Analysis of Don't Blame the Eater

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Victor Gbenjo Professor Annicchiarico RWS 200 6 Feb 2015 Analysis of David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” For the past decade, America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. It was not until these last few years that the percentage of obese individuals began to dwindle down. Editor in chief of Men’s Health magazine David Zinczenko published his op-ed “Don’t Blame the Eater” in the New York Times in 2002. In this op-ed, Zinczenko argues, while utilizing different rhetorical strategies, argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food. One of the strategies that Zinczenko uses is acknowledging his opposition’s position. In order to provide a solid argument, Zinczenko was able to understand that his opposition believed the reason people were getting fat was due to a lack of personal responsibility rather than fast-food industries being responsible. Following the aftermath of lawsuits involving people suing McDonald’s for his or her own obesity, Zinczenko takes this and likens these lawsuits to, “middle-aged men suing Porsche for making them get speeding tickets” (241). Zinczenko then goes on to relate to his opposition by stating that he himself used to be one of these “portly fast-food patrons”(241). This not only allows the reader to see that Zinczenko understands his opposition’s feelings, but also establishes Zinczenko’s credibility to the reader. By stating that he was actually among those who ate fast-food on a regular basis, Zinczenko subtly rebuts his opposition by relating to the kids. Once again, Zinczenko acknowledges his opposition by asking the question, “Shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?” (242). He rebuts this argument by asking the reader where a consumer (specifically teenagers) could find healthy alternatives
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