Fast Food and the Environment - Discussion Questions

Fast Food and the Environment – Discussion Questions (Part 1)

Discuss these questions with a partner or small group, or write down your answers:

1. What is fast food? Do you like fast food? Does fast food satisfy you? Why? / Why not?
What are the pros and cons of fast food? Is pizza fast food? Why? / Why not?

2. Do you live near a fast food restaurant? How often do you use it? What’s the difference between a fast food restaurant and a normal restaurant? Was there fast food 100 years ago? How did people manage without it?

3. Do we need fast food? What does it offer that other kinds of food cannot?

4. How do fast food chains impact on the environment? Consider:

a. land
b. agriculture
c. animals
d. transport
e. warehousing
f. energy
g. water
h. pollution

What is their carbon footprint, compared to other kinds of business? What are fast food chains doing to reduce their carbon footprint / impact on the environment?

5. How many fast food restaurants are there… a) in your town, b) in your country, c) in the world?

6. Why does the human body crave sugar and fat? Is it possible to be addicted to fast food?
What happens if we avoid junk food?

7. How many solar panels does it take to power one fast food restaurant?

8. Do you think the world would be a better place with more people and fewer trees? Why? / Why not? Is it a good thing that hot food is always freely available in our society? Has it always been that way? Is that true in every society?

9. Should there be stricter rules for corporations when it comes to impacting on the environment?

10. Which is better: localism or globalism? Why? What are the pros and cons of each?

11. Do humans need to eat meat… a) more than once a day, b) every day, c) every week, d) at all? Why?

12. Have vegetarians or vegans got it right when it comes to the environment? Why? / Why not? Have you ever seen a fast food outlet selling only healthy food? Would it be possible?

13. Would you like to work for a fast food chain? Why? What kind of salary would you receive?

14. Is deforestation ever a positive thing? Why? / Why not?

15. What is the difference between fast food and junk food?

16. When you eat at a fast food chain, do you segregate your rubbish after your meal? Should customers have to work or should an employee do this? Should we be able to take our own crockery and cutlery to fast food restaurants, to dramatically cut down on waste paper, card, and plastic – or should dishwashers be used? What would be the added cost of that?

17. Do fast food restaurants cause a litter problem? What can be done about it?

18. Do you believe that recycling makes a difference to the environment? Why? / Why not?
Why do we give our household recycling for free to companies which sell it to make a profit?