Daily Times

The concept of fast food is based on mass production with the purpose of commercial sale and a strong priority on speed of service. The primary reason for fast food consumption is the convenience of eating on the go with better accessibility as fast food vendors are located on nook, corner and at economical prices thereby contributing significantly to the growth of fast food industry. The fast-food industry is playing a vital role in flourishing the economy of Pakistan.

The fast-food industry is recognized as the 2^nd largest in Pakistan and 8^th largest globally. In today’s era life has become very fast, the reason behind the consumption of excessive fast food is busy work schedules and lack of time to cook at home. The fast food contains extra salts, fats, and calories which when consumed on a daily basis can lead to obesity and other conditions. Obesity is nowadays a common occurrence, with teenagers being affected the most since fast food has become their preferred choice. Research shows that adverse effects of fast food cause diseases like depression, risk of digestive diseases, diabetes, addiction to fast food and overall an unhealthy lifestyle.

Chemicals in fast food are not the only factor that is affecting the environment adversely; it’s the whole chain of production at work. Fast food is the major reason for the mass consumption of processed meat, which contributes to global warming on levels that exceed carbon emissions from all the cars. Most of the products are transported from far away destinations while compromising our air quality. Fast food also has a negative effect on water quality as numerous chemicals, viruses and bacteria tend to seep into groundwater, causing outbreaks of waterborne illnesses.  Processed meat is highly unhealthy due to the number of chemicals used in it which can cause chronic diseases. Furthermore, dairy products like eggs, milk-based products and meat are produced at farms and farm animals are not treated as living beings but endure brutal and inhumane conditions.

Since the fast food industry has excessive demand and it works on slim profit margins and more volume, the fast food operations work 24/7 and animals are slaughtered by the second.

To curb the need of excess demand, the chickens and cows are fed and injected hormones to gain weight and produce more, unnatural means of growth that cause ailments such as cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiac problems and many more.

Fast food isn’t only affecting our lifestyles but is also playing an active role in significantly impacting our environment. These fast food places use lots of packaging to make a good impression on consumers in the form of boxes, several different wrappings, colorfully designed straws, boxes, and shoppers. This contributes to 40 percent of urban litter and Styrofoam packaging takes up to 900 years to degrade.

Innumerable food places have been exposed by the media to using highly unhygienic means to prepare food which has made the consumers sick to their stomachs. Such media raids have been going on for a long time to create awareness, revealing shocking details of inferior quality cooking oil, meat and atrociously filthy kitchens in petty establishments. But people do not expect high-end restaurant chains to be caught red-handed while using the same filthy methods of preparing our food and using inedible ingredients. Sadly, with every such reality show that airs on the TV, the list of restaurants that cannot be deemed safe for eating keeps growing.

Pakistan being a developing country lacks proper reinforcement of law and order. Often laws are broken and not taken seriously. There are no proper food labs or food inspection teams to certify that these restaurants are maintaining an acceptable standard of hygiene. Often cases come in the limelight for a few days that food poisoning caused several deaths but no action is taken to punish the responsible.

One instance caused five children from a single family to face food poisoning and eventual death. Other two minor deaths of brothers took place in Karachi after consuming food at a reputable restaurant. During the investigation, the restaurant was unable to give a satisfactory response to food control queries. The lax laws of food safety and public hygiene are a rising concern.

Because of the meat supply required in the fast food industry, it is imperative for the Government and/or food authority to keep a check on the meat industry in terms of the practices and types of meat being supplied.   Food authorities of Pakistan so far have miserably failed at providing citizens with a safe and a hygienic environment to enjoy food outside their homes and all the efforts they may make right now are certainly too late for the families who have lost their loved ones to sheer carelessness of the said authorities.

The government needs to address these issues on a priority basis while introducing strict policies for all the fast food chains operating in the region and simultaneously educate people on the adverse effects of excessive consumption of fast food and the lack of nutritional value associated to the general public can make better choices leading to healthy living.