Menu Labeling 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

Research shows that when such information is given, customers use it to limit the way they eat. This can consume an average loss of calories than they typically did before labeling. This trend poses increased risk, not just in terms of calories, but in terms of unhealthful ingredients such as fat and sodium. According to the passage, "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 1". This poses that fast food places and restaurants should in fact label information, not only for ones own health but it is required.

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.

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

This activity is to teach participants how to understand what their food label means. This activity will be a part of the “Are you smarter than a Food Label”. Participants who take part in learning about how they can better understand their food label and will be given a goodie bag which consist of a granola bar, bottle water, Crystal Light and pencil, while supplies last. Copies of “The Nutrition Fact Label” will be available on the table. This activity will be used to draw participants into taking part of the “Are you Smarter than a Food Label”

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.

Drive around any reasonably sized town in America, and there will likely be a fast food restaurant. However, it is also probable that there be restaurants lining the streets too. In the short essay “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, the author argues that it is difficult to find economical and convenient alternatives to fast-food restaurants. Conversely, grocery stores and sit down restaurants are widespread, providing customers with healthy choices. Grocery stores provide a wide array of healthy foods and ingredients to prepare a meal with. Fortunately, many restaurants will have nutritious options for health conscious individuals. While some may find it challenging to ignore the conveniences of fast-food restaurants, it takes very

However, it is important to remember that this essay was written in 2002; today, many fast-food restaurants have a variety of salads, and they serve fruit, juices, and milk on their children’s meals now. However, I do agree with what Zinczenko is calling for: fast-food restaurants need to display the nutritional values of their food. Like the warnings on tobacco and alcoholic items, fast-food nutritional information can be there to warn consumers about what they are about put into their

What i mean by this is people with healthy habits look for these labelings to be on their menus because it helps the se how much calories or fats are in a certain food and it's not just people with healthy habits that do this it is everybody a lot of people look for labeling on their menus of their foods. If you read paragraph three of food labeling if states “this trend poses increased risks for all of us, not just in terms of calories, but in terms of unhealthful ingredients such as fat and sodium. Armed With relevant information, consumers can address this risk and be better for

“To better understand consumer preferences in fast food products and the services provided by Wendy’s and the industry as a whole’”

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

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

In the last decade, a lot of emphasis has been put on adopting healthy eating habits and informing the consumers that the healthy-eating option was available in fast-food restaurant chains. Interestingly, consumers eating in fast-food chains were found to be more likely to order fattening side dishes if they think that they are consuming a healthy diet (Men’s Fitness, March 2008). This observation is also true in Subway restaurants where a 12 inch Italian sandwich contains over 900 calories compared to the 600 calories BigMac from MacDonald’s (Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2008). Thinking they are eating “healthy”, Subway patrons then splurge on soft drinks, potato chips and desserts accompanying their sandwich, especially is they are offered as part of value meals.