Oh I eat the living crap out of the Beef Tacos and the Chicken Quesadilla from Taco Bell .. and to make matters worse I always get my Taco Bell from Penn Station in Manhattan. The best food to top off a heavy night of drinking!!

Sure, it's not good for you, but to say the food standards have gone way down is a little far. Maybe personal standards, but what is allowed and what isn't is way better than it use to be. I'm with Kev on this. People eat what they want to eat. I know what goes in and on in fast food restaurants. I've remodeled them as well and have seen some of the nasty that is in there. I still choose to eat at certain ones from time to time. Plus, one of my favorite bad foods is potted meat. Want to talk about bad? lol, that stuff is horrid for you but I like it. Don't eat it as much as I use to but I do like it.

Yes, people make choices, but it's these companies who release false science and the lack of FDA oversight that contributes greatly to it all.

chris i got to say no here. i have never once looked into any "science" released by food companies about there food. i couldnt even tell you how many calories are in the wendy's double stack burger. the bottom line is if i want to eat it im going to get it. you ask why do people eat it? well the bottom line for that is a long time ago i entered <insert resturant/fast food store here> tried something off the menu and decided for myself that i liked it.

and then your edit to kev's post kinda hit a nerve with me too. i eat out alot. because i really hate cooking at home if im just cooking for me. nobody is tricking me (or anybody i know for that matter) into eating at these places, and i sure as hell dont eat at them because im to poor to go else where. i eat at them because they taste good and i like it. i dont need to go to red lobster to wait 30 minutes on my food when a delicious burger is only a 5 minute wait

Sure, it's not good for you, but to say the food standards have gone way down is a little far. Maybe personal standards, but what is allowed and what isn't is way better than it use to be. I'm with Kev on this. People eat what they want to eat. I know what goes in and on in fast food restaurants. I've remodeled them as well and have seen some of the nasty that is in there. I still choose to eat at certain ones from time to time. Plus, one of my favorite bad foods is potted meat. Want to talk about bad? lol, that stuff is horrid for you but I like it. Don't eat it as much as I use to but I do like it.

My point is, that people's personal standards for food have gone down. The things we as a people decide to eat floors me sometimes. Eating at places like Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, etc used to be an occasional indulgence. Now it is the norm to run out and grab a burger or taco, instead of hitting the local grocery store to find some actual food and go home and cook a meal. As people have said in previous posts, quick and easy rules.

Sure, I understand the reasoning behind it, but does it make it right? No, it honestly doesn't and it starts by how we are raised. I allow my kids to eat fast food once every 2 months, if even that. Every other day, we hit our farmer's market or a Whole Foods, come home and cook as a family. If we don't do that, we go to a few local restaurants and eat. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want my kids eating what amounts to pink mystery meat.

I work in the food industry. Specifically in meat. This is the tip of the iceberg. Hot dogs, anyone?

I don't know about you guys, but I don't want my kids eating what amounts to pink mystery meat.

You'd be surprised dude. Unless ALL of your food is certified as organic (not all natural, organic), then you can never be sure of what's been put in it.

You'd be surprised dude. Unless ALL of your food is certified as organic (not all natural, organic), then you can never be sure of what's been put in it.

Believe me man, I know where our food comes from or know to buy organic from like a Whole Foods or Fresh Market. The farmer's market vendors know me by name. I'll spend more just to ensure we aren't eating a bunch of crap. Is it really necessary? Probably not, but it's a choice I made long ago. Am I crazy? Probably so, but to each their own.

Honestly Spawn you and I are pretty much on the same page as to diet. (Tam and I don't have kids though) I spent around 10 years cooking in restaurants and bars so I can pull something quick easy and health for us and her lunch at work. I've always felt it is easier and cheaper to buy food at the grocery store and bring it home and cook for yourself. However I wouldn't put Whole Foods too high up on the list of wise and health choices. There is a lot controversy surrounding that company and the CEO is an evil man on the level of McDonald's CEO, as in he's out to make a lot of money for himself and doesn't care about the standards of what he sells.

The Farmers Market is the best way to go and from the sounds of it, much like you I do a huge amount of our food shopping at the farmers market. Unfortunately I think it's over here in Jersey but I'll still be able to go to actual farm for things like meat and seasonal veg.

United States of America still has some of the best food safety laws in world and it is sad that all the high fat, high salt, foods are the ones being subsidized buy the government and made to appear cheaper and more appealing. Also from what I've seen the US gov. is doing a fairly good job and trying to educate people in healthy eating. Every restaurant in NYC is supposed to have a calorie count next to the food items, but here in Jersey they don't. I think that's a pretty good start.

chris i got to say no here. i have never once looked into any "science" released by food companies about there food. i couldnt even tell you how many calories are in the wendy's double stack burger. the bottom line is if i want to eat it im going to get it. you ask why do people eat it? well the bottom line for that is a long time ago i entered <insert resturant/fast food store here> tried something off the menu and decided for myself that i liked it.

and then your edit to kev's post kinda hit a nerve with me too. i eat out alot. because i really hate cooking at home if im just cooking for me. nobody is tricking me (or anybody i know for that matter) into eating at these places, and i sure as hell dont eat at them because im to poor to go else where. i eat at them because they taste good and i like it. i dont need to go to red lobster to wait 30 minutes on my food when a delicious burger is only a 5 minute wait

pffft! Big huggy bunches bro!

