People’s understanding of food is shaped by many different things. For example, a Wendy’s Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad, Half sized would be viewed differently by what a person considers “healthy”, how they want their body to look like, where they come from, their income level, and whether they are male or female. Wendy’s description of its salad says “Here 's the nutrient-rich, protein-packed fuel you need to power through your day. Always-fresh-grilled chicken teams up with a savory ensemble of feta cheese, hummus, and sundried tomato quinoa blend to take this salad to the next level. This product is available at participating locations.” It has 230 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 20 grams of protein. When it comes to health and the Wendy’s salad I view it as a healthier option compared to the rest of the menu. I would pick this when I feel like eating something that I would consider is good for me and giving me nutrients.It would make me feel better about myself if I eat the salad over a cheesburger or chicken nuggets. Someone like Michael Pollan would view this salad as a healthier option than anything else on the Wendy’s menu since it is more plant based with the lettuce, but he probably still would not recommend it. In his 9 pieces of advice he claims “Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims” (Pollan 13). In the wendy’s description it includes many health claims like “nutrient-rich”, “Always-fresh”, and low amount of calories. Pollan
With the many options, customers must decide if they are looking for convenience and unhealthy food choices. One of the more unhealthy options at McDonald’s is a new sandwich, Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder with Cheese. This monster of a sandwich is made with a quarter pound of 100% beef. It is topped with white cheddar cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, tomato, leaf lettuce and a spicy but creamy habanero ranch sauce on a toasted bun. Sounds delicious until the nutritious facts are given. This sandwich alone has 610 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 46 grams of carbohydrates. The fat in this sandwich is 48% of the recommended daily value. Adding fries and a drink to pair with this sandwich increases the calorie count for this meal to well over 1100. Remember, the average person consumes about 2000 calories a day. While these facts are shocking to some, Wendy’s also has some options that can be damaging to one’s health. The Baconator is at the top of the list. The name by itself says heart attack. This signature sandwich has not one, but two quarter pound ground beef patties. Like McDonald’s, it has Applewood smoked bacon. However, the only toppings are
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
He probes them to learn the what, where, and how of dinner – knowing what is going into the body, knowing where that food came from, and knowing how that food was made. By first knowing what is being consumed, people can make better informed decisions about their purchases. Nutrition, or lack thereof, is a key component in the battle against obesity. Food giants are hoping to hide the often unnecessary filler present in their products by use of dodgy claims and socially engineered advertisements. In general, most consumers probably couldn’t say where their food came from. This usually boils down to the fact that shoppers typically don’t think about it. Breaking this reliance on mass-grown foods is the second part of Pollan’s proposition. The third and equally important element is how the food is produced. More specifically, Pollan is concerned whether or not the food has been produced in a sustainable manner. Preserving the biodiversity of food, maintaining fertile land for future generations, and ensuring consumers receive food that does not compromise health are all factors of sustainability. Without informed consumers, what, where, and how will continue to be unanswered questions. Whether it is for nutritional or ethical choices, a particular food’s history is something that needs to once again become common
The essay “Eat Food: Food Defined,” from Michael Pollan’s 2008 book In Defense of Food was written to address the American general public about the food industry. Pollan focuses on relatable topics as examples, such as family, common food items, and common belief that everyone wants to be healthy. The essay brings across Pollan’s point by establishing his credibility, explaining why this is important to us, and telling us how to react to the given facts. Pollan makes the readers inquire how we define food by drawing our attention to the importance of examining our food before eating it.
They end up comprising a salad that is greater in caloric intake than a Big Mac considering all of the toppings and dressing that is used. In the article, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko writes “For example, one company’s Web site list it 's chicken salad as containing 150 calories; the almonds and noodles the come with it (an additional 190 calories) are listed separately” (464). This is a great example of misleading labels and information in which the government has to enforce stricter laws. This is why it is crucial that the government has to proceed with regulations in regards to calories and serving size offered in restaurants.
