Going through a drive-through is much more effective than sitting down at a restaurant or preparing meals at home. For the average working class family living life on the go, it can save a lot of time and money. Also, the industry itself creates and perpetuates millions of jobs for the economy (often with low wages and poor benefits). The most common reason people continue to eat fast food, despite their knowledge of the negative effects, is the simple fact that it tastes good. The addictive and yet fattening qualities associated with fast food leave people constantly craving one more bite.
David starts by teasing these overweight individuals that are bring a lawsuit against McDonalds, but then later admits that he used to be overweight as a child and was able to change his life around. He made a point to show health concerns with being obese and eating fast food regularly, such as type two diabetes which has risen about twenty-five percent since 1994. This raise in diabetes also requires much funding for the United States to spend to try to find a cure. David explains how there is very few alternatives for the youth of America because those health alternatives are more expensive and harder to find. False advertising is also another unpleasant practice that fast food companies use to lure in costumers.
Corporations make us fat Many people claim that it is personal responsibility of what you eat, however fast food corporations and their marketing strategies make it almost impossible to say no. From childhood we are conditioned to grab a large combo meal on our way home instead of going to the grocery store then cooking it ourselves. The ease, convenience, and the cheap prices make it all too easy for consumers. Corporations are to blame for America’s obesity problems because of their lack of nutritional information available to consumers, their lack of alternatives, and their brand recognition and advertisements addicting us from childhood. There is no calorie information posted in any fast food restaurant.
He continues by saying that people also may say that fast food is cheaper when measured by the calorie but when half of the people in this country consume too many calories rather than too few, measuring food’s cost by the calorie makes no sense. Bittman clearly states that the cost of fast foods aren’t as cheap as we have all tricked ourselves into thinking and that the obvious choice should be home cooked meals. As well as using hard evidence, Bittman also manages to convince his readers of his credibility because of his background and knowledge of food. Appearing on NBC’s The Today Show, NPR’s All Things Considered and the author of three books relating to food, Bittman is multifaceted (Beyond Print 1). Bittman makes it clear a few times during the article that he likes to make home cooked meals and
Greg Crister writes in “Too Much of a Good Thing,” that many baby boomer parents believe that children are able to distinguish when they are full and have the right to make bad decisions about what they eat. “That may be true” according to Crister but he argues that in a world that billions of dollars are spent to attract kids and their families to enjoy a greasy fast food, its not always the best choice to let children decide. In most cases, since parents are the main role models of their children, they should be the ones to teach their young to eat
People don’t realize what they are doing for our future generations. Because of how fast food companies are targeting younger children, they are setting up their minds to automatically want fast food. In some minds this is repulsive in others its just another way to make a lump of money. Our world is changing very quickly and fast food restaurants are popping up faster than the flowers in spring. Americans are becoming comfortable with fast food and unhealthy choices.
I agree with Zinczenko on his critical viewpoint on how he looks at the fast food industry. Fast food is part of the blame because most of them are not healthy and are bad for consumers. The calories of a Big Mac, medium fry, and a medium Coke are almost equivalent to the daily intake of these industry’s consumers. Zinczenko uses the analogy of a simple salad we would assume is healthy. Our fast food industry needs to provide these nutritional facts in easy reach for their customers.
This point that he made is astonishing and very concerning. A lot of this is blamed on the fast food industry. People believe that all of this is due to eating fast food. This is in fact true. People would rather not waste the time in cooking a home cooked meal.
The author analyses many aspects of this industry, from the inhumane treatment of the cattle in their feedlots to the overworked and underpaid employees at fast food restaurants. I believe that the fast food industry has used its political influence as a way of circumventing issues of health and working conditions, while greatly increasing profits and expansion. Although part of the industry's functions is to sell their products, I think the consumers play a large role in their profits to keep these restaurants in business. During a brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped transform not only the American diet, but also our countryside, economy, workforce, and popular culture. One of the parts of the American culture that are affected by the fast food industry, the idea of raising our children comes to mind.
The local farmers market always has the great fruit and vegetable options that can fit everyone’s budget and still make a delicious meal (“Obesity in America, By the Numbers: NPR”). Outside of food, the amount of work an obese individual person may miss because of illness is significantly higher because the extra weight makes them more prone to sickness from factors making medical bills increasingly higher and life more stressful. Productivity levels are seen to be significantly lower in these individuals as well because of lack of energy to perform these tasks (“Obesity in America, By the Numbers: