How does America’s current food economy almost force consumers to partake in dangerous food practices?
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The food economy in America has gone through numerous and substantial changes during the past couple decades. The changes, although economically beneficial for America as a whole, are becoming a detriment to the health of our society. Perhaps the biggest innovation is the rise of fast food culture. The mass fast food monopoly is growing more and more every day, and with the aid of the government in forms of subsidies, the food culture of the United States is being run by big business. “Corporate enterprises” are “moving in to take advantage of” the American food market (Campbell). This shift in the food economy has come to be accepted as the norm, and so the average American consumer is being exposed to the dangers of fast food. Americans are finding it harder and harder to eat healthy. Fast food is causing diseases and deaths to skyrocket, and the happiness level of America is plummeting, all because of ignorance and the greed of big business.
The fast foot culture that America has delved into is exponentially increases, and affecting many economical facets when it comes to food in the United States. ” Fast food has had an enormous impact not only on our eating habits but on our economy, our culture, and our values” (Spake). Only $6 billion total was spent on fast food in the 1970s, compared to the $110,000 billion plus being spent on fast food today.
Fast food has turned into a genuine fundamental of our everyday life and made a religion of establishments that reaches out to the millions of Americans across the country. The Fast Food industry in a few eyes has been one of the sharpest developments this world has seen. It has been driven by our stomachs and our wallets for 40 to 50 years it's as yet developing to this date. The man who make-believe it can be known as the best representative, this nation has ever observed. The Fast Food Industry is big to the point that it has influenced our wellbeing, changed our way of life, and misshaped our territory as far back as the very first moment.
In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition. It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to
With the increase of fast food consumption and the growing rate of obesity, Americans are arguing if those who consume fast food products have only themselves to blame or the fast food companies for the growing rate of obesity and its health problems. The health of Americans has changed for the worse since the 70’s. The size of the food portions has increased and Americans are exercising less. This is evident in Americans 18-26 years old. These are the college kids who are away from home, working on their higher education and possibly a job at the same time, these college kids are too busy with all the work that needs to get done that these young adults don’t have time to cook themselves a home-cooked meal so they end up eating fast food meals. These
Fast food industry not only causes illness for people but also create problems to American agriculture since “The fast food chains now stand atop a huge food-industrial complex that has gained control of American agriculture.” (Schlosser). The fast foods companies need to purchase a vast of the agriculture products such as potatoes or cattle, and so they create corporate farms to provide products to their demands. Famer and cattle ranchers are being replaced by giant agribusiness companies which take over their lands. The independent famers are vanishing, and the gap between a small amount of wealthy elites and the large numbers of the working poor is getting bigger. When the fast foods companies control a vast of agriculture products, they also control prices of those products, which has driven down the prices and benefits that are offered to American farmers. According to Eric Scholosser, Nation Magazine Award winner, “In 1980, about thirty-seven cents of every consumer dollar spent on food went to the farmer. Today, only twenty-three cents goes to the farmer -
In today’s society a huge issue is that we constantly hear about the food industry in America. We often hear in the news that obesity rates have increased, or that Americans have many diseases that contribute to being obese. “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko expresses that people are at fault for making such unhealthy food choices. Others argue that the food industry is to blame for being so unhealthy. According to David Zinczenko in “Don’t Blame the Eater” he blames the fast food industry as well as the consumer. Zinczenko asks “shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast food restaurant’s?” (392). So, who is to blame for American’s eating so much unhealthy food? Should it be the consumers’ burden or the fast food companies? On one hand, as consumers we continue to purchase foods that we know are making us overweight. On the other hand, fast food companies continue to offer high in calories foods.
Schlosser’s ‘Fast Food Nation’ and Wendell Berry’s ‘The Pleasures of Eating’ have undeniably altered the manner in which I will forever view fast and processed foods. After reviewing the two readings, I am convinced that fast and processed food consumers are the victims of large franchises seeking to make a quick buck at the expense of the consumer’s health. Fast food and processed food consumers are ignorant of the quality of the food that they choose to purchase, solely depending on franchises for the information. Franchisees, on the other hand, choose to conceal this information as revealing it would spell huge losses. They manipulate and decorate food items so as to get consumers to purchase them, with no regard for the health implications they subject their consumers.
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
The emergence of the era of fast food has been extremely apparent since the end of World War II and is arguably one of the most unhealthy periods of time for America’s people, both physically for its people and economically for those involved in the production for fast food companies. Throughout the novel many examples and real life situations are presented in order to properly give its readers a true sense of what fast food chains have caused for both producers and consumers.
Fast food has quickly managed to imprint itself on American culture. The greasy, unhealthy form of empty calories has infiltrated into the homes of many, including my own. In my younger days, my parents often took me out and treated me to french fries and chicken nuggets. It had become a tradition to go to McDonald’s every week. This poor eating pattern has now led to my family having a special fondness for the fast food chain, just as McDonald’s strives for.
In his thought-provoking book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser argues that America's fast food franchises have played a major role in contributing to the obesity and ill health of Americans. This paper shows how Schlosser argues that fast food has contributed to uncontrolled development, negatively impacted American culture, and have had a largely negative impact. The effects of Fast Food Nation on American society and politics show that Schlosser's thesis is largely convincing, due to both his careful analysis and his powerful and effective writing style. The paper shows that the book makes the reader challenge many long-held convictions about the fast food industry in America and worldwide.
The story of the fast food industry and its effect on the world is well told in the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Schlosser makes the claim that, what started out as a special treat for the kids eventually ended up defining a way of life. 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. The book thoroughly describes how important the two factors of money and power are in today's society. The book clearly establishes the broader thesis that as consumers, we should know what we eat even if it makes us uncomfortable by the knowledge.
We live in a world that is in a continuous process of transformation, considering that progress manages to control all the aspects of individual's life. Being part of a society which is always changing makes it essential for people have to adapt to all these aspects. One of the biggest problems for the American society is that it has no time to eat, since it is always on the run. Fast food came as the greatest solution for this problem. Since the process of modernization of the American society is accelerated day by day, the fast food industry has gained its place on the market. Even if individuals are well aware of the problems they can and will encounter if they eat fast food, they are forced by the circumstances to fall back on it.
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).
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
Global influences of the fast food industry are shown in the health problems in society today. The cheap production of meat and grains for the fast food industry cause harm to the environment, humans, and animals. The fast food that is consumed is not only bad for the health of people but also for the environment. As food provides more than just sustenance; it increasingly has come to shape and mediate our understanding of ourselves and our culture.