Why you ask? Because of the concept that we vote with every dollar we spend. When we choose to spend our $5 in a drive thru we are voting that we agree with what kind of food they serve and how they pay and treat their workers. In the movie Food Inc. a low income family is shown feeding the family through a drive thru because it is cheap and easy, but the father is suffering from health issues. So for now I avoid fast food in general (though not 100%) because I don't believe in the quality of food they serve or the low wages of workers. And when I choose to go through a drive thru I choose Wendy's because they offer natural lemonade sweetened with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.
Low wage earners subsidize our lifestyle. That's a concept I learned in a book, Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich. When we buy something at Walmart or buy a meal from fast food, it is the workers who make it so cheap because they do not get paid fairly. After reading that book several years ago, I made a point to avoid Walmart as much as possible. It was easier then because I had options close by. Today when I want to avoid Walmart 10 minutes away from my home, I have to drive 20. And Walmart can woo you in with their significantly lower prices, but I can see the longer term investment of voting with my dollar. Do I support their low wages? No. So I spend my money elsewhere where the same item costs more.
Many people do not have the choice. Including minimum wage earners. But I have been lucky enough to have the choice. If it means I have less money at the end of the month, I'm ok with that. Or if I have to give up something I want cause it won't fit in my budget, I'm ok with that. Maybe I will buy fewer of my favorite $4 coffees, chuckles.
To avoid Fast Food, I have to plan ahead. Keeping snack food and water in the car. Knowing where not so fast options are and be willing to buy more expensive food.
On 8-29-2013 we have a chance to work together to show Fast Food we do care about fair wages, when we all come together and make our voice heard in Unity, it's a louder statement than my in general avoidance of Fast Food. What if just 10% of us who buy Fast Food regularly, don't on 8-29-2013, do you think the corporations will notice? I think so, computers track everything these days. What if the 99% could boycott Fast Food for one day?
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