Fast Food Nation, the much-praised American film about the fast-food business, just opened in Paris and has instantly become a hit with the city's media crowd. Not only does its coded anti-American message play well, but it only confirms the worst fears the French have always had about fast food. And in Europe, they're not alone.
The United Kingdom recently banned junk-food advertising, much to the ire of such major advertisers as Cadbury-Schweppes, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Pepsico, and Unilever, but the Brits are standing firm. And Spain has taken the emerging pan-European war against unhealthy eating even a bold step further. Just recently, the Spanish health ministry asked Burger King to stop a current ad campaign for its "Whopper XXL" burgers, because it contravenes a pact by restaurants there to desist from promoting excessively large portions.
With the incidence of obesity exploding in Europe, the finger is being squarely pointed at the Americanization of Old World eating habits, and while activists like anti-genetically-modified-food protester Jose Bove have long been held in high esteem, the issue is going mainstream across the continent. The one country that's relatively mute on the issue is Belgium, which might be explained by the fact that Belgians have an almost festishistic devotion to French fries as a favorite all-day snack and also perhaps by the fact that Quick burger chain, one of the rare European successes in the fast-food arena, is headquartered there.
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