Paleo Fast Food in the Developing World
Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 08:22PM 
Guest Post by John Michael
Tired and stressed from work, low on money, and pressed for time, the other day I walked into a fast-food restaurant in Bogotá called Carnitas, which in English might best be translated as either “Little Meats” or “Meaties.” Expecting to find within the standard selection of American fast-food items, like hamburgers, pizzas, and hot dogs, all made from unknown ingredients of a dubious origin, I was surprised to find, alongside these items, a variety of steaks.
Both intrigued and enticed by this discovery, I ordered a churrasco combo, which consisted of a rump-steak filet atop a cornmeal tortilla, a side salad, a bowl of steamed Andean potatoes, and a bottle of water. I sat looking at the food arrayed before me, and realized that if I’d held the tortilla and the potatoes, and perhaps requested a bit more salad in exchange, then this meal would actually have been quite Paleo.
If you’re like me, then you know that fast food is generally bad for you. Whenever I walk into a fast-food restaurant, I have to make an effort not to be driven back out of the restaurant’s front doors by the horror stories that I’ve heard. Whether it’s the story of the factories in New Jersey where the scents for hamburger meat and French fries are manufactured, or the story of the meat that’s not really meat, but instead an amalgam of non-meat ingredients concocted by some mad food scientist, American fast-food restaurants have gained a notoriety of mythical proportions in recent years.