It appears harmless.

At least a quarter of Americans eat fast food daily, and this contributes to nearly 400,000 annual obesity-related deaths. How can so many people consume this dietary nightmare? It’s because advertisements catch the kids while they’re young.

Morgan Spurlock, author of “Don’t Eat This Book,” stated, “Before most children can speak, they can recognize McDonald’s.” Companies spend billions each year on advertising, most of which is directed at adolescents. Dietary habits are formed before kids are in their teens, making them easy targets for the typical money hungry fast food franchise.

The sad thing is most people don’t realize how bad this really is because they don’t understand what goes into making fast food, and what the “food” consists of.

R.P Clayton and K.E Belk conducted a study in 1998 demonstrating the repulsiveness of modern day slaughterhouses. They found that a single four-ounce patty consisted of at least 55, ranging all the way up to an astonishing 1,082 cows. What is even more disturbing is the meat content of these hamburgers. A recent study conducted by Richard Prayson shows, “Meat content in the hamburgers ranged from 2.1% to 14.8% (median, 12.1%),” (Prayson) in 8 different fast food hamburgers. For a burger that’s only 12.1% meat, it is interesting that up to 1,000 cows contributed to it.

What makes up the rest of the burger? Water, connective tissue, blood vessels, peripheral nerves, adipose tissue, plant material, cartilage, and, are you ready for it, bone. How does that big mac taste now? Don’t worry, it gets better.

About a quarter of U.S ground beef comes from “retired” dairy cattle, exhausted from the demand of milk production. These stressed cows are sent to major beef processors with feedlots exceeding 100,000 head of cattle, all waddling in their own fecal matter. During the time before they are slaughtered, they are fed from long concrete troughs leading into a large feeding tub. They are not always fed corn, though. Spurlock has found another dark side of beef processors.

In an amazing display of collective insanity, the meat producers of this country are feeding all sorts of animals to the animals they feed us. Dead pigs and dead horses are ground up for cattle feed, and so are dead chickens. A lot of chicken manure gets mixed up into the feed in the process, so the cows are not only eating chicken, but chicken shit, which can spread salmonella, tapeworms and chemicals like arsenic. Not only are cows fed dead chickens, but chickens are fed dead cows (Spurlock 105).

The insanity doesn’t end here. Beef processors also pay animal shelters for their dead dogs and cats to be ground up and fed to their cattle.

Cows are not the only animals that have it rough; chickens are in the same cruel boat. Spurlock notes that there are approximately 20 million chickens slaughtered daily who spend their lives in enormous windowless buildings containing up to 80,000 chickens in small cages.

These animals die before they ever see the light of day. Worse yet, some are killed while still alive, either being ground up, or dipped in electrocution baths of scolding hot water to remove their feathers for processing. Makes grandma and grandpa’s farm stories of watching a chicken run around with its head cut off sound humane.

Not only is fast food disgusting, it is also dangerous. Tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is found in various fast food items as a preservative. TBHQ is also found in varnishes, lacquers, and resins as a stabilizer. Higher doses of TBHQ have led to stomach tumors and damage to DNA for lab animals. Prolonged exposure may cause cancer (student.ccbcmd.edu).

Propylene glycol, which is used as a killing preservative in pitfall traps, is found in Wendy’s Frosty. This chemical is legal to be served in America yet it is illegal in cat food. The McDonald’s McRib sandwich contains azodicarbonamide, which happens to be banned in Australia, Europe, and Singapore. It is used in foam plastics production for items such as yoga mats (Gucciardi).

CNN reported that human hair is a common ingredient in fast for its amino acid L-cysteine. Most of the human hair derives from Chinese women who sell their locks to small chemical plants to support their families.

Sand, also known as silica, is an anti-caking additive put in beef and chicken to prevent clumping. To prevent deep fryers from foaming up, companies use dimethylpolysiloxane. This chemical is also used in silly putty and breast implants. Many companies use ammonium sulfate (soil fertilizer) in their baked goods, aiding the yeast in rising (Breyer).

Fast food, according to a Spanish study of 8,964 participants, is linked to depression. The study found those who ate the most junk food were “37 percent more likely to become depressed over the six-year period than those who ate them least. Those who consumed the most were likely to be single, younger, less active, and have worse eating habits than those with lowest consumption,” (Environmental Nutrition 35.7).

To those of you who loved fast food, I’m sorry, but someone had to break it to you. And for those of you who can’t avoid it, just make smart choices.

Avoid dollar menus. If it sounds to good to be true, it is. People want three things when going out to eat, healthy options, cheap price, good taste. Now pick two, because you can’t have all three.

Stray from value meals. They tempt you to get fries and a drink for a couple bucks, but all you’re doing is paying for extra calories and fat. And definitely stay away from supersized or large options. No one needs 64 oz. of soda in one sitting. No one.

Pay attention to the menu. A crispy chicken sandwich will be battered and deep-fried. Deep-fried is bad. Look for grilled options, the lesser of evils.

Don’t be fooled by the lettuce. Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad contains 770 calories and 1,810mg of sodium. That’s far from healthy. Opt for Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich, containing less then half of the calories and sodium. Taco Bell’s Fiesta Taco Salad with beef harbors 780 calories and 1,380mg of sodium. Choose their Fresco Chicken Soft Taco instead, weighing in at a measly 150 calories and 460mg of sodium.

Keep it simple. The more fancy the sandwich sounds, loaded with unnecessary toppings, the harder it will be on your thighs.

And as much as it hurts, avoid bacon as a topping. It seems to be the new fad for fast food joints to smother everything in bacon. What’s next, bacon smoothies topped with bacon? Come on America, you’re killing yourselves here.

The times of honest and trustworthy food are sadly a thing of the past. Burgers can be made up of over 1,000 different cows, all of which may have been fed dead animals prior to being slaughtered. Oftentimes, slaughterhouses treat animals inhumanely, having feed lots holding up to 100,000 cattle and windowless buildings containing up to 80,000 chickens. These animals are pumped with all sorts of chemicals to be more economically efficient, jeopardizing the health of many U.S. citizens. Deadly chemicals such propylene glycol, which is illegal in animal feed, are readily served at fast food joints. In today’s world, you must be aware of what you ingest, and be sure to make healthy choices whenever possible.

Always remember: Ronald McDonald does not give a damn about your health, just your wallet.