When I was in the 7th-grade, my French teacher inrformed our class that she didn't like McDonald's. At first, I assumed that this was just the standard adult "fast food is unhealthy" response. But my teacher -- a Parisenne and the first food snob I'd encountered -- thought fast food tasted terrible.

For a 12-year-old, that was, frankly, mind-blowing. Never once had it occurred to me that someone might not like the taste of fast food.

Asking kids to re-think their ideas about fast food is the point behind Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food. Written by Eric Schlossler, it's a kid's version of his bestselling expose, Fast Food Nation. It's aimed at pre-teens and teens in grades six- nine, with the intention of educating them about what they eat, and how it gets to them.

Considering that Golden Arches have such a powerful hold on the youth of America, this book is actively trying to break the spell. It offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the fast food industry, and for most kids, that's bound to an eye-opening experience.

For example, it details the 37-day process that the average Chicken McNugget must undergo in order to fulfill its destiny as brightly-packaged part of a Happy Meal.

The book also lays out the grim realities of slaughterhouses, animal husbandry, and the meat industry. (Don't be suprised if tons of middle-schoolers suddenly consider becoming vegetarians.)

For me, the most interesting thing about the book is that explains how fast food has been historically marketed to  kids. Among other tricky tactics, they've used child psychology to sell billions and billions of burgers. Once kids understand how they're being manipulated, perhaps they'll be less likely to buy into it.

According to Schlosser -- who is fighting to rid school cafeterias of fast food -- a kid watches three hours of junk food commercials each week. In other words, it's not easy to teach kids to eat healthfully, especially when they've bombarded by messages to do otherwise.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. If a 12-year-old knows the back story behind his Big Mac, then, he may opt for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich instead.