A Hidden Problem With Fast Food

(Written in December of 2006. I rarely eat fast food anymore, in case anyone was wondering.)

How long exactly does a person have to resist an addiction before the cravings go away?

I'm not talking about cigarettes or alcohol or any kind of drug. I'm talking about fast food.

I decided a few weeks ago to just stop eating it, cold turkey. It's a horrible industry. They treat their workers horribly, they treat their animals horribly, they destroy the environment, and the food will actually kill you. Everything logical about the situation points to just never eating it again.

But there's a problem. Growing up in my family, we never sat down at the table to enjoy a home-cooked meal for dinner. If you wanted dinner, it was either something frozen thrown in the microwave, or fast food. I was, quite literally, raised on the stuff. Several times a week for my entire life I've had McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell... Wendy's isn't as bad anymore as they voluntarily stopped using the evil killer oil, but it's still not good. It's just the least evil of them all.

I never realized it until I tried to stop eating it, but it's unbelievably addictive. I have been craving it nonstop. If I so much as see a commercial or hear someone say "french fries" my mouth starts watering, my stomach growling, and no matter what other options I have for food, nothing seems satisfying. I want my fast food and I'm going to be miserable until I get it.

And that's the thing really. If you're hooked on something illegal like heroin or coke or something, once you decide to quit, everyone is behind you. They have rehab clinics, support groups, rewards for staying clean for a long time. Not only do people NOT support you if you're trying to quit eating fast food, they punish you. Nobody says "You're quitting fast food? Good for you!!" No, they just roll their eyes at you, tell you you're a freak, and get pissed off at you when you refuse to go pick up some Burger King for them. The advertising is everywhere - TV, radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers, even on the sides of the fucking buses. Half of the fleet of state buses are actually sponsored by McDonald's and the entire vehicles are painted with their advertising. People talk about it all the time, and it’s everywhere. You don't have to go to a dangerous back alley to get your hamburger - oh no, you can't even escape it. You can hardly go a few miles without bumping into a whole cluster of fast food joints. It's everywhere, all the time. And it's not even like quitting smoking or drinking where you can keep track of how much money you save as motivation - it actually costs a great deal more to be healthy than to eat that crap. An entire meal at Burger King costs something like $3 - $5. If you want a decent meal, from a real restaurant, it'll cost you at least $10, often closer to $20 even at "cheap" places, and if you want something fancy it'll cost you a great deal more. If you're in a hurry, your options are fast food or no food. There's Subway, but they're few and far between near me, much slower, and if you don't go to a really busy one, the bread is always stale, the vegetables old, the meat slimy from sitting there all day. It's actually more disgusting (even though it's healthier) than regular fast food.

I don't know what to do. I've been fighting this and winning - just barely - for over a month now. Someone gave me $10 in gift certificates to Taco Bell for Xmas. I have coupons for free Frostees at Wendy's that expire tomorrow. I don't know if I can keep doing this. I'm always hungry, always drooling over the ads and the smell of the places as I drive by. I see everyone around me eating it all the time. Everyone's always telling me to give it up, give in, just eat it, one hamburger won't kill you. We don't have time to find something else, we can't afford anything else. Quit being a stupid hippie and just eat it like a normal person.

I'm considering stopping at Wendy's on my way home from work today. Like I said, they're the least evil. They don't use the cancer oil and their food is much less greasy. But it's enough to make me feel better, at least for a while. I know it will mean I'd have to start over from scratch, it will set me back the entire month I've been doing this. But is it worth it? I feel awful, I don't know if the cravings will EVER go away (mostly because I don't know of anyone else who was raised on it who ever tried to quit eating it), nobody is supporting me, and everything else is expensive.

Can I really go the rest of my life like this?