Fast food: A critical theological perspective

Mass fast food pervades modern society. We here offer a critical theological appraisal of fast food and of the nexus of social values of which it is part. We assess its production and consumption within the doctrinal contexts of creation, fall and redemption, and identify tensions between fast food culture and theologically-formed approaches to food and eating. The continual availability of fast food, its homogeneity, and its dislocation from locally-shaped eating practices can all be seen as aspects of humankind's fallen state, and ultimately as signs of misdirected appetite. They contrast with the inculturated and social character of faithful eating, including with some other historic and presentday takeout cultures.