Haley Spencer
Professor Flood
English 101
20 October 2014
Big Mac with a Side of Apples and a Diet Coke
For decades the fast-food industry has supplied Americans with tasty, comforting food, quickly and for a low cost. It was not until recently, when the health craze first hit America in the late 1980’s that corporations developed a new approach to marketing health food products to fit their customer’s wants. Fast Food companies trick their costumers into believing the fast-food is healthier by fancy advertisement, using descriptive words such as fresh, and not providing enough nutritional information.
The advertising technique of persuasion leads to false impressions of a product, much like the advertisement claims of selling healthy
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Consequently, this exposure provoked McDonalds to change their image and began advertising healthier products such as yogurt, apple slices, and salads. Melanie Warner who is a writer for the CBS health column exposes health precautions fast-food leaves out of their advertising. Subway may advertise “healthier” food than McDonalds but with their meats consisting of artificial ingredients, bulking agents, filler, processing aids, and even preservatives the alleged “fresh” food is hardly nutritional (Warner). Comparatively McDonalds draws in a lot of criticism for poor quality meats but examining the ingredients within Subways food there is relatively no difference (Warner). Though it is nearly impossible for fast-food to stop adding artificial preservatives, by becoming aware of the health content can significantly reduce calorie and fat intake.
In the article "The Biasing Health Halos of Fast Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimates and Higher Side–Dish Consumption Intentions." Authors Chandon and Wansink study the underestimation of calories in fast-food restaurants and the consumption of higher calorie side-dishes. Their article, discovered with a 1,000 calorie meal consumed at both Subway and McDonalds the customers estimated their calorie intake to around 585 calories at Subway and 744 calories McDonalds. That is 21.3% fewer calories than are actually being consumed which is one of the biggest causes
In Jessica Lundgren’s essay, “Eating Fresh” in America: Subway Restaurant’s Nutritional Rhetoric, has stated many different strategies Subway uses in their commercials to persuade consumers that they are choosing the healthier choice when getting food at their fast food restaurants. Americans today are worried about what they can do to lose weight and maintain a good diet. Lundgren did a great job mentioning the five aspects to Subway’s nutritional claims that they follow which includes: the making of nutritional claims, a visual rhetoric that makes the restaurant’s “healthy” food options appear to be numerous and exciting, the comparison of the Subway product with the products of other, less “healthy” fast food restaurants, the clear indication
Increasing the options of fast food restaurants in America gave society different choices of where they can choose to go eat. Some restaurants may be cheaper than others, but what society didn’t realize was the cheaper the restaurant the more calories the food contains. The consumers didn’t seem to realize or have a problem with these cheaper companies until some consumers sued the company for getting them fat. This caused children to sue Mcdonald's the company for making the consumers get fat. For this reason, according to the author David Zinczenko it is a problem that people are not informed on how many calories the food they're eating contains. He has the credibility to be trusted by his audience
Zinczenko's is experienced in the matter of fast food and the disastrous effects it can have on a person's health because he experienced it from a first-person perspective. His personal experiences and the knowledge that he gathered through the years enabled him to understand that many fast-food companies make it difficult for customers to interpret information concerning their products. The writer highlights that many people are tricked into adopting particular attitudes with regard to foods because they believe that it is healthy for them to do so. However, it appears that even salads are typically probable to contain much more calories than advertised.
In his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All- American Meal, Eric Schlosser, an investigative journalist, argues that “the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture” (3). He supports this claim by first describing the history of the fast food industry, then explaining the current condition of the chemistry and the labor in the industry. Schlosser’s purpose is to inform the consumer and describe the state of the fast food industry in order to call to attention the impacts of the industry on the lives of Americans and on America as a country. He establishes an optimistic tone in the beginning but then develops a gloomy tone for consumers to
Zinczencko complains that unlike many other hazardous items, fast food does not come with warnings on how terrible the food is for one’s health and its future effects. He emphasizes that even if the customers were able to obtain the nutritional facts, they are not palpable, but rather obscure. He points out that the fast-food companies make the nutrition labels vague and misleading; they calculate the calories for every separate part of the meal, and they make it so the consumer must pay attention to serving size as well. He observes that the fast-food industry can get away with confusing labels because there are not any Food and Drug Administration labeling requisites (Word Smart, p. 220) covering fast food. Zinczenko complains that there is not any sort of nutritional labeling on the menus at fast-food restaurants. Now, nine years later, there are some changes, but his point is still valid. McDonald’s menu now states the calories of each meal, but as Zinczenko points out, it is very difficult to
America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. This is becoming very wide spread among all races and class levels due in part to the abundance of inexpensive food available and how easily people are becoming persuaded to but things they do not need. David Zinczenko published article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food.
