The average American eats 800 hamburgers every year. That's a lot of meat. But the most surprising fact is that most Americans have no idea where their food comes from, or even what's in it. Americans spend approximately $134 billion on fast food. If so much of our money is spent on food, you'd think we have a right to know what's in it, how it's made, and where exactly it comes from. Everyone deserves to know the truth about fast food, from the ingredients to the working conditions to the health effects of living on it. Fast food has shaped the United States and the way Americans eat. Obesity and diabetes among adults and children have skyrocketed over the past 100 years. It's serious. But if we want to find out why this happens, what makes fast food so addictive and how it became so popular; we need to trace the food back to its origin. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayAs consumers, Americans now expect their goods and services to be inexpensive and easy to obtain. The food industry is no exception. In order to meet the high demand for cheap meat; animals suffer on factory farms. Many people who eat at fast food restaurants are animal lovers, and almost everyone would hate to think that their food has lived a tortured life. Ideally, customers don't know the origin of their food, or what, where or how it was made. And it's no coincidence. For wealthy fast food companies, keeping the truth about what goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms is of extreme importance. This allows them to make billions of dollars each year without their consumers knowing about the horrible treatment of animals, which they would undoubtedly criticize if they knew. The goal of “farms” is to maximize profit and minimize costs; which means accommodating as many livestock in one area and producing as much meat as possible. Chickens are social and intelligent creatures. Just like humans, they live in groups (herds) and know and recognize the members of their herd. They have the natural urge to scratch and peck for food, take dust baths, care for eggs in their nest, and feed their chicks. The chickens are friendly and are even kept as pets. People who have had the opportunity to become acquainted with chickens – for example growing up on a farm or visiting farm animal sanctuaries – often remark how affectionate chickens can be and how they seem to have their own personality. Healthy chickens can live more than 10 years, but factory-raised broilers reach slaughter age at around 6 to 7 weeks. Chickens “raised” on factory farms are very different from their ancestors from hundreds of years ago. This is because they are selectively bred to have larger breasts, thus producing more meat. They also receive growth hormones to reduce the time it takes for a chicken to reach full growth. These changes put enormous strain on the chickens' skeletons and organs, forcing them to take only a few steps and their organs cannot keep up with their bodies..