McDonald’s has the uniforms of its staff produced in prisons.

In New Jersey inmates make 28 dollars.

In Alabama they make zero cents per month.

My source for this is Chris Hedges, a former New York Times journalist, who has written many books on the US. His latest book is called ‘America: The Farewell Tour.’

My feelings of guilt have little to do with the assault on my body.

It was my choice to eat two Big Macs. That’s a whopping 1,000 calories in one go. A little bit more in fact. McDonald’s clearly indicates the calories on their website, including a nutrional breakdown.

I haven’t been kind to my body in the last ten years. That’s my issue.

It’s the ‘uniforms made in prison’ that make me cringe.

All summer I have taught classes at the food court of a shopping mall. Right in front of McDonald’s. I even use their wife.

Over twenty years, yes, over twenty years, had passed before I felt the urge to try it again.

An other part of the guilt is the meat.

I can’t live in blissful innocence, I have seen the videos of cows being slaughtered. They are scared, they shit all over themselves, they know what’s going to happen, they suffer. The workers in slaughterhouses also suffer. Severe accidents are very common in those places. Almost all workers will be injured in an accident at some point in their career. Especially amputations are common. I hate contributing to this by stuffing myself with hamburgers. Plus, it’s the number one cause of global warming. I care less about this, because I often don’t feel like it would be so bad if a worldwide catastrophe would wipe out humanity, however I don’t want to cause suffering to the people and animals who are currently on this planet.

Was it good? Yes, but they tasted better when I tried them over 20 years ago. Maybe on 5 different occasions, mainly with my friend Ruben who loved them. I am convinced they tasted better.

An other small part of the guilt is that I prefer to support local businesses. If am going to indulge in hamburgers, I feel like I should eat them at a local restaurant. They have the best ones in a Czech restaurant in Eurovea. They cost three times as much as a Big Mac though.

So, who will be the first to call me a ‘soy boy’? The most ridiculous insult that is in vogue at the moment. As though eating meat is some sort of heroic accomplishment and not eating meat is a sign of weakness.

I wish I could eat hamburgers only if I had killed the cow myself. At least then the blood would be strictly on my hands. And I’d feel a little bit less like a hypocrite. I let underpaid workers dish out suffering for three euro.

Well, six, I had to eat two, because too much is always just right for me.