“Although many health authorities insist that there is no such thing as junk food, consumers find it a useful term for distinguishing nourishing food from products whose chief appeal is fun, convenience, and addictive taste; ‘bet you can't eat just one’ ”(Junk Food). Americans are spending about $4.6 billion a year on potato chips, and 23.5 billion a year on candy and gum. 46 Percent of adult Americans eat out on a typical day, and one third of them choose fast food. That is because the fast food industry has slowly become one of the symbols of American culture and is spreading to other cultures as well: McDonalds has 26,000 locations in 119 countries, Pizza Hut has more than 10,000 in 86 countries, and Subway has 14,500 in 75 countries. Commercials, signs, and huge advertisements are pushing junk food at us every day; people cannot even go to the grocery store without candy bars being lined up right by the checkout. The junk food industry realizes how appealing it can be. When a person is in a rush, they can easily eat a large meal without having to make a lot of decisions, work, dress up, or get out of their car. The speed and convenience fit Americans’ pressured lifestyles. It does not fit, however, to our health and wellness. A fast food meal, such as a Burger King Double Whopper with cheese, contains 965 calories, more than double the amount of fat, and as much as 750 grams too much sodium
Subway Sandwich effectively competes with other fast-food restaurants by including and promoting healthier meals into its menu, as demonstrated by
I. IntroductionBecause of the omnipotence of fast food chains in America, when we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger. Because we live in a time-is-money society the most efficient means of hunger satisfaction is the almighty drive-through. Corporations spend billions of dollars advertising to enhance sales of their products. With American catching on to the lack of healthy food options in the fast food nation, fast food chains began campaigning healthier food such as their salads and fruit cups. However salads may sound healthy but a Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken from McDonalds has 320 calories and 90 grams of fat. Where's the "healthy" in that. Now that Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. we need to re-evaluate the importance of healthy eating. By increasing awareness of the
Fast food restaurants are commonly associated with the topic of obesity. It is not uncommon for these restaurants to be blamed for the growing obesity rate in America, but how exactly do they contribute? Simply, obesity occurs when a
For instance, customers make the choice of purchasing food that is known to be harmful to one’s health—it is not the restaurant’s responsibility to alter the judgment of the consumer. Barbara Mantel states that “even if restaurants do put healthier items on the menu, it doesn't mean people will order them, or if they do that they will lose weight” (805). Many individuals do not have a tolerance for vegetables or fruits, so they settle with meals that satisfy their cravings. However, indulging in unhealthy food is acceptable if it is occasional; what harms the consumer’s body is the fact that they continuously eat fast-food that contains unhealthy substitutes. According to Food, Inc., the average consumer has the power to influence the food industry. For example, Wal-Mart now offers synthetic hormone free-milk due to customer preference. These
For decades the Fast-food industry has supplied Americans with tasty, comforting food, quickly and at a low cost. It was not until recently, when the health craze first hit America in the late 1980’s that the corporations developed a new approach to marketing health food products to fit their customer’s wants (Nielsen). The most common fast food chains, such as McDonalds and Subway, started advertising “healthier” food items on their menus to continue appealing to the general public. While fast food restaurants give the impression of offering healthy food, nutritionist studies show healthy alternatives are not as nutritious as advertised and can lead to possible calorie underestimation and overconsumption (Chandon 85). In order to
The development of fast food was revolutionary; however this revolution was corrupted by big business and their desire to maximize profit. With fast food being a staple for society, due to its convenience, the consumers fail to realize what is inside that burger they are eating. These cost effective additives may be justifiable in a businessman’s perspective but what about the consumer?
The fast food industry provides quick, cheap, and easy access to foods that in the customers opinion, is very delicious, and affordable, however this food which millions of people around the world are constantly consuming, could actually cause major health problems, and weight gain in the long run. Major fast food companies throughout the world know what they are doing when it comes to marketing towards all types of people. Some people will find numerous different things to blame for the epidemic of fast food making individuals overweight. In recent research on, or discussions of the fast food industry having an effect on people's health, a controversial issue has been raised, and that is the fact that this problem affects not only
Every day while sitting on the couch eat a burger, and soon many people learn what the obesity hype is all about. Fast food companies are advertising more food for less money with fast service. The media tends to change images for their target customers, to make the food more appealing to those that are watching. Laziness is one of the main causes of obesity in our country. Obesity in the United States is at a high due to the increasing fast food chains, media influence, and a lack of exercise. The idea of having a meal made for them in less than five minutes is somewhat exciting to the view of many individuals.” fast food firms introduced these alternative meals in response to changing consumer tastes”(Buchholz). Many fast food stores offer the customer fast service, and a great tasting meal. They provide their service with a smile and a meal that can cost less than 10 dollars. When people mix poor diet with poor