Nutrition - All American Meal (1976)

You know, we can tell a lot about people by analyzing what they eat. How could this meal become so important in our way of life? I think the biggest factor for me is that I'm a teacher and I when I get home from school, I'm extremely tired and I don't have the energy, patience, or time to cook a real meal for my family. So, we'll often go to a hamburger place and get it cuz it's quick and convenient and easy and the food is usually pretty good. So, for me it's it's that I don't have enough time to cook a real dinner like my mother used to cook me when I was a kid. about a culture by what they eat? What does the so-called all-American meal of hamburger, french fries, and soft [music] drinks say about us? What is a hamburger, french fries, and soda pop? Well, everything that that we have, all of our objects, the house, the clothes, the car, all say something about us. And what does a hamburger, french fries, and soda pop say about us? We eat a lot of junk. We're lacking thoroughly in imagination. We're lazy. We don't like to cook for ourselves. We don't care what we eat. I think this says that we didn't take the time anymore to sit down to a decent meal and the meal break with it to interrupt the daily hustle and bustle for a hour or hour and a half leisurely enjoyment. It says that we're always on the go. We're always in the car. We're a mobile society. And uh we eat on the run. Yes, we do eat on the run. And the quick food stands and restaurants that specialize in hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks [music] are serving more of us more often than ever before. Eat this same meal more and more often. [music] You know, a lot of people eat that same meal twice a day, and that's the problem. Sure, the hamburger and the fries give you some nutrients, but not all the nutrients you need. And the way we hurry through the meal is not very good for the digestion. The more we hurry, the more we demand fast, efficient service. And the fast food chains give it to us. Why are we in such a hurry? I can answer that in one word. The automobile. It's accelerated our whole pace of life. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] Few developments [music] during the history of man have affected us as much as the automobile. Since along with the automobile came a whole new lifestyle, a new set of values. As the auto increased in importance, the pace of our lives increased. Speed and mobility [music] became more important than nutrition. [music] Since we eat this meal so often, it's a good idea to think of some ways to improve it nutritionally. One way is to use lean meat. The leaner the better, since most of us get too much animal fat in our diet. No to juice or [music] milk, we add still another source of valuable nutrients. [music] So fast foods aren't necessarily junk foods. The so-called all-American meal is not really a bad meal. Although there's a pretty good case you could make against the soft drink. The real problem is too many people eat that meal too often and don't get the variety they need. And variety is more than just the spice of life. Variety is a nutritional necessity. The other problem with the fast food meal is we miss out on other values. The traditional meal was a time when the family and friends could get together and for companionship, communication. We're losing that now. We're losing the art of conversation. Not to mention the art of cooking. If our reliance on fast foods is really taking us away from some of the values that are important to our health as well as our culture, then where will we [music] be tomorrow? 100 years from now, they will be looking back at us and say we have been eating a lot of junk. I think they would say that in our time we were always ate in a hurry. We were thinking more about convenience than we were of our health. I think they'd probably say they why was it so slow? They'll probably have faster service foods. [music]