With lethargy becoming our second nature, we also want consistency. We know that if we go into a Wendy’s, we’ll get the tasty fresh burgers that always taste the time, guaranteed. With this reliability also comes availability. When the clock strikes ten pm, the other restaurants that would serve us more nutritious and healthy meals close their doors. Unfortunately, we as a population have developed into a nation of night owls. Ten o’clock isn’t bedtime, it’s either the time to cram for exams, get that one page of paperwork done, or dress up and go out for a night of drunken debauchery. When hunger bells ring inside our stomachs, what else can we eat but fast food? These establishments are open until the wee hours of the morning or even 24-hours in many locales. Where can we go if we want a fresh salad filled with beans, tart oranges, and non-fat ranch dressing? To bed, that’s where.
From the beginning of time, we have always been creatures of habit. We become habitual in the way we live, what we eat, and what we do for leisure. Yet, these seemingly healthy habits are slowly becoming addictions. Too much of a good thing is never healthy, so when our yearnings for dependability is too great, it in turn makes us addicted to food, exercise, sports, work, or worse, drugs. We have discovered the fact that we can escape from reality if we focus entirely on something else. Whatever we decide to be our security blanket, we will latch ourselves onto it and rely on them to be our constant pillow of comfort that will relieve us and protect us. For example, if Burger King is our vice, it will always console us with the greasy and salty reassurance we need.
On top of everything else, it seems that big corporations are taking advantage of human nature by adding MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) to their food — although they might vehemently deny it. This chemical is used to enhance the flavors of the food and was deemed considerably safe by the FDA. This “safe” chemical, however, creates addiction. It generates a reaction in consumers that make them crave foods with MSG processed in them. MSG is now no longer just limited to fast food joints — they can also be found in prepackaged products that you can find in supermarkets such as a canned soups and potato chips. It’s no wonder that even after a huge Thanksgiving meal, we’ll still turn to a huge bag of Dorito’sand dip while unzipping our pants.
