Chapter 2015: Ignite the Strange Dream in Your Heart (Part 8)_1

American fast food is arguably the simplest type of food preparation method in the world. Regardless of the ingredient, if it's meat, it's fried; if it's vegetables, they're doused in salad dressing; if it's sauce, it's squeezed out like it's free; and if sugar can be added, it's dumped in by the sackful.

One phenomenon is that the food consumed by the poor and the rich in America is, in many ways, entirely different.

In America, there is a type of supermarket known as an organic supermarket. By just hearing this name, many people assume that the products sold there must all be healthy.

But in actuality, only organic stores sell food items that meet EU standards, like common fruits, vegetables, and meat. Meanwhile, the items sold in regular supermarkets are a step lower in quality, merely meeting American standards. Simply put, the food items sold there do not restrict the addition of lean meat extract and have unique criteria for pesticide detection.

So, in America, if a family has a bit of money, they will definitely spend extra at an organic supermarket to buy ordinary food materials.

Furthermore, many times, only organic supermarkets will carry food materials that customers can cook themselves. Meanwhile, regular supermarkets are often filled with semi-processed canned food and frozen food, which all contain deadly amounts of oil and sugar.

The food at organic supermarkets is only available to those who are willing to pay more. If you're poor, you have no choice but to buy items from a regular supermarket, and you must, therefore, endure a diet high in oil, salt, and sugar. This is one of the leading causes of America's high obesity rate.

Another reason why the vast majority of ordinary people cannot maintain a light diet is that all restaurants, especially the fast-food shops frequently visited by ordinary folks, offer an abundance of cheap, deep-fried food and heaps of seasoning, along with unlimited quantities of heavily sweetened drinks.

The use of the term 'deadly' here is not at all hyperbolic. Although many people might think that cola is sweet enough, almost no American fast-food shops would dilute the cola syrup according to the recommended standards. Instead, they'd skimp on the water, or else they'd face complaints that their colas lack flavor.

If a bite into their fried chicken doesn't result in an explosion of oil in one's mouth, the place would most likely cease to exist. Likewise, if one can't taste the rich flavor of syrup in their pies and tarts, the place would probably go out of business very soon.

The first thing Stark noticed when he bit into his meal was the saltiness, an overwhelming saltiness. The next thing he noticed was the greasiness, accompanied by a very strong flavor that hit him straight on, as if he had just swallowed a whole block of butter.

Stark couldn't help but spit out the food in his mouth.

Honestly, if it hadn't been unbearably awful, Stark wouldn't have resorted to such an act of rudeness. Despite his rebellious appearance among the rich, he still is the product of elite education and, more importantly, does not wish to embarrass himself.

But he really couldn't take it anymore. After spitting it out, he had to confirm that he had indeed taken a bite out of a cheeseburger and that the chef hadn't mistakenly stuffed butter mixed with salt into it.

Upon closer inspection, he found that three slices of yellow salty cheese had been inserted into the burger, with traces of large amounts of oil clinging to the whitened edges of the slightly cold meat. This is a scene that he had never seen in a cheeseburger before.

Steve sighed, took a bite from the burger, swallowed it, and said, "I don't know if I should tell you this, but the cheeseburger you served me at Stark Industries last time is quite different from what ordinary Americans eat."

Steve held up his cheeseburger for Stark and said, "In here, there would only be one kind of cheese. Most of the time it would be cheddar, sometimes mixed with a little mozzarella. But because the quality is pretty ordinary, they have to put a lot of it in there for the aroma of cheese to come through."

"The kind of burger you had likely contained at least three types of cheese, with a mixture of carefully proportioned fresh cheese and semi-dry cheese added to enhance the fragrance."

"As for the meat patty, here it is just a normal beef patty, fried with 300 grams of butter to make sure the meat and the outer crust are completely soaked in it. Some shops even fry the bun with another 100 grams of butter to enhance the flavor."

"However, the patties made in Stark Industries' kitchen are produced not only from carefully selected beef but are also hand-chopped instead of ground in a machine. Majority of the oil comes from the beef itself."

"The bun is baked with carefully selected flour, occasionally lightly fried in olive oil. Even the sesame seeds sprinkled on top are carefully chosen, each one full."

"The pickles in it are mostly canned products, scooped out of the can, sliced, and put in."

Steve pointed to the pickle sandwiched between the bun and the meat, then said, "The pickles and peppers used in Stark Industries' kitchen are pickled using a Mexican method; both the preservation temperature and usage timing are done perfectly."

Steve then picked up an onion ring and said, "The structure of these and the coat of flour on their surfaces are just to absorb more oil. It's the same with these fries."

Stark looked at the cheeseburger in his hand with a troubled expression. He felt that he absolutely couldn't eat this thing, but he also felt bad about wasting food.

"And your view of food," Steve shrugged, put his food down, and said, "If you can't finish it, just throw it away. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Stark's gaze wandered over the table-top and finally settled on an apple cinnamon pie. He hesitated a bit before asking, "Surely they didn't put a lot of oil in this one, right?"

