We’ve all heard the dramatic consequences of eating fast food; and with media coverage such as the shocking documentary ‘Super Size Me’ and Jamie’s School Dinners, why are we still at McDonalds every weekend?

Fast food has been around since the McDonald’s clown first grinned in1954, and since then has seen many other smirking faces. Now McDonalds alone has a whopping 30,000 restaurants serving almost 50 million customers a day in 119 countries. However McDonalds isn’t the only sign you see on the high street. Our cities are swamped with KFCs, Pizza Huts and Burger Kings, selling meals at rock bottom prices, so no wonder it’s the norm.

When I asked young people in Sheffield what they thought was appealing about fast food, most said that it was the easiest and cheapest way they could get hold of grub on the go. All said that they would eat healthier food if it was available. This suggests that the choice of food available on the run is limited to unhealthier options; however, this isn’t the case.

In Sheffield there are quite a lot of options. One of these is Subway, that new sandwich place with the American advert; where you can get fresh sandwiches made there all day! The Subway chain is fast growing, hoping to have an impressive 2010 stores by 2010 worldwide. There are also other sandwich shops in Sheffield such as Greggs that serve all day, as well as other independent options. One such eatery is the vegetarian Blue Moon café, found in one of Sheffield’s unusual old buildings in the centre.

I interviewed Nick Dunhill, the proprietor of Blue Moon who said “We’re an alternative to fast food, we don’t serve burgers, chips or anything deep fried. Most of our food is prepared freshly each day and not from frozen ingredients” But do young people go for that? Nick told me “We do get a lot of young people in here who tend to go for the cheaper stuff on our menu like burritos, pasties and homity pie, because they’re usually on a limited budget and can get this very fast.” At Blue Moon, not only can you get tasty, healthy food there, it also has a good atmosphere and is a great place to meet in town.

Young people are constantly being told what to eat, but as Nick points out “That’s really not our place to do that, it’s the sort of stuff that should come from the home” I agree that nutritional education should start in the home and at school, as was highlighted in Jamie’s School Dinners, after all these are our first experiences of food. Nick also says of the fast food phenomenon “I think it’s getting worse, and part of the problem is that fast food is very cheap and as it’s very cheap it’s not nutritious. MacDonald’s is only putting salads on its menu because of public pressure” And the irony is that the fast food that is deemed healthy isn’t necessarily so, with McDonald’s salad dressing allegedly having as many calories as a Big Mac!

The Blue Moon Cafe 2, St. James St Sheffield S1 2EW.

To round up, I asked Nick - Do you think fast food places should be banned?
“ No, it’s down to people’s choice. I think fast food has a place, as long as it’s in moderation.” Makes sense to me, as they say...a little of what you like does you good…mmm…I think I’ll have fries with that salad.

By Becky Saunders

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