[Kazashimo]

Here is a sad, but true story... My father, who is 58, has an 8 year old daughter (also my sister). He stocks his pantry with nothing but fast, convenient food, because he lacks the know how to prepare a good healthy home-cooked meal. My little sister lives off of canned microwavable food, roman noodles, sweets, and sugary drinks. One of her favorite things (and ironically, one of the healthiest) to eat is canned Chef Boyardee.

I went over to my father's today and surprised him with a healthy, all natural, delicious spaghetti dinner. I sat down to eat with my father and sister, enjoying one of the greatest pleasures a family can share together. As we cleaned our plates, and I started to leave, my sister had an upset look about her. My father asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I like that normal spaghetti better". I was surprised at hearing this seeing as how this was one of the rare occasions that my little sister seemed to have enjoyed a meal that I had prepared. I immediately knew what she was referring to, which was the Chef Boyardee spaghetti in the pantry. I then proceeded to read to her every ingredient on the can of spaghetti. After that, I told her the ingredients in my food, which included very few. I made sure that I stressed the amount of chemicals that go into preserving her beloved spaghetti, which sits on the shelf for months at a time. Her reaction was almost non-existent. She glanced at me, then looked away, and immediately started on about something else.

I love my sister. I want her to grow up to be a respectful woman, who can not only take care of herself, but those around her. It scares me that she can't cook a meal without a microwave to save her life. With health problems becoming more common, and fast food dominating the globe, our kids will live a shorter lifespan than us. It's scary, but it's true. I don't care if you are 300lbs and sitting on the couch every day of your life. If you know a child or teenager, that cannot cook at least 10 meals to save his or her life, then do something about it now. We need to set an example for our children, nieces, nephews, and any other child that we know. We need to have more home-cooked meals with families, and not rely so heavily on fast, convenient food. So let's prioritize the health and well-being of loved ones before we spend all of our money on toys. We can control our lives, but our children aren't that lucky. Show them how to make healthy decisions, and grow up to be self sustainable human beings.

[Himanshu Chowdhary]

Very true , I recently ate fast food at school canteen and I was diagnosed with food poisoning :/