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In the US, McDonald's and Wendy's along with Burger King are selling essentially the same food.  By comparing Carbon-12 and its radioactive brother Carbon-13 ratios in the food, researchers conclude that the ultimate source of fast food in the US is one single crop called corn.

This may not be a surprising discovery after all.  Beef used in fast food comes from cattle feed on corn; corn oil or its mixture with other oils is used for fried food; and corn syrup is used to sweeten soft drink.  The implication however calls for more attention.  Fast food accounts for a half of the US' commercial food production, and the base of this food industry empire is on a single crop whose plantation is often regarded as unsustainable.

The environmental impact of corn production is mentioned in this blog, as well as reports by SciAm and The Washington Post.  The charges on corn include intensive use of pesticides and fertiliser, consuming land and water resources and eat away a large portion of energy.  Apparently eating fast food not only increases your size but also your ecological/carbon footprint.