I still stand by my statement about "tricked". It's all marketing. Sure, the food may taste amazing (I'm a sucker sometimes for fast food as well), but it doesn't mean that marketing purposely doesn't try to play people. I know this, I've studied marketing. Hell, my official title at my job is "Senior Marketing Coordinator". LoL Yes, people make choices but you have to admit that marketing DOES play a part on the front end of the decision. This is a stretch here, but if I could make a piece of poop taste AMAZING and dress it up and not make it look like poop and run ad campaigns and convince people to try it/eat it and they actually like it, it still doesn't take away from the fact that it's POOP. haha

Our standards of food aren't horrible by any meanseither especially when compared to some other countries (mostly developing nations though), but lack of oversight certainly contributes to people getting sick (the recent huge egg recall is a great example. The distributer of the eggs, Austin DeCoster was cited MULTIPLE MULTIPLE times over the past years for numerous different offenses, nothing was followed up on, nothing changed. He even went before Congress recently and pleaded the 5th and refused to answer questions about his company and the way they run their farms/respond to violations/etc).

United States of America still has some of the best food safety laws in world and it is sad that all the high fat, high salt, foods are the ones being subsidized buy the government and made to appear cheaper and more appealing. Also from what I've seen the US gov. is doing a fairly good job and trying to educate people in healthy eating. Every restaurant in NYC is supposed to have a calorie count next to the food items, but here in Jersey they don't. I think that's a pretty good start.

This is truth.

It will take many, many years of education though. Possibly generations. It starts when you're a child though to be honest.

Believe me man, I know where our food comes from or know to buy organic from like a Whole Foods or Fresh Market. The farmer's market vendors know me by name. I'll spend more just to ensure we aren't eating a bunch of crap. Is it really necessary? Probably not, but it's a choice I made long ago. Am I crazy? Probably so, but to each their own.

Um...I don't think anybody called you crazy. I was just saying that unless all of your food is certified organic, it's not guaranteed to have no additives. All natural means there are no hormones or antibiotics used in raising the critter, but it doesn't apply to the feed. Certified organic meat has been raised on certified organic feed.

Personally, at 7-8 dollars a pound for burger and 20+ dollars a pound for a steak, I simply couldn't afford to eat all organic food unless I turned vegetarian, and my wife and I both make a decent wage.

I agree with Chris that marketing does play a huge role in what people buy but I don't think anyone is actually getting tricked. Everything I've bought from a store has the Nutritional Facts printed clearly on the bag/box/bottle .. can't get more basic than that. Whether some one takes the time to read it is another thing.

I agree with Chris that marketing does play a huge role in what people buy but I don't think anyone is actually getting tricked. Everything I've bought from a store has the Nutritional Facts printed clearly on the bag/box/bottle .. can't get more basic than that. Whether some one takes the time to read it is another thing.

See, I agree and I disagree. It's probably the wrong word to use when I say "tricked". However, people these days are LAZY. We're raised to be lazy. Many people just go based off what they are told and do no research of their own. I'd wager more than 60% of people never read the fine print or look at the nutritional information until they're put in a position where they are AWARE they should be reading it (i.e. diagnosed with some disease/medical condition and now they are more aware of the need to do such research).

We're a lazy society, and marketing plays off that idea IMO. Know what I mean?

I work in the food industry. Specifically in meat. This is the tip of the iceberg. Hot dogs, anyone?

I rarely eat hot dogs, knowing that they're just the unused lips and a.sses and leftover bits of animals that don't "make the cut", but I have to admit I have a secret love of Nathan's hot dogs. Soooooo good and yet so bad for you at the same time.

Personally, at 7-8 dollars a pound for burger and 20+ dollars a pound for a steak, I simply couldn't afford to eat all organic food unless I turned vegetarian, and my wife and I both make a decent wage.

Just for the record, I'm not promoting eating fast food as a staple in anyone's diet either. It really is unhealthy. Ever watched Supersize Me? The dude almost suffered permanent liver damage from eating nothing but fast food.

After watching Super Size Me a couple years ago, I never ordered chicken again from a Fast Food place. I know that the other stuff is prepared in somewhat of the same fashion, but it was watching the process with the chicken....it's the whole damn thing!!! It totally grossed me out to the point to where I won't order anything chickeny.

Aaaaaand here's another interesting article:

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/69512#more-69512

The problem I had with using the movie "Super Size Me" was that the guy stopped doing EVERYTHING. Exercising, walking, any kind of movement .. he basically sat on his *** for a month and ate like crap. You can still eat fast food or high calorie food as long as you burn it off. Ever see what an Olympic athlete eats, and just because you're over weight doesn't mean you're out of shape or un health. There are plenty of skinny people that show the same kind of health issues that obese people have.

For me, the best commentary on fast food/eating habits of many people was the book "Fast Food Nation". It's a great read and the guy is not a hypocrite or talking on a soap box. He freely admits that a burger and fries are his favorite meal but doesn't eat it everyday. Check that book out if you interested, it sort of start the whole movie document about food crazy going on right now.

Hey Pogre .. as a butcher what do you know about the brand "Hebrew National" as far as hot dogs go. I hardly ever eat them .. maybe once a year at a bbq .. but they are the only ones I buy.

I loves my Nathans hotdogs. LoL

Both Nathan's and Hebrew National are good brands. With Hebrew National being a kosher product, I would say there wouldn't be any mystery meat in it. For a food product to be certified kosher, it has to pass some pretty stringent guidelines.

As a college student, I don't care how any type of food is made as long as it gets on my plate and costs less than $2.00

As a college student, I don't care how any type of food is made as long as it gets on my plate and costs less than $2.00

You speak the truth... same goes for me. lol

I wish i had seen this thread earlier... I used to work in a chicken plant so i've actually seen the before middle and after that becomes that paste. I've also worked in the egg rooms where the inject stuff in the eggs and wait for them to incubate, it's nasty. and you'd be surprised by how many two headed chickens they get.