Essay on Healthy Fast Food in America

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

Fast food is very popular amongst today’s society. Fast Food Nation has reasons for the explosion in popularity of fast food restaurants in the mid-1900’s. It also explains negative effects on American Culture in today’s society. The fast-food industry has multiplied across America and changed the food industry. Eric Schlosser describes in Fast Food Nation the way people think about what they eat and what people think of the fast food industry, and also its impact on society.

An analysis of the film Super Size Me, which is a 2004 documentary over Morgan Spurlock who documents the obesity problem we have in this country and how McDonald’s and other fast food chains are the ones that mainly contribute to the increasing problem, and exploring the realist aesthetics of the film goes over the elements of direct address to the camera, handheld camera, on-camera interview and also real people (non actors). This documentary was made to study the influence that the fast food industry, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC and others have over the obesity problem in America. Morgan Spurlock makes himself a guinea pig and explores the consequences to his body when only eating McDonald’s three times a day for one whole month and he can only super size it if the cashier asks him. Spurlock consults with a practitioner, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, nutritionist, and trainers to help and track the change in his body during the whole experiment.

McDonald’s is killing Americans, at least that is what Morgan Spurlock believes. In his documentary Super Size Me he embarks on a quest to not only describe and use himself as an example of the growing obesity trend, but to offer the viewers with base-line nutritional knowledge that will allow them to draw their own informed conclusions. Spurlock's primary intention is to prove through self-experimentation that eating solely McDonald's food is dangerous. His secondary intention is to denounce the rising obesity rate in American by using statistics, his own research, and the opinions of experts. His broader message is for a general audience while he tailors select chapters towards more specific demographics such as parents or McDonald's

In the cartoon, The "Mchealthy" meal advertisement, the almond and the low-cal mandarin are only decorations for the unhealthy burgers and fries. The waiter with a pair of big glasses, represent, careless employee, and the words said the consumer offer more options "yeah... a big Mac and some fries" implies that he does not really care about the "Mchealty" meal, but only the burgers and fries that can satisfy him. The rhetorical appeals in Figure 2 include logos and ethos. The author argued that, eating healthy food like vegetable and nuts will actually make people healthier, but , not when they are mixed with fast food. This represents pathos because the characteristic of the person who is buying the food is still shown as a fat man, and it is a

“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

The McDonald’s “Speedee Service System” launched in 1948 and made meals terribly cheap and fast. In Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser wrote, “The McDonald brothers’ Speedee Service System revolutionized the restaurant business… as word spread about the low prices and good hamburgers.” (20) For the first time, working-class families could afford to buy their children restaurant food. Customers were purchasing their “Pure Beef Hamburger” for 15 cents, and “Tempting Cheeseburger” for 20 cents.

Working in a slaughter house is one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. Workers in these factories risk their lives and limbs on a daily basis, all the while making the factory owner's rich. These blue collar jobs are becoming increasingly dangerous as can be seen in both “The Jungle” to the “Fast Food Nation”. Through both the works of Upton Sinclair's “The Jungle”, written in 1906, and Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation”,, published in 2001 it is clear that the behind-the-scenes picture of the meat-packing industry, not much has changed in the past hundred years.

The luminosity of billboards and glowing signs gripping our every thought brings on an overwhelming and intense sense of: what do we eat first. Thinking about what our food is made of should be something that is higher on our priority list. Ever imagine that eating fast food could cause chronic issues that are directly linked to a decline in health? These are the pictures that Morgan Spurlock paints for us in his film. Spurlock uses ethos, logos, and pathos; to really drive home and emphasize how passionate he truly is about our ease of access to our obesity epidemic. Also there are a lot of displays in numerous different ways that the attraction, allure, and ambiance engulf us. Spurlock's film leads us to conclude that: fast food is extremely horrible for our

Over the years, as obesity has become a growing concern society, role of fast food as a cause for obesity has been questioned. Morgan Spurlock’s concern for obesity motivates him to test an experiment on whether McDonald’s food poses a threat on one’s health. Under the close supervision of doctors Spurlock eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner at McDonalds for the next month the danger of McDonald’s food by eating it three times a day for the next month. As the director and main character in the documentary, Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock demonstrates his purpose by successfully developing and winning his argument along with using rhetorical appeals such as ethos, logos, and pathos.

Despite the shocking results of Spurlock’s film, the fast food industry and McDonald’s in particular declined to say that the documentary had any impact on their business. However, interestingly enough, one day before the release of the movie, McDonald’s introduced a new “Go Active” menu. Even though they claim to have not been affected by the documentary’s findings, they clearly felt the pressure to add healthy options on their menu before the general public viewed the

Director, Morgan Spurlock, of the documentary “Super-Size me” embarks on a 30-day Mc diet during which he can only eat or drink anything that is on McDonald’s menu; he must eat three meals a day, consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked. The director discloses the terrifying ‘truth’ behind the fast food companies like Mac Donald’s. That terrifying truth is that too much consumption of fast food from any retailer particularly, MacDonald’s, on a daily basis means putting your life on the line.

Explaining just about one quarter of the United States population eats fast food every day , he claims that fast food restaurants have “not only [changed] the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, work force and popular culture…and the consequences have become inescapable regardless ” how often you eat it ( Schlosser, 2004, p.3). According to DATAMONITOR a market research firm’s Fast Food Industry Profile,” [in] the United States fast food market grew by 0.2% in 2009 to reach a value of $71.4 billion. And, the compound annual growth rate of the market in the period 2005–09 was 3.7%” showing even years after the book was written, fast food continues to take a greater market share of consumer’s food dollars (“Fast Food Industry profile”,2010, pg. 12).

An advertisement presented by McDonalds in the 1970s has displayed deceiving elements that is a detriment to society’s mentality towards fast-food restaurants. This promotion does not reveal the background of McDonald’s food products and does not demonstrate the integrity of McDonald’s meals. The reliability of the beef that the company uses is questionable. Additionally, the manufacturing of the company’s food is nothing but a frenzy of unhealthiness. The company use of their food products brings more health concerns for people. Therefore, it is evident that McDonald’s advertisement deceives the general public by manifesting its unhealthy food products.

Today’s society and culture is becoming more and more McDonaldized. This paper will illustrate what the process of McDonaldization is. In addition, this paper will show how today’s society has adapted to this process along with using the theories from Max Weber.