In “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko tackles the issue of who is responsible for fighting obesity. Balko argues that the controversy of obesity should make the individual consumers culpable for their own health and not the government (467). As health insurers refrain from increasing premiums for obese and overweight patients, there is a decrease in motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle (Balko 467). As a result, Balko claims these manipulations make the public accountable for everyone else 's health rather than their own (467). Balko continues to discuss the ways to fix the issue such as insurance companies penalizing consumers who make unhealthy food choices and rewarding good ones (468). This forces the community to become responsible
I do support Zinczenko’s position that the fast food restaurants should be held accountable, but I find Balko’s argument about personal responsibility to be equally persuasive. They each make really important points. I agree that fast food companies play a huge role in a lot of health risks, in today’s society, but I cannot agree that they are the only ones to blame. Nobody is forcing me to purchase that ten piece chicken nugget meal from McDonalds instead of getting something from Wholefoods that I can cook, it’s a choice. Everything that we do in life is a choice. It takes more than eating to become obese. Balko States, “We’ll all make better choices about diet, exercise, and personal health when someone else isn’t paying for the consequences of those choices.” People in today’s society don’t take accountability for their unhealthy choices because they don’t have to, the government makes it okay not to. Personal responsibility should be primary in our nutrition choices. The government shouldn’t be trying to control what we eat, but they should instead be giving us a healthier, affordable alternative. It’s not okay that we lack healthier alternatives, nor is it okay that we lack information about what we’re consuming, but it is definitely not okay us to look at everything possible to blame without even looking at
Novelist, Eric Schlosser, in his novel, “Fast Food Nation”, expresses how fast food has spread. Schlosser’s purpose is to make us see how addicted we are to fast food. He adopts a shocking tone through the use of diction, Logos, and diction in order to get people to make better choices.
In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits.
Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.
In David Freedman’s essay How Junk food Can End Obesity, Freedman makes the claim to policy arguing that instead of demonizing processed foods, Americans should instead support the idea and production of healthier processed and junk foods. He calls on the public to recognize that while many products on the market these days are labeled as “wholesome” and “healthy”, consumers should learn to become aware of the fat and calorie content in these products because many times they have the same- if not more- fat and calorie contents as that of a typical Big Mac or Whopper. In his essay, Freedman primarily places blame on the media and the wholesome food movement for the condemnation of the fast and processed food industries saying, “An enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, us making us sickly and overweight” (Freedman), he further expresses that this portrayal of the
In the article, “ Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko’s, he explains that it is not the children’s fault for eating fast food but the companies who keep expanding in local areas where it is-easier-for children to get a taste. Zinczenko agrees that it is not healthy for the body and it is a worldwide problem that most families are facing today. The villain in this true story is the industries that do not stop making these unhealthy fast food for children and spread advertisement all over the media. Don’t blame the eater, blame the government to make more strict rules on a healthy environment.
Through the span of twenty years, it is clear that America has faced evolving obesity percentages. These obesity percentages correlate usually with children, and adolescents. However, the rate of obese personage lightened in the last few years. David Zinczenko, Men’s Health Magazine’s editor in chief, distributed his article, “Don't Blame the Eater” in 2002. In this article, he targets the reader's attention by informing them of the harsh realities and ramifications of Fast Food Industries. He offered a direct ordeal of the issue and enacts plausibility within the article by clarifying how it discombobulated his adolescence. His accusations portray the fast food industries as the guilty party, rather than the customer. With the utilization
In “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko explains that the only affordable meal choice for an American teenager is fast food. Zinczenko recognizes that families consume these food sources because of the numerous McDonald’s restaurants and the lack of grocery stores in the area. Zinczenko argues that “Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand”(464). However, fast-food is not the blame as Zinczenko argues in the article it 's the consumer that is to blame. The consumer has the control to eat what they want. Consequently, most consumers know that restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King are unhealthy. Arguably, the consumer doesn 't even need to read the nutrition
“Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko is an article that argues that the fast-food industry is at fault for the rising rates of obesity and health care, not the consumers because they advertise and market cheap meals without mentioning the negative nutrition information. It is in some ways no different than the tobacco industry, in which they sell cheap and unhealthy food without offering information that is easy to read and comprehend. Zinczenko claims that “Fast-food companies are marketing to children a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels” (464). The author insists that the fast-food industry is primarily at fault for the health problems related to obesity in the United States. This assertion seems legitimate and
David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” and Dr.Mercola’s advertisement “Childhood Obesity is Everyone's Problem” (see fig.1) both argue that obesity is a very big problem which threatens everyone especially children. Fast food and junk food are the main causes of obesity. In David Zinczenko’s essay he talks about how easy it is for teenagers to get obese by eating fast food every day, and he talks about how he became obese when he was young. Dr. Mercola “Childhood Obesity is Everyone's Problem” argues through a picture and title to tell people that obesity is epidemic, and it is not only one person’s problem.
“Don’t Blame the Eater”, written by David Zinczenko, is a short article discussing how fast food is the main cause of childhood obesity. This article came about in relations to two kids filing a lawsuit against McDonalds for making them fat. He begins his piece by sympathizing with these individuals because he used to be like them. Zinczenko then informs the reader of his background and how he fell into the category of being dependent upon quick and easy meals. In an attempt to provide a valid argument, he debates on how kids raise themselves while their parents are at work and that the nutritional values are not labeled upon prepared foods. Thus, creating confusion on what consumers are actually taking in calorie-wise. Instead of blaming the
If we didn’t have fast food in the present days, we would be vegetarians or we would all have extreme thin bodies because we didn’t eat food that contains a big amount of carbohydrates. Fast food was made for a purpose and it’s for people who work in offices and are in a hurry to their job during their break. So they grab a meal and make their way quick back to their seats. There have been debates and scientific researches over whether fast food is the main cause of obesity and that it should be blamed for its cause. Mostly people agree with the part of it being the biggest problem for our health and some disagree. But did they think twice before choosing sides? The real question is, are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity? The answer is yes, we are. And more than anyone could ever think of. This paper will describe about what fast foods contain, why they aren’t the main reason to obesity, and how to overcome obesity.
The famous American chef Alice Waters once said, “I think America 's food culture is embedded in fast-food culture. And the real question that we have is: How are we going to teach slow-food values in a fast-food world? Of course, it 's very, very difficult to do, especially when children have grown up eating fast food and the values that go with that.”. Popularized in the 1950s in the United States, fast food is a mass-produced food that is prepared and served in a short amount of time that contains less nutrients compared to other foods and dishes. However, in recent years, the fast food industry has become the subject and source of the rise in the rate of obesity throughout countries. Journalist and author Eric Schlosser explained in his book, ‘Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal’, that today, fast food has created an impact on society that has fueled an epidemic of obesity, and transformed food production throughout the world. Large fast food corporations, such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, have become so prominent in people’s daily lives that they have grown so powerful by exploiting their young consumers that they can influence government nutrition policies, as described by Professor Marion Nestle in her book ‘Food Politics’.
Fast-food industries have taken the blame for being the main cause of obesity in America, but that is not necessarily the case for people have complete control over what they decide to consume. Many people use the fact that fast food restaurants are located almost everywhere as a big reason for them being the cause of American obesity. Since they are located almost everywhere, they are supposedly difficult to avoid, but that is in no way an excuse for giving in and eating at those particular restaurants. The only factor that is an issue in this situation is an individual’s weak mentality that allows them to give in and eat at those restaurants because of the “convenience”. Any individual 's state of health should not be blamed on an entire industry,