How is it that Fast Food Culture not only survives but appears to be thriving? What is supporting its existence? Who or what is invested in maintaining the status quo and why?
Deliberate deception has allowed Fast Food Culture to practice in dubious ways for lengthy periods of time. Forms of terminology like “natural,” “organic” and “local” have been hijacked and manipulated for marketing rather than for clarification and information, thus reducing and eroding efforts to establish effective standards. The four barking dogs of industry – ignore, deny, place doubt, lay blame – are being used with success to maintain power and control of our current broken food systems.
Corporations don’t have the power to control our culture they just have tons of money and resources to unnaturally influence what we absorb as “culture.” Corporations inject Fast Food Culture values by funding think tanks that direct policy at the national and provincial level. They influence by ensuring directorships and board appointments in the public sector are filled with people of their choosing.
This influence also happens with corporate owned and controlled media so that it reports corporate agendas and supports its advertising campaigns. These corporations plant doubt and fear in orchestrated campaigns in social media for the purpose of fostering emotions like insecurity and cynicism and for the purpose of undermining solidarity and unity. The perception of adversity that modern day advertising creates fuels feelings of inferiority that translate into fear, small mindedness and prejudice.
Inclusion is purchased and gained through product usage. Even if you do manage to conform though, you will still never be enough. Fast Food Culture makes sure of this in subtle ways.
Oppositional opinion to these campaigns are sidelined, subverted or ignored. Access to consumer information has been denied, deliberately withheld, distorted, and/or destroyed to those who seek transparency.
Fast Food Culture is failing us. We’re told it’s the only way that there’s no alternative. In fact, corporations believe we won’t get off the couch and make the necessary changes that would lead us to becoming good ancestors.
People make systems happen, and systems lay out paths of least resistance that shape how people participate. This is how Fast Food Culture stays alive. The paths of least resistance has historically led Canadian society straight to the nipples of the patriarchal system. We have allowed ourselves to be convinced that this easy, safe, comfortable, convenient way of life is the only possibility – and for most of us, it’s all we have ever known.
“Habit is a hell that people cling to in an attempt to stop the flow of change.” Carolyne Myss
If you decide that enough is enough, you will confuse people as you work through the long process of breaking up with Fast Food Culture. This will scare and piss off many of the people you care about and who care deeply about you. It will leave you feeling vulnerable and raise difficult emotions both in yourself and those around you. That’s how you know you’re doing it right.