Living in the unhealthy carnival America, the nation of freedom of choice. America, the nation of international support. America, the nation, home of the junk food corporations. Yet, America is sadly the home of some of the worst eating habits in the world. These unhealthy eating habits that America has become, famously known to have caused severe health issues arise within the past few centuries. While some people believe that the health of American citizens has deteriorated over the past century, it can be argued that the U.S food corporations are the main cause of these unhealthy lifestyles. These companies have encouraged Americans to eat in a way that has caused type 2 diabetes to become more prevalent. This is in part due to an offering a limited selection of available products; these companies have also been lying to consumers about what is in their products. The first reason why U.S food corporations are the main cause of unhealthy lifestyles in …show more content…
According to Bourque, Ron, who wrote “Really cutting health costs: The key is doing a lot more to discourage unhealthy trends.”,” Some folk think eating healthy means getting vegetables on their pizza.” This quote that Ron writes in his article encouraged the audience to believe that as American citizens we’ve failed to educate people what’s a healthy lifestyle. Another quote that Ron writes is “We can’t live as unhealthy as we’d like and expect everybody else to pay to fix us.” Ron’s statement that he makes means that Americans need to stop being lazy and make a change for future Americans by eating healthy and living healthier lifestyles. This change in our lifestyles will show food corporations that as Americans we’re tired of buying unhealthy food from them and want to make a healthier
SUMMARY Food columnist for the New York Times and author of culinary books, Mark Bittman, in his essay, Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, published in July 2011, addresses the topic of unhealthy eating habits and argues that the government should tax unhealthy foods and use the money generated from the taxes to subsidize staple foods. Bittman supports his claim first by appealing emotionally when discussing the negative effects of bad eating habits such as diabetes and cancer, second drawing a comparison to other items that are taxed by the government which are unhealthy, and lastly by utilizing a substantial amount of evidence to back up his ideas. The author’s overall purpose is to discuss the current relationship between the government
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
The main contributor, widely reported by top experts, is the consumption of cheap, and convenient foods such as fast food and the myriad of boxed foods available in the supermarket. Diane Brady asserts in her essay, “The Employer-Friendly Case for Pricer Big Macs” that “Of all the reasons why a third of U.S. adults are obese, the lure of cheap, unhealthy food ranks near the top” (519). With continual attention being given to the effects of unhealthy foods on adults and especially young people, one would think that America would wise up and stop consuming it at such an alarming rate. Again, Brady points out that, “Fast food chains have raised their game with healthier menu offerings and support for programs that encourage physical activity, but they continue to thrive by selling high-calorie food. McDonald’s salads, introduced in 1987, make up just 2 percent to 3 percent of U.S. sales” (520).
Over recent years, the United States obesity epidemic has increased in abundance to the point where an individual should be worried about making healthier life choices. Eating habits are an immense reason why our health has changed for the worse since the 70s. People die young due to developing obesity related diseases. Diseases occur from choices people make, what one decides to eat, and how much an individual decides to eat. Studies show the life expectancy for an unhealthy person who chooses to eat a bigger portion size, often less than the average individual who keeps a balanced way of eating.
According to the latest statistics from various sources, 1 out of 3 kids are obese in America and obesity is gradually becoming more and more common as it affects 37 percent of all adults and nearly 18 percent of all children in America (Yaniv and Rosin, 2009). The problem of obesity is also rising in parts of the developing world, as income levels rise and people have access to fattier products. In fact, the percentage of adult obesity has more than doubled while children’s obesity rates have more than tripled within the past thirty years around the globe (Yaniv and Rosin, 2009). However, despite the rise in global obesity rates, an alarming estimate of about 112,000 deaths are associated with obesity each in the U.S. alone. One of the chief causes is many people suffering from obesity do not make healthy food choices (Sturm, Powell, Chriqui and Chaloupka, 2010).
Eating Healthy Michael Pollan, a health food spokesperson, made some interesting critiques on how he believes that there is an American paradox such as, “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with… the idea of eating healthy” (Maxfield, 442). The idea taken from Michael Pollan’s quote is that he believes the definition of healthy eating has more to do with how it is “driven by a well-funded corporate machine” (Maxfield, 442). He is also claiming that the food industry is benefiting on our lack of knowledge on how to eat properly when it comes to being healthy. In her article Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating, Mary Maxfield directly attacked Pollan’s claims, pointing out the hypocrisy in his words because he is sharing
Michael Pollan’s Escape from the Western Diet connects well with what Mary Maxfield says in her article. Both Pollan and Maxfield talk about the ways that dieting is taking over American people’s healths and causing them to become even unhealthier. In Mary Maxfield’s argument she talks about how people believe everything that diet industries say, even though they know that the information they give you is false. This connects really well with what Michael Pollan talks about in his article, which is that people know that these theories that are used for the Western diet are not accurate, but yet they still decide to use the Western diet to help them become healthier.
Americans today are well-known for their eating habits. With all the options the food industry gives us it makes it hard to go to the grocery store and resist picking up that bag of barbeque-flavored chips or blueberry flavored candy. Due to these processed foods obesity is a growing epidemic in our country and who is to blame for it? In an article entitled “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko, Balko argues for less government intervention. Balko believes is it our responsibility to take care of ourselves and make it a priority.
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 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. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.
The Similarities and Differences of McDonald’s and Wendy’s Corporate America has taken a stranglehold on American nutrition and eating habits. McDonald’s food has dominance over the market with its cost effectiveness and availability. In contrast, Wendy’s has superior products with higher prices. While these fast-food giants have a massive place in America, they have their similarities and differences. Wendy’s and McDonald’s demonstrate these traits in cost, diversity, and quality.
Action must be taken by the food industry in order to start eliminating the problems that are causing the society to deteriorate. There are countless health issues within America that continue to grow due to the fact that the food industry is not regulating the food being provided and sole enough. Obesity and being overweight are one of the many social issues that can be linked back to the food industry. While it is true that there are cases of obesity and being overweight due to lack of exercise or genetics, it is primarily the food that cause people to gain excess weight. So many foods nowadays contain surplus amounts of calories, fats, and sugar which have a direct correlation to weight gain.
According to data from the Center of Disease and Control 35 percent of People in America are extremely obese. The most apparent of causes for such a large amount of fat comes from unhealthy eating habits and inadequate physical activity. These problems occur because of the direction of American culture. With America experiencing a generation of recession, most people are dependent on welfare and lost their sight of hope, which has forced them to not engage in physical activity at home. Many people are not motivated to exercise, when television and browsing the Internet has been providing such a comfort zone.
Is healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food the problem Is the people tend to go towards the unhealthy it’s easier more convenient and processed food sometimes can be a bit cheaper. In a study that shows that eating healthy is it really that expensive maybe it takes a little more time to prep your meals but it’s worth it at the end. ”swapping out some of these less expensive, and less healthy foods, for fresher and more nutritious ones added up to only about $1.50 more per day. ”-Alexandra Sifferlin.
People need to take initiative to stop eating food that’s not healthy for them because at the end of the day it’s all up to you to stay healthy. Our country become less responsible for their own health and start to blame everyone else for their own health but look at us not eating right and wondering why they are not feeling good, you’re not doing the right thing. This world is full of