Before I arrived in Germany, I had some preliminary impressions of the Germans — for instance, their pride in their food and culture. But, for two weeks in Leipzig, I’ve been stunned by the number of people lining up to eat American fast food — there are always huge lines at the McDonald’s in Leipzig’s city center.
And keep in mind that I came from China and spent four years in Beijing, so I know what “huge lines” means. McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut occupy every city in China with a total of more than 5,300 restaurants, and the expansion seems to be endless. In 1999, during my second trip to Beijing, there were 56 McDonald’s restaurants in this metropolis. I just counted on its official website — 188 McDonald’s locations are feeding Beijingers with high-calorie and high-fat food. And KFC beats McDonald’s even more, having opened its 300th location in Beijing in August.
It’s not just Germany and China, though. Another country with prideful food traditions, Italy, is also struggling with the American fast-food invasion. I met an Italian friend last Saturday and she was concerned about those local family-run restaurants in Italy being threatened by American fast food’s convenience and low price.
If we do some simple math here, we’ll spot a downward spiral easily. The worse Italy’s economy is, the more Italians are forced to choose American fast food instead of a time-consuming pasta or risotto, so more capital will flow to the U.S. and Italy’s economy will become worse.
American fast food’s influence is far more than just junk food. Some traditional lifestyles are also being converted to the American fast-paced style. For example, Italians love to eat slowly and enjoy long siestas (Spanish for “naps”), which are scientifically proven to be healthful lifestyles. Their lunch break is usually from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. But with a terrible economy, many Italians are pushed to give up their slow eating habits and poetic siestas to work longer hours.
So it goes with many other European countries. Again, the powerful political economy is turning many parts of the world from splendid diversity into singular uniform. But when I’m trying to reject it, I find myself rather groundless.
In the 2011 documentary Forks Over Knives, T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. showed that diets high in fat, salt and sugar contain some elements similar to drugs and therefore are addictive.
But many Chinese youngsters regard dining at McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut as a pretty good treat from their parents when they behave nicely or get high grades in class. Birthday parties, afternoon teas, friend gatherings — people celebrating those choose such restaurants as desirable and trendy go-to places.
I was one of these people. I knew it was junk food, but I just couldn’t resist its advertisement-painted facade and tasty seduction. I have to ask myself, while I’m accusing this dreadful American fast-food virus, have I been nourishing it?
Bingxin “Sophia” Huang is a master’s student at Ohio University who is studying at the University of Leipzig this semester and a columnist for The Post. Send her your thoughts at bh586611@ohiou.edu.
