Entrepreneur.com reports on the opportunity for Fresh Food Franchises. It cites a Datamonitor report that there will be 266 million natural-food consumers in 2007. That’s up 23% from 216 million in 2002 and means that 88% of American’s are eating natural-food! Entrepreneur.com asserts that “Better-educated consumers are searching for fresh, unprocessed, healthy foods–and this dietary change is fueling what we predict will be the next big trend in franchising: fresh-food franchises.” The article reasons that media focus on health, coupled with the trade-up phenomenon is fueling this consumer demand and franchise response from players like Fresh City, Tossed , and Fresh Creations.

Take 10 minutes to find out how long you are expected to live at this life expectancy calculator. After answering 40 questions, you’ll receive a personalized feedback analysis.

Part of my feedback said this:
Your answer suggests that you avoid fast food restaurants and preserved meats. You are already going a long way towards a healthy diet. Keep it up!

Fast foods, including fried foods and hamburgers, are high in calories and saturated fats. These will make you gain weight, and they increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and perhaps cancer. Some studies suggest that 90% of all human cancers are environmentally induced, 30-40% of these by diet. Another potential risk factor for cancer is preserved meats. Preserved and cured meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats) are the largest source of nitrites in our diet. Nitrites in our bodies lead to the formation of nitrosamines, which are environmental oxidants and probable carcinogens. For instance, there is a suggestive association between nitrosamines and stomach cancer.

So, take the quiz, learn what you can do to live longer, and look out for better alternatives to fast food!

A manifesto on World Changing.com challenges us to innovate to make a change in the world. Mike Lin, with Vestal Design Atelier LLC, says “We’ve screwed up. Sustainability is dead. It’s time to redesign our future.” Mike says that “eco-friendly products shouldn’t be altruistic sacrifices”.

Let’s prove that “ecologically intelligent solutions work” by changing the way fast food is offered.

Try this one for yourself:
Which one of these entrees from Denny’s has the least calories?

1. a ham and cheddar omelet
2. country fried steak and eggs
3. three slices of French toast with syrup and margarine
4. three pancakes with syrup and margarine.

A CNN.com article discusses how poor we are at judging the nutritional makeup of restaurant offerings. For example, did you get the right answer? Read on to see what it was:

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