Kentucky Fried Chicken in a Pizza Hut...Mc Donalds, McDonalds! Kentucky Fried Chicken in a Pizza Hut.

So the song goes....

On car journeys, when my youngest daughter was tiny she would often ask when we were travelling why there was only unhealthy food options available. The options alternated as you zoomed by Services signs between McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC. The odd Greggs thrown in here and there and maybe the occasional Harry Ramsden’s for a bit of extra gnarly batter and grease - just what you need on a long tedious journey or not at all. I didn’t really know the answer except that I presumed it was supply and demand. I loosely recall some decent salad bars being in service stations for a short spell but as quick as they appeared they seem to evaporate because well, I’m assuming the demand on the road to eat healthily was simply not there. And so another American fast food brand filled the gaping holes with their dirty high sugar contents.

Photo by Shaafi Ali on Unsplash

There’s the old cliche about having to ‘enjoy the journey’ - less focus on the destination, of rushing through the process and being more ‘present in the moment.’ Honestly, the sooner the journey on a UK motorway is done, the better. Too many cars and people and awash with let’s face it really bad food and drink options (luke warm patties, refried chicken, dehydrated chips, stale sweet burger bun bread, dishwater tea and very average coffee). For a ‘healthier’ option you’ll be railroaded into the mysteriously inflated prices within M&S or Waitrose and there in the pithy ‘To Go’ sections can eyeball only prepackaged chuggy carby salads and sandwiches mostly laden with fatty mayo and processed bread and meat. The only place you’re going ‘to-go’ there is the next dress size up. Unless you want to opt for the handily prepped fruit pot that will set you back, I don’t know, around £6 for rainbow coloured weird tasting melon?

You in? Ugh.

It’s true, motorway journey stops are really a welcome chance for the essential toilet break (they may put something in the motorway coffee to encourage these regular pit stops) and to stick something in your mouth that fills a hole. It’s as simple and vulgar as that. There is absolutely no savouring of a meal here. And there’s no saving on prices either - much like going to the cinema it’s a small fortune to host a family in that space. It would probably be better value (and definitely better tasting) to feed everyone in London’s West End at a pre-theatre prix fixe. There’s no pride in food on the move here, it’s an anonymous machine that churns out identical beige food full of processed fats and sugars that do a very good job of you craving more of it. Unless of course you’re in France where actually motorway side it’s standard to consume a three course meal comprising of salad, steak et frites and a plate of fromage washed down with red wine for around 20euro.

And so back on your tedious journey you go, pining for the destination because you want a decent cuppa or a nice glass of wine and you just can’t get it on the move. In 2019, Shell announced a tie up with food do-gooder Jamie Oliver in response to a survey revealing that over half (56%) of UK drivers want healthier choices at forecourts. Cue the so called ‘exciting, tasty, healthier food to choose from on the road.’ At launch, the press release boasts ‘69% more fruit and vegetables across the sandwich range, which will contribute to an estimated 1.2 million additional portions of daily fruit and veg, annually.’ I am no expert but the last time I was in a Shell garage it was rife with sausage rolls, weirdly firm cheesy croissants and pre-fabbed hotdogs. Maybe the audience simply wasn’t there for the sushi and ricotta and the falafel and the houmous? So Shell like the rest of them slipped back to the standard greasy UK service station reality because well, it was easier not to do healthy.

But do we need to think harder about this? What is the message this and all the dire food outlets that are rife roadside sending to our kids? Should there be a law against fast food chains cropping up left, right and centre? Killing all of us slowly with processed fats and sugar? We might proclaim to have upped the ante in terms of our overall culinary offerings to the world in the UK but the motorway service station reality here is pitiful.

Listening to a popular DAB station the other day, the ad break was alarming. There were five adverts back to back that went like this - Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, KFC, Subway, Dominoes. That’s 3 adverts for pizza’s alone. Who’s regulating this quiet, pervasive abuse?

Point in case, the Supreme Court in Ireland recently ruled that the bread served at US Chain Subway could not in fact be defined as bread because of its high sugar content. The company had argued back saying that the bread used in its sandwiches counted as a ‘staple’ food and was consequently exempt from VAT. Except Ireland says the 'amount of sugar in bread “shall not exceed 2% of the weight of flour included in the dough”. And Subway was dismissed. And so the right there, the big fat attempts at tax swindling lies. It’s nothing to do with food, it’s all to do with profit

In case you weren’t aware, there is officially an obesity epidemic in the UK. Recent figures point to even more alarming figures that show there is a rapid growth in obesity amongst adults and children.

According to stats at the end of 2023, in the UK 27.8 per cent of population is obese. In children, 10% of 4-5 year-old children and 23.4% of 10-11 year-olds are obese - that’s a huge jump in just 5 years of a child’s life. Worldwide, global obesity rates have tripled since 1975, and the UK ranks among the worst in Europe (30). In fact the UK is the heaviest nation in western Europe. But this is in fact old news. The various governments, experts and the public have known about the dangers of obesity for years, but the problem much like our waistlines has only grown larger and more problematic. The only thing that’s changing is the severity of the problem.

Even token government interventions have been delayed - the ban on multi-buy deals on foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt, or sugar was delayed from 2023 to 2025 while the government continues to review the impact it would have on shoppers and businesses. Sunak said, “It is right that we consider carefully the impact on consumers and businesses, while ensuring we’re striking the balance with our important mission to reduce obesity and help people live healthier lives.”

If we twin this attitude with the fact that the obesity crisis is costing the NHS around £100 billion a year - have we actually lost our minds?

The problem is three fold. Behavioural, Environmental and Biological. The first Behavioural so say for example the increased intake (and moreover, availability) of fatty processed foods, the lack of fresh fruit and fibre in diets and more recently the inclination for a more sedentary lifestyle - gaming particularly pertinent here (for mostly the children who normalise this inaction into their important formative years). Environmental - the increased ease of transport, more desk work, less movement. And Biological - genetics and the cascading effect of obesity - studies show there is an 80% chance that the children of obese parents will also become obese.

Another really important factor? For me, it’s lack of education. Removing or not investing in the resource to teach children in schools about how to cook has to be a major factor in this growing crisis. When children are educated and shown where food comes from, how meals are made within a budget and what happens in the ultra processed foods process would surely be the first step to begin the slow but meaningful revolution of change?

The addressing of this conversation and taking it to the table, beyond foggy statistics and into reality is what will make this urgent case more real and solvable. Despite bad choices from greedy fast food places, we as passers by always have a choice. And in being more conscious about the small choices we make on a short journey together we might, might all be able enjoy the overarching life journey more.