Label The Meals Essay

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

The passage "We Don't Need Labels" states, "They are there for convenience, for a break in their routine, or for a special occasion." So, when most people go out to eat, they are there for some type of reason. Maybe they are there to celebrate, and escape from their routine of healthy foods day-to-day. The individuals do not go there looking for a healthy meal. That is if they eat nutritious at home everyday. They go there to get away from the healthy foods. Labeling these foods would be unnecessary for this particular reason. Us people do not want to be overwhelmed by a

First of all, if restaurants had food labels, people would be eating a lot healthier. In one study stated by the passage "Label the Meals", it showed that the one fourth of people who use this information when it is available use it to limit what they eat, and they eat, on average, 400 fewer calories than people who do not use the label. While the passage "We Don't Need Labels" states that people who said they ate a healthier meal knowing this really didn't, they already knew what they were eating, therefore, they knew they could afford to eat there. Another thing is that, if your trying to stay fit and healthy, while exercise is important, food is the most important thing to worry about. Food is what powers you up for the day,

If restaurants did not have these nutritional facts people on diets would not know what they are eating. They will assume that it is healthy when it is not. Some pregnant women have to eat a certain type of foods for their baby. Some pregnant women need to eat less or more calories, carbs, vitamins, and fats. At Walmart you are able to see what some items are like they will use the words “ Lite, Lowfat, or Heart Smart.” If restaurants had something similar or, just have the information we would have healthy babies and healthy citizens. In the passage “Label the Meals,” it states that “only 18 percent of people started to go out to eat in the 1977 30 years later the percentage almost doubled.” If resturants did not have these facts posted a

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.

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.

To explore if nutrition labeling on menus influences awareness, use and food consumption, including traffic lights system and addition of other nutrients

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.

Personally, I think if menus clearly showed customers how healthy or non-healthy their food is a percentage would likely choose a healthier option. Although some would still choose unhealthy food, it would be worth the small price to pay for humans caring for their bodies. In the passage "Label The Meals" the author states that in less than thirty years the percent of calories consumed away from home has nearly doubled. If this trend continues

One of the author's good points, is the fact that even though fast food restaurants have now started showing their food's nutritional values, they seem to deliberately show them in such a way that makes it easy to miss a few important details.

Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act hones in on menu labeling in restaurant or similar establishment where there are twenty or more places doing business under the same name serving similar food, excluding schools or establishments that do not have a set location9. Ownership type is not considered7. Standard menu items must have calories listed adjacently with additional documentation of sugar, fat, protein, cholesterol and fiber that is available upon request7. Temporary items that are available for less than 90 consecutive days or less than 60 days throughout the year are not required to have labels7. Location definition excluded food trucks, airplanes and trains from having

First, I can agree most of half of the world don't look at the food labeling on the back when they order food, but that doesn't mean we just need to take food labeling off of food and menus completely. Positive things that the food labeling can provent is diabetes and heart problems. So by taking the food labeling off it can bring back many of theses problems for many people.Proven facts from the story labin the meals can support my facts too one sentence from the text that supports this is “The average purchase contained about 100 percent fewer calories when the information was provided. The U.S. government agrees that restaurant meals should be labeled. It is part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which requires that standard menu items include information on nutrition.

I think that there should be labels and laws that require restraurants and fast food places to post nutritional infromation, including calories, fat content, on their menus because people need to know what they are eating and possibly ruining their bodys with. Some poeple have bad health issues and if they intake or not get enough fat or calories then they could die or become really sick.