Imagine walking into Nandos after a tiresome week with the ‘devilish’ intention to indulge yourself in the peri-peri chicken that will ‘keep your pecker up’ as one billboard advertisement puts it. This, being a well deserved retreat from the meals that you are constantly being subjected to by your wife back home. Let’s just say cooking just might not be her specialty, no pun intended.
Your gastric juices are flowing as your metabolic system gears up for what is yet to be another superb performance by the masters of flame-grilled chicken. They have never disappointed at every serving.
You get hold of the menu to give yourself a prelude of what is to come and, to your utter shock and dismay, the menu is composed of a list of vegetables and salads of all sorts!
Greek salads, Portuguese salad, lettuces, spinach, coleslaw, you name it, but no chicken!!!
Is this a dream or reality, you might wonder?
The world is fast changing as scores of people have gone green. Green is the buzz word on people’s lips. To go green, simply put, is to be conscious that vegetables, salads (which are green) contain healthy natural nutrients that are necessary for human growth.
Research has proven that the food we eat is linked to causing several ailments in the human body, and these include stress, hyper-tension, obesity and high blood pressure. Therefore, in an effort to cut down on developing diseases that could otherwise be prevented, millions of people are finding prevention to be better than cure and going green as the surest way in the pursuit of happiness and a long life.
Green awareness is not only linked to the type of foods that we eat but is inclusive of saving energy and being resourceful and emitting less pollutants daily. That means we use eco-friendly systems, recycle more and drive electric cars among doing other green friendly things so as to reduce the effects of global warming.
The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is the primary reason for global warming and the spiraling calls for everyone to save a little more wherever they can.
Back to our Nandos scenario, we might not have reached that extremity of serving ‘veggies’ in our favourite fast food outlets yet, but the possibility sends a shudder down one’s spine. Today’s youthful generation is caught in a quagmire; heavily informed, on the one hand, by the internet and new media on the state of global affairs and, on the other, simply wanting to do what is trendy and not give a hoot about tomorrow.
Two scenarios therefore tend to present themselves.
Firstly, it is undeniable that many young people speak the language of McDonald’s fries, the chicken of KFC and the burgers of Burger King much readily than green.
To the majority of them, life is inconceivable without these ‘necessities’ and it will take more to convince them to eat healthy. Just last week, Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States of America, announced her intentions of planting an organic garden in an effort to encourage better eating habits among Americans. Who knows, maybe the faithful young followers of the Obama’s just might heed the call.
Secondly, young people account for the greater source of revenue for the majority of fast food corporations worldwide than any other age group. Fast-food giants have moved at a snail’s pace in campaigning for better eating lifestyles from consumers.
Who can blame them, you don’t bite the hand that feeds you!
Regardless of what gains we have been making individually or otherwise in non ecologically friendly methods, we all have a responsibility towards our planet and to take care of it.
Going green is a small step, yet without significance in a larger effort to save the earth.
In the words of Neil Armstrong, it is, “One small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.”
