I have been working to transition my family totally away from all processed food, including fast food, for about 8 months now. It’s hard, and I’m not there yet, but when I look back I am proud of the progress I’ve made. The bottom line is that after becoming educated about real food, there is NO other option for me.

I have several close family members (mom, sister, cousin, aunt) who in the past or present, have worked at McDonald’s for years. I also have a daughter (who died in 1997 at the age of 7) who had a severe genetic syndrome. I stayed in a few different Ronald McDonald Houses during those years, and they are wonderful places to be in such a time of need!

However, none of that makes the quality of food that McDonald’s serves good in any way! Loving family members who work there (or at any fast food restaurant), utilizing and being thankful for the Ronald McDonald House, and believing the product is terrible for consumer’s health are not mutually exclusive beliefs. I’m proof.

There are MANY helpful suggestions and articles out there about how to feed your family real food on a budget. I’ve seen great articles here, at The Heavenly Homemaker site, at The Nourishing Gourmet site, at the Frugal Granola site, and I’m sure a lot of others that I’m forgetting at the moment. It’s all about priorities. My first and highest priority is that my husband, my 1 1/2 year old son, and myself are healthy and happy enough to enjoy our lives together for a long time.

Best of luck!

I think most people realize that in no way do I think those who work at McDonald’s are bad people, and you’re right to be thankful for your husband’s job! I also completely agree that McDonald’s HAS done something very good with the Ronald McDonald House.

I actually have relatives who own a few McDonald’s restaurants, and we’ve talked openly about my opinions on the food served there, and that’s where I disagree with you. I do not believe McDonald’s provides a quality fast food meal. I know your husband likely has no say in this, but I do wish McDonald’s would take a look at some fast food restaurants who are providing more quality food (Chipotle for one), and start making some positive changes. While it is each person’s choice as to what they eat, as you said, many are so taken in by the slick marketing by McDonald’s (and not just them, other fast food places, too), that they don’t know any better. (Which is why I write this blog, hoping to help people make good food choices.)

We also agree on the fact that the Kingdom of God is about much more than what we eat and drink, but I do firmly believe that the Lord wants us to take care of the bodies He’s given us. Not that I always do great at this myself, but if I can share more knowledge with my readers that helps them make better choices, then I feel like I’ve done a good thing.

You quoted: For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” But is the food sold at most fast food restaurants anywhere even CLOSE to the food of the earth that God provided? Most of it has been VERY processed and it is often a long time before the food at the farm even ends up in consumer’s mouths.

As far as the food you are eating right now, I believe that it’s good you are doing the best you can with what you have. That’s all any of us can do, especially in these tough times. I’ve had to make some compromises here and there, too.

I’m sure you and your husband are neat Christian people, and I’ll bet we’d be friends if we met. As long as you forgave me for disagreeing with you on a few points, and we focused on the things we agree on.

Take care,
Kelly

If you were to meet me and my husband face to face, would you be so condescending to us about my husband’s gainful employment? Especially in an economic downturn? My husband also has a Bachelor’s of Art in Theology at Multnomah Bible college, and an IT degree. The economy did not allow him an opportunity to become employed in a high-paying job, therefore, we do not eat high-priced organic produce, free-range meats and eggs, expensive raw milk, etc. We eat from a gleaning organization we pay to participate in, for the most part, that gives us a variety of canned and non-organic foods.

Matt. 15:11 “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

1Cor.10:25-26 “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”

Luke 10:5-9 is a good reminder to be thankful for all things and to bless and say “The kingdom of God is come near to you.”

There are more verses on the Kingdom of God being more than eating and drinking, but I want to leave you with one thought: The Ronald McDonald House is a place where many children’s families stay when the children are having heart surgeries and other life saving treatments. The RMH receives funds because of donations from the public, some gathered at the restaurants.

I know families personally who have used their facility for their daughter, and yet they have rotten things to say about the very organization that allowed them the opportunity to stay there while their daughter spent her first months of life in the hospital due to a very sad birth condition with her heart. My daughter suffered a similar condition before her death.

Where is the thankfulness for the good that McDonalds does for children? I often read nutritionally-minded young women ragging on McDonalds for its “evil” for not being as wholesome as their own “pure” cooking. I pray none of these families has to experience (again) the kind of debilitating and life-altering diseases (that were not the result of the child’s eating habits, I might add) and have to end up at the Ronald McDonald House. I also hope they don’t have to be shown a more humble attitude as a result, to the many people who work faithfully to ensure the public has a quality fast food meal, some who are the working poor and have no other place to work. Those people deserve respect, too.

Kathleen’s last blog post..A heart given to love and know and follow Jesus Christ

Thanks for your great tips. And also THANK YOU for letting me know about that movie! I watched the trailer and it looks SO GOOD! The only thing that worries me is that I hope it isn’t going to be all “politically correct” when it comes to the nutrition part of it. A couple scenes showed food on a plate, as if that food is what is killing us, and it had pictures of meat and eggs – grrrrrrrrrr.

I’m doing a post on this movie soon to get the word out!

Kelly

Keep up the good work!

PS. Have you heard about the new film coming out at the end of June called “Food Matters”? The trailer looks tremendous!

Thanks for commenting!
Kelly