He opened the outer packaging of the pie, turned the pie out, and bit off a small piece, not seeing any traces of solidified butter on the crust. He then took another small bite, and then spat it out.

This time it wasn't because of the oiliness, but because of the sweetness.

All the filling inside was purely melted sugar. In addition to being enveloped in the sugar syrup, the apple pieces had also been specially treated with sugar, choking Stark into a severe coughing fit.

He hastily grabbed the Coke next to him and started guzzling it down, causing Steve to instantly dodge to the side as Stark sprayed a mouthful of cola out.

Steve quickly patted his back to prevent him from choking. When Stark recovered, he stared incredulously at the Coke in his hand and said, "Is this Coca-Cola? When did the company sneakily change the formula without telling me? Why is it so sweet? And why is it flat?!"

"Fast food restaurants usually serve flat Coke, and they tend to add double the amount of syrup." Steve shrugged, wiped the table with the napkin next to him, and then said, "They also provide sugar on the side for you to add yourself."

"This meal probably contains a week's worth of calories for me." Stark stared at the table in disbelief, "Terrifying."

He then looked around and noticed that even the muscular Steve didn't stand out in this restaurant; everyone else was just as hefty.

However, Steve was naturally big-boned and muscular, while most other patrons were simply overweight.

Suddenly, Stark's genius inspiration struck again. He placed his hands on the table and looked at Steve, "Could the dietary structure also be a prerequisite for the birth of superpower users?"

In the short second it took to utter these words, Stark had already mapped out his thoughts, "Look, we've hardly ever seen a seriously overweight superhero."

"Of course, I'm not saying overweight people can't be superheroes. But among the many young heroes we've recruited for the Avengers reserves, none of them are obese."

"According to Matt, amongst the young heroes he recruited in the Bronx and Queens District, especially those who have self-awakened their superpowers, they were relatively fit before their awakening. None of them were extremely overweight or thin."

"Interesting." Steve commented, "But it's quite logical. If Peter was a huge guy weighing around 300 pounds, would the Osborn Group have hired him as an intern? Would he even have had the chance to be bitten by a spider?"

"Take me for example, I was so scrawny that I never got the chance to join the military. If it weren't for the doctor showing compassion for me, I wouldn't have had the chance to become Captain America."

"Essentially, people who are extremely overweight or thin miss out on many opportunities. These opportunities might be the cornerstone to their becoming superpowered individuals. Plus, you can't ignore the many extremely overweight or underweight people who have to be hospitalized. With lesser interaction with the outside world, they naturally have fewer opportunities."

"But we don't really need to make our food this high in calories, right?" Stark quizzically pointed at the food on the plate and continued, "This is neither tasty nor healthy, yet everyone is accustomed to it. It's not a good sign."

Stark took a deep sigh, "According to statistics from S.H.I.E.L.D. and SWORD, the ratio of superpowered individuals awakening in America is the lowest, while it's the highest in Southern Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East, which are all renowned cuisines birthplaces."

"Also, in these places, most of the awakened individuals were ordinary people, indicating their overall health index was higher than that of Americans."

"The attention from various alien civilizations towards humans is largely due to heroic deeds performed by individuals with powers. We have always assumed that the awakening of human superpowers has no pattern, but it appears that a healthy physique is a prerequisite."

Steve also rested his hands on the table and looked at Stark, "So are you planning to adjust the dietary structure of Americans? But no offense, it's going to be difficult."

"Even if the public's tastes can be adjusted over one or two generations, a good diet also depends on cooking methods. America hardly has any native cuisines of its own. Foreign cuisines are also heavily simplified. We are a society that emphasizes efficiency."

"Ingredients would also be an issue. In order to achieve healthiness and flavor, the ingredients must be premium quality to limit the use of extra salt and sugar for seasoning. But to get premium ingredients, we would need to adjust production standards."

"You should know better than me; this strikes at the heart of class division. America has always operated on societal stratification, distinguished by the quality of one's residence and food. The upper class would never accept a drop in quality, so the only option is to improve everyone else's."

"Even if you have the technology, they won't allow you to make the change, just like when you established the aerial transportation system."

Stark's expression gradually darkened whenever anyone mentioned the aerial transportation system, because their restrictions brought a sense of indignation he had no way to vent.

Simply put, though they had enough money, manpower, and technology, they constantly encountered resistance on all fronts, as if all the authorities who had the prerogative to grant construction permits were vehemently against it.

Due to Shiller's pressure, they didn't dare to cause accidents openly like before and then manipulate the media to spread fear.

However, they still said one thing and did another, praising technological advances and boasting about national strength in the media, but procrastinating and hindering progress behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, politicians are still politicians; but Iron Man was no longer the same Iron Man, the wider stage gave him greater ambitions and determination.

A flash sparked in Stark's eyes. No more elaboration was needed, he just plainly said.

"America is the golden wheel of the Noah's Ark. As we set sail towards space, we either lift all of humankind together or get crushed together. There are no other options."