Now more than ever college students rely on the convenience of fast food to get through the day. According to boundless.org and their campus culture survey, it is estimated college students eat an average of six to eight fast food meals a week.

These high numbers are more than likely due to convenience and price, both of which are highly important to college students.

However, these meals have been proven to be some of the unhealthiest meals people can eat and some are even being questioned on their actual food content. A recent lawsuit was filed by a Montgomery law firm against the fast food chain Taco Bell that questions whether their meat is actual meat.

“The meat mixture sold by Taco Bell restaurants contains binders and extenders and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as ‘beef,”’ said the legal complaint on Huffington Post.

However, this fact doesn’t seem to bother many people. UNA junior Luke Mosteller has no medical needs, such as allergies or diabetes, that would require him to check labels on food.

“If it’s good, if it’s safe, I’m not too concerned with what is in it and I’m going to eat it,” Mosteller said. “I’m not sure if I have ever read the ingredients on the food I eat.”

Many people blame the problem of American obesity on people not knowing what they eat. According to Newsweek, this problem isn’t solely for adults because nearly 30 percent of college students fall into the American Medical Association’s description of overweight.

Many people blame the fast food industry for this problem. Mosteller, like most people, is not aware of what he is eating when he stops through the drive though for a quick, cheap meal. At UNA, however, the nutritional facts are posted in the dining halls and GUC.

“All nutritional information is available for students and they are posted for anyone who wants to know the nutritional value of their meal,” said Alan Kinkhead, general manager of UNA Dining Services.

However, there is a fine line with displaying the ingredients of food on campus. Harvard University recently removed all of their ingredient listings from their dining halls due to overreaction to what the ingredients necessarily mean. Eating disorders are a major problem on college campuses across America and they can be strongly fueled by students obsessing over calorie and fat intake.

“Nutrition is not a simple thing that can be distilled down into a label,” said Ted Meyes, director of dining at Harvard. “There’s a tendency for people to over interpret what a specific number means.”

Kinkhead, who is not familiar with what Harvard has recently done with its ingredient listings, still thinks nutritional facts should be publicly displayed.

“I believe people have a right to know what they eat, and that information should be easily accessible,” he said.