make 51 million visits to fast food outlets per month, mostly for takeaways. Let’s make takeaway the healthy way…today!”
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