Who Should Decide What You Eat? America has been named the “fattest” country in the world, which is not something to be proud of, and many people are behind me when I say it needs to change. For reasons such as health, money, and pride, this country needs more regulation and better direction with our diets other than where we are and where we are headed. The group that has the power in this country to enforce that is the United States Government. They could make laws that would protect the citizens from harmful diseases caused by unhealthy foods as well as saving money on healthcare to provide for the people that cannot afford to pay for the healthcare they need for the diseases.
Although obesity in adults continues to rise, the citizens of this nation are accustomed and less attuned to this issue. Never in the history of this country have there been so many obese children; and we are not prepared to deal with the enormous consequences childhood obesity will bring. Physical and neurological impairment, that could lead to a nation plagued with chronic illness, insurmountable debt and financial ruin. Although all are at risk for obesity, none are more at risk than those who are poverty stricken. The poor in this country are not able to afford healthy food, nor are they in the position to spend time exercising, both of which could help reduce their chances of obesity; lowering the cost of healthy foods through government subsides, and creating programs that support healthy living and exercise in poor neighborhoods could be two solutions to this growing problem.
Should the federal government maintain the social safety net for all of its citizens? One in seven Americans receive food stamps, a number that's up sharply since the financial crisis. Most experts agree unemployment and underemployment have contributed to the number of people in need of food assistance. The government should stop expanding food stamps because of many reasons which are people are so dependent on the government, there is a lot of fraud that goes on while receiving food stamps, and that the government is spending way too much money on the poor while other things can help them get back on their feet. Some people may argue that access to food stamps is essential for needy families.
If the blame is to be pointed at someone it would have to be the consumer. One reason is that people are not forced to eat these foods. They do not point a gun to our head and demand we eat a half pound burger, a bucket of fries, and a big soda enough to last a whole day. They know it is bad just do not want to make their own food, so they blame companies. Another reason is we have a choice on what we eat on a daily bases.
The Food Industry in America Whether it’s juicier, bigger, crunchier, sweeter, saltier, or whatever the phrase the food industry and its around-the-clock marketing tactics has been a major cause of the obesity epidemic in recent decades. The result of Americans constant exposure to today's 'eat more' food culture has been to get people to desire high-calorie foods and to get them to become overeaters. Clearly the food industry’s tactics are working, America is fat and people everywhere know it. The food industry is corrupt. So corrupt in fact that even as it is seemingly doing the right thing, like promoting healthy foods to be served in schools for example, its wellness initiatives are frequently just marketing ploys.
Unfortunately, student and parents rely on these lunches because they do not have the income to be able to afford either full-priced or homemade lunches. The only foreseeable way for American students to receive healthier lunches in their school cafeterias is if someone can create a solution to the cost problems. To fully understand the cost problem behind all of this, one must first understand that processed and pre-made foods are much less expensive than healthier, homemade alternatives. For example, if someone was going to make a lasagna dinner for their family they would be much more likely to want homemade lasagna because homemade is always better tasting and also healthier than pre-made frozen lasagna. However, when looking at the cost of both options,
In America we have child labor laws in place to ensure that employees under the age of 17 years old are not working too many hours in a row or in an overall week. Other countries may not follow the same regulations therefore the underage employees may be working harder than they should be. Another ethical issue that McDonald’s has faced is other countries not accepting them as a decent company. In Europe McDonald’s has come under ethical criticism due to the food health, supposed ill treatment of animals, the exploitation of children as employees, and destruction of rainforests. While some of this onslaught may come because they are the leading fast food organization in the world therefore they are coming under fire because of their size.
The government can help curb this issue by implementing programs to eliminate food deserts in low-income areas. The elimination of these food deserts and the addition of healthy supermarkets in these areas can increase the potential of eating healthy, whereas without supermarkets there is no other option besides junk food. Also the government can start to exclude certain unhealthy, high calorie foods and only allow healthier foods to be bought under programs like food stamps. Also the government can provide
As according to Kolko (2012), poverty in one nation is similar but exclusively different from poverty in another. Appropriately the characteristics of poverty correlate to the definition of a wicked problem. Access to wholesome nutritional food should be attainable by everyone. In today’s society fast food is more readily available than fresh foods, as dairy and vegetables are more costly (McDermott & Stephens, 2010). Households are “forced” to purchase inferior processed food, as nutritional food has become unaffordable (Hill 2012).
It has the ability to connect people in a way that some other methods cannot. What is Malnutrition? Though malnutrition is inevitable, many countries are still hit hard by it due to a corrupted government, leaving many parts of the country to have insufficient funding for farming to provide the population with food. Drought is also a huge contribution to malnutrition. Even though some countries are not lacking farm land or water to grow food, malnutrition occurs simply due to the lack of education on nutrition and healthy eating.