Although it was fiction, it touched on two things I find interesting: feeding hormones to animals and the possible repercussions on health and how companies will do anything/say anything to market their products to people. My Year of Meats is about a woman who is creating commericals selling beef to the Japanese public (the author drew on her real-life experience in that area).

There are quite a lot of people who are allergic to these insects so it amazes me that the food industry still uses them as an additive. I read somewhere that someone was heading a movement to change this.

Yet another reason to buy whatever we can in its most natural state and cook at home. Then again.. go to your local grocery and try to buy meat that doesn't have any coloring added.

Fast Food Nation changed how I eat (and how my kids eat). None of us has had fast food or beef since.

Misti, you can control what the animals are fed. There are companies that raise grass fed cattle and slaughter them on their ranches and ship the meat directly to you. Buying anything in a store is no guarantee that the cows were grass fed, cause once they are sold to the large butchering places, they are all fed the same.

Is ignorance bliss? I don't think so. I am angry that I never knew the truth and ate...cow manure on a bun for a long time. One would assume, living in the US of A, that meat is processed according to strict and scientific standards....Silly me. I will no longer sell my children's health to the lowest bidder so that they can turn a profit.

Fast Food Nation....read it, if you dare!

Here's an article on the red dye that Misti was talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine

I think that in Canada things are different... i know we have obesity problems but Wendy's hasn't taken away their small fries lol and coffee shop sizes are bigger too. For example I went to buffalo and was shocked at the size of a small hot chocolate at Dunkin Donuts... it was the same size as a large in canada. At tim hortons, the small (in canada) is about 3/4 of a cup... I wonder why the difference?

I noticed this in Japan - the portion sizes at Starbucks were MUCH smaller.

It is interesting, isn't it? Here in Canada, a McDonald's Fruit and Yogurt Parfait is 150 calories, with 2 grams of fat...it only comes in one size. In the US, the Canadian size is known as "snack size"....you guys also have a regular, that packs 380 calories and 5g fat.

Without trying to start a US/Canada debate ('cause believe me, Canada has an obesity problem, too!!), I do think it's likely due to the fact that, as a whole, Canadians are a *little* more health concious, and we don't seem to be as into the larger portions (as always, yes there are exceptions - I'm just speaking generally). For example, our large fast food soda would only be a medium at best in the US - I once got a combo when traveling in the US and could barely fit the drink in my cupholder. The regular fries that were part of the combo would be the "supersize" option here....it really was a tremendous amount of food.

In other news, Krispy Kreme finally came to Canada, and franchises are already closing because they aren't making enough money to stay in business.

I wonder why, for the most part, US portions are so much larger? Is it down to the restaurants, or the consumers? I'm thinking it must be a consumer issue, since the same restaurants in other countries offer alternate choices or smaller meal/drink sizes.

I borrowed Fast Food Nation from a friend a couple years ago and was appropriately horrified. I even ordered a copy and sent it to my dad in an effort to get him to change the way he eats after his diabetes diagnosis, unfortunately to no avail.

So many people don’t want to know, but I sure as **** want to! I didn’t really do fast food before, but I avoid it like the plague now. As a vegetarian I am always paranoid that hidden animal products are being slipped into my food where it has no business being, because it often is.

Meat Market http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097...Fencoding=UTF8 is another good piece of reading if you’re interested in more of that outraging truthy stuff.

My guesses are for the following reasons (based on my own past reasoning):

* Americans love value. All you can eat buffets, plates full of food, free soda refills
* I used to believe in "treating" myself. If I had a hard day, stress at work, a celebration ANYTHING I could justify going ALL out - drinks, appetizers, entree, dessert. I used to feel I deserved that kind of food.
* Deliberate blindness to the caloric content of food. I used to "know" that Cinnabon wasn't good for me, Blooming Onions weren't good for me, nachos weren't good for me, but I really didn't know how BAD they were - I didn't want to know! I would have had no idea that Fettucini Alfredo or Kung Pao had 1200+ calories.

There's this philosophy in America - a very macho one - that permeates consumers and is perpetuated by big business that says "bigger is better". We like biggie-size houses, biggie-size cars, biggie-size trucks, biggie-size corporations, biggie-size everything. Except biggie-size women, of course, that's the irony of it.

Watch the movie SUPER SIZE ME! It's an eye opener!

That's unbelievable! Krispy Kremes closing down due to lack of business. Their glazed donuts are made with so much sugar, they practically melt in your mouth. A weakness of mine.....

I think it is a matter of consumer tolerance and demand. So many ingredients and sizes have different standards depending upon the country because of consumer tolerance, demand, expectations, and laws made to protect consumers and their health. It is not just a matter that certain foreign countries are stricter than the States; some are ... some aren't.

Take tobacco for example. When anti-smoking advertising laws, social laws, and consumer awareness really kicked in in the States the U.S. tobacco companies aggressively had to market their products overseas. In many countries it was easier to peddle tobacco and bring in new customers... the laws of tolerance were different. Things that we would not put up with here were widely practiced in other places..

Likewise many policies of advertising and marketing of fast foods and "convenience" foods that are commonplace in the States are frowned upon in other countries. Some laws of course.. but mostly a lack of tolerance for "pushing" junk and a high awareness of what is healthy is all that is needed to keep companies in line.

Americans know that living this way is bad for us. It is not necessarily a lack of knowledge.... the knowledge is there.... mostly I think we don't want to see it and don't really want to know. But seeing what it is doing to us... ignorance... even pretend ignorance is not bliss.

You are right, and I misspoke on that one. In fact a WA famous market just opened a branch that is on my way home from work. They sell almost entirely items which have been grown not only naturally but as much as possible from local growers. I am going to stop by this week sometime.

I was already aware of a lot... and am often sickened from reading FDA Week paper. But after reading Fast Food Nation... yeeks! How nasty!!! And as long as we put up with it and buy the stuff they won't change. The only way anything will ever be done about the filth is if consumers stop buying the stuff. I plan to be one of them as much as possible.

Same in the Philippines when I lived there... restaurant portions were a normal meal.