Clorie Labeling

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

In Zinczenko’s article he said, "that there are a lack of alternate food options and there are no calorie information charts on fast food packaging, the way there are on grocery items (Zinczenko 394).” This information Zinczenko states may have been true back in 2002 but now of days, government is stepping in. According to the New York Times, President Obama signed off in 2011 that any American patron that enters into a McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger king, or any major restaurant chain, will be required to put calorie information on their menus and drive-through signs. This legislation also requires labels on food items in vending machines. In addition, anyone can find any

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

If you were to go to a restaurant, you would want to know what the nutritional values of the food were, would you not? The labels you see on bags of potato chips or a drink are called nutritional labels (also known as food labels), which show you how much calories, proteins, fats, or a lot more that the item has. In fact, the government made it illegal to make products to sell at stores without the nutritional label. Did you know that restaurants are not required by law to have a label on any of their products? The government needs to make a law to make restaurants put the nutritional values on their foods.

In the article “don’t blame the eater”, David Zinczenko focuses on the reason behind the obesity problem that the modern young generations are facing. According to him, the large chains of fast-food restaurants given their availability around the country and low prices are the ones causing this problem. He brings in his own life experience and tells the story of becoming a 212 pound teenager highlighting that he had to rely on these fast food chains for everyday meal. With a single mother, who worked long hours he had no other alternatives to this like many other American teens. The lack of information about the calorie content of the dishes on these restaurants was one other main concern. Most of these restaurants do not provide enough data about the calorie content of their dishes, and even if they do so its mostly vague and deceiving. To show the gravity of the problem he pulls out a statistics of an increase of 30% in type 2 diabetes resulting in an expense of hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare. Zinczenko implies that this impact is as serious as smoking. Hence, fast food should have a warning label to raise awareness among the consumers. He addresses these food chains as vulnerable and warns these restaurants that they will find themselves in trouble unless they look out for their consumers. He also adds the further effects these food habits can have in our society.

The consumers have definitely done their part in terms of the obesity epidemic; however, they are not the only ones to blame. This video sheds light on how misinformed consumers are with the food choices they are making. “There is

According to him, “There are no calorie information charts on fast-food packaging, the way there are on grocery items. Advertisements don’t carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do” (Zinczenko 463). Zinczenko that fast-food companies are “vulnerable,” and he urges the industry to protect its consumers (464). Zinczenko is right about the need of nutritional information for fast-food; however, common sense dictates that people should know not to eat at fast-food restaurants every day.

Choosing nutrient-dense foods containing high-quality calories and spreading them evenly throughout the day, together with regular exercise, remain key factors in managing weight and staying healthy. Toronto is making it easier for people to make informed and healthy choices about what to eat when dining out. Ontario is the first province in Canada to require food service providers with 20 or more locations in the province to include the number of calories for each food and beverage item on their menus. Fats are calorie-dense, so having the nutrition facts up and visible will assist a child and their families in choosing foods that are lower in fat, especially if they are trying to make significant eating choices. When it comes to restaurants, especially fast food chains, many people do not realize how many calories they are consuming; having these calories present is not only eye opening, but incredibly motivating when it comes to making informed choices. This initiative may then proceed to motivate a child and their parents to dig deeper into nutritional facts, educating themselves on the amount of saturated fat and trans fats in each serving. They will want to choose foods that are low in saturated and extremely low in trans fats, as not only will it support their obesity, but can raise their blood cholesterol and increase risk of heart

Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand (Zinczenco, 2002.) The essence of Zinczenco’s s argument is that Americans are unable to be fully informed of the harm the food they consume completely inflicts their health. This backs of the writers claim, that you are unable to place the complete blame of obesity, completely on the consumer. If consumers are completely oblivious to the fact that there food labels are completely rigged, how is it even possible for the consumer to get the truth? The easy answer would be repeatedly placing the blame on the consumer, and saying they should do extensive research on the food which they eat. But in complete honesty, this is a ridiculous standard which most Americans won't bother putting time and effort into. This quote ties back into Zinczenco’s claim that the cooperation which serve such unhealthy food are at fault, for it is they who feed food that can lead to a life altering disease, without properly informing the consumer.

However, the one area of healthy living promotion is lacking and that is food information. The United States must change their source of food information; the food label must be changed. Currently the food label is inaccurate, loose in regulations, and hard to read. By changing the food label to an easier, clearer, and more accessible source of information, then the American public will have easier access to information. Furthermore, the American public will have an easier time choosing healthier options towards food.

Overall, about 60% of Canadians are eating out one or more times per week, and nearly 40% of Canadians eat out at least a few times per week (16). Moreover, approximately 25-30% of Canadians food spending is on food eaten away from home (16). Canadian consumers face barriers to regularly dining out such as the high levels and wide variation in the calories and sodium content of foods, the large portion sizes, and misleading marketing claims on restaurant menus (16). The Nutrition Facts label, provides nutritional information for food products purchased at grocery stores, however, prior to January 1st 2017, nutrition facts such as the calorie content were not easily accessible for consumers dining at Ontario restaurants (1). Currently, Ontario is the only province in Canada to enforce a calorie labeling legislation in food service operations with 20 or more locations (4).

He argues that fast-food packaging gives us less information on what we are consuming. For instance, advertisements don 't carry warning labels, foods that are prepared are not covered under the food and Drug Administration labeling laws. Some restaurants will provide calorie information on request but not all. In addition, David concludes that because fast food restaurants are everywhere and the lack of warning label and information on the foods, it leads consumers to buy more unhealthy food and live in an unhealthy lifestyle.

After the first breach of the intended healthy system, without subsequent immediate results, most people would assume that they can eat higher calorie meals more often, as weight gain is not immediate and develops over time. Most people nowadays know that fast food is not good for you, but it is still consumed in massive amounts everyday by Americans. The accessibility is too convenient for commuters and children enjoy the toys that come with most meals. Obesity is less of a problem in Europe because of their often shorter commutes; they don’t spend as much time driving per day, and fast food is less common because of already established eateries. Attempting to have a government intervention to lessen the fast food restaurant count would also be against the American capitalist way, so that’s improbable. The fast food industry is locked in place in America and simply labeling the menus will not damage their hold. In addition to menu labeling, the Affordable Care act could also try to mandate laws that require healthy food such as fruits and vegetables at competitive prices in fast food establishments around the

The second article is “Child and Adolescent fast-food choice and the influence of calorie labeling” by B. Elbel, J. Gyamfi, and R. Kersh. This article is a “natural experiment” on obesity. Like in the previous article the authors are concerned about the impact fast food is having on children. The article discussed the authors experiment on caloric labeling in children and adolescents living in New York and New Jersey. In New York a law was going to be passed that fast food restaurants needed to include labels that had calorie and nutritional facts. Authors gathered data before and after labeling started to occur in those cities so they could contrast the before and after to see if those labels had any impact on the choices the adolescents and

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