In Jessica Lundgren’s essay, “Eating Fresh” in America: Subway Restaurant’s Nutritional Rhetoric, has stated many different strategies Subway uses in their commercials to persuade consumers that they are choosing the healthier choice when getting food at their fast food restaurants. Americans today are worried about what they can do to lose weight and maintain a good diet. Lundgren did a great job mentioning the five aspects to Subway’s nutritional claims that they follow which includes: the making of nutritional claims, a visual rhetoric that makes the restaurant’s “healthy” food options appear to be numerous and exciting, the comparison of the Subway product with the products of other, less “healthy” fast food restaurants, the clear indication
Nearly 50 billion cheeseburgers/burgers are eaten per year, which means on average an American eats three burgers a week. My favorite meal would have to be a homemade cheeseburger with mash potatoes, fruit (strawberries and honeydew), and to top things off a fresh glass of sweet tea. All foods have their healthy and non-healthy factors but do you really know how your food is really affecting your body?
This information is very important for the health and social care profession, as individual tastes have to be taken into account when planning a person’s diet. More and more people are enjoying a diet with herbs and spices. This is partly due to our multicultural society and also because more people are travelling to other countries and tasting different types of food and drink. A person’s diet also needs to be tailored to their health requirements. For example, diabetics and some older people may need to exclude certain foods; likewise, a person’s religious belief may mean that halal meat is a requirement. Asking people about their food likes and dislikes, and what they can and cannot eat, is all part of considering and respecting their diversity.’
Zinczenko's is experienced in the matter of fast food and the disastrous effects it can have on a person's health because he experienced it from a first-person perspective. His personal experiences and the knowledge that he gathered through the years enabled him to understand that many fast-food companies make it difficult for customers to interpret information concerning their products. The writer highlights that many people are tricked into adopting particular attitudes with regard to foods because they believe that it is healthy for them to do so. However, it appears that even salads are typically probable to contain much more calories than advertised.
People’s ability to assess certain courses of action brings about two distinct paths: it either hinders the person’s ability to gauge their surroundings or it enables them to see and act based on a completely new perspective. It is our seemingly competent nature, as generalists, that has led to the rise of the phenomenon known as the “national eating disorder.” Skewing food culture and trend patterns, we have come to trust in our natural aptitude for survival as a way to pave our way through sustaining nourishment while coming into terms with the opportunity costs that accompany all of our decisions. There is something about food that grabs people; it is the individual tastes and textures, the unique stories of each and every ingredient that is used to make food, and the smell of spices that brings familiarity that
I. IntroductionBecause of the omnipotence of fast food chains in America, when we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger. Because we live in a time-is-money society the most efficient means of hunger satisfaction is the almighty drive-through. Corporations spend billions of dollars advertising to enhance sales of their products. With American catching on to the lack of healthy food options in the fast food nation, fast food chains began campaigning healthier food such as their salads and fruit cups. However salads may sound healthy but a Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken from McDonalds has 320 calories and 90 grams of fat. Where's the "healthy" in that. Now that Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. we need to re-evaluate the importance of healthy eating. By increasing awareness of the
McDonald’s uses the same beef patties in the hamburgers to make the wraps they offer to customers. The same technique can be applied to the veggie burger patty to make veggie wraps with more substance than just lettuce, tomato, and cheese in a tortilla. This would be a way to expand on the uses of the veggie patty without incurring any extra cost to the restaurant. Customers will have more options for the veggie choice and can lower carbohydrate intake.
nowadays, people do not know what they are eating. The majority of most Americans would not be able to pronounce the names of the ingredients listed on the package of the last snack food they consumed. Consumers “ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold: How fresh is it? How clean or pure is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? … When the food has been manufactured or “processed” or “precooked,” how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?” (Berry, 24) It is of utmost importance that we understand what the food that lines the grocery store shelves is actually
The way we eat food has changed drastically in the past few decades. When I think of the process of how our food is made and produced, I typically think of a farm with animals laying around, eating grass, content with everything. Also, I picture ripe red tomatoes, apples, and sweet smelling fruit being pick right when it is ripened so it can get to our grocery stores. This is typically how most people picture our food coming from a farm. It is how they want us to picture it, because it is a happy image: but, it is far from the reality of how things are.
* The introduction of the Salads Plus menu. This is now a permanent feature on the McDonalds menu, which brings a healthier, lighter focus to the original menu, consisting of a range of products that have 10 grams of fat or less, per serve.