Processed Foods and Its Link to the Increasing Obesity Epidemic

Journalist and business and technology specialist, David H. Freeman’s wrote, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”. The article was published in the July 2013 edition of the Atlantic. Freeman addresses his major concerns in regards to major whole-foods advocates, and how their stance may be degrading to the overall movement to end obesity. Major media and promotion have been dedicated to demonizing all processed food. Journalist, Michael Pollan suggests that “It is one of the reasons that we have the obesity and diabetes epidemic that we do...If you’re going to let industries decide how much salt, sugar, and fat is in your food, they’re going to put as much as they possibly can...They will push those buttons until we scream or die.” While Pollan’s idea seems entirely plausible to the elite and upper class, who have $7.95 to blow on an organic smoothie resourced from local farms. Freeman explains this idea is unrealistic for a majority of obese people, and gradual change through the fast and processed food industries and education is more likely to have a lasting impact on the obese population.

(Parker-Pope, 2007) “If you have three dollars to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar.” said Dr. Drewnowski, Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and Medicine at the University of Washington. He further stated, “Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.” (Parker-Pope, 2007) Much of these cost are due to our Governments Farm Policy. Farm policy encourages the production of commodities for processed foods instead of healthy foods. Whether by intention or not, because of the low cost of commodities like corn and soybeans, sugars and fats like fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oils, current farm policy has directed food industry investment into funding ways of using these cheap food additives in processed foods, thus causing consumers to eat more added sweeteners and oils than is healthy. Because these highly processed foods can be produced at a very low cost, they give significant profit for the food industry which creates an industry incentive to market “junk” foods instead of healthier foods. (Food without Thought:How US Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity)

The documentary “Fed Up” provides some important and disturbing details of the food industry. The 1977 heart disease and diet study known as the McGovern Report warned that the obesity rate was increasing rapidly due to American diets in fatty meats, saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar. The food industry vehemently denied these claims, but the American people still demanded lower fat food products. The food manufacturers found that the fat removal made the food bland and unpalatable so to address this they replaced the fat content with sugar. Both the documentary and the Harvard Nutrition Source discuss the role sugar has in health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. They both link the consumption of sugar as the causality for

Fast and processed food consumers are passive victims of food industry franchises. Such consumers usually purchase these food items, without questioning the cost or the origin. None of us ever stop to think how fresh or hygienic the food is. Does the processing procedure decrease the nutritive value of the food? Were chemicals used in the growing of it and if so is the food then dangerous? Would the food item be cheaper if the advertising, transportation, and packaging costs were excluded? ("Pleasures of Eating - Wendell Berry | Center for Ecoliteracy"). Industry consumers have no inkling the conditions under which these foods were produced; no idea of the type of farms, techniques or impediments that the

In the documentary film “Fed Up”, sugar and the sweeteners in our food or beverages is featured to be the prime ingredient that is making the most of our adolescents obese. It tells of a few families struggling with obesity, and how these families have been trying to do everything they can to help their children lose weight. It shows what kind of food that they are eating at home and the weight problem that most of the family is struggling with. The food that is being served at schools and also the thousands of products that contain sugar, everywhere groceries are bought; sugar is the main cause for obesity. It tells that low wage earners have no choice, but to buy unhealthy food, because healthier food cost more. “The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health” article in the U. S. News. Although it does cost more, a school of public health wrote in an article, “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be

Thesis As I said earlier high fructose corn syrup is commonly used for a cheaper sugar substitute. But government subtitles aren't the only price we are paying. Fructose corn syrup is much more fattening than sugar. Michael pollen states in omnivore's dilemma that “Kids in the us today may turn out to be the first group of Americans with life spans that are shorter than their parents.” This important because fructose corn syrup is part of that. If we keep eating the way we do things are not going to go well. Already “momently 17% of children and teenagers are obese in 2015b compared to 5% back in the 1970s”. If we keep eating way it could lead to debits heart problems and more food policies need to be change so there is not even a possibility of choosing colorful high fructose corn slurp over an apple

It’s no secret, Americans love their processed, energy-rich foods. And undeniably, this love affair has led to an obesity epidemic. In spite of the evidence against processed food, however, there are some who believe the problem may hold the key to the solution. David Freedman, author of “How Junk Food Could End Obesity,” criticizes Michael Pollan for his argument in support of unprocessed, local foods due its impracticality. Freedman’s criticism is based on the idea that “It makes a lot more sense to look for small, beneficial changes in food than it does to hold out for big changes in what people eat that have no realistic chance of happening” (Freedman Sec. 1). He contends that processed foods already play a big part in our diets, so instead of trying to expand the wholesome food business, we should try to make processed foods healthier. Freedman’s argument, however, overlooks many negative effects of processed foods and conventional farming. Michael Pollan’s wholesome food movements takes into account not only the obesity problem, but also the quality of the environment and the rights of farmers. Although Pollan’s solution to obesity may not seem the most efficient or time effective, the trades offs it provides in terms of environmental sustainability and the well-being of farmers outweigh the loss of efficiency.

In his article “We Are What We Eat,” Michael Pollan discusses how industrial corn makes up the majority of food consumed in the United States. When one attempts to trace the origins of their food, it usually ends in a corn field. Most of the food that people eat have some type of corn product or corn derivative in them, which indicates that nearly all of the food is corn-based. Additionally, Pollan claims the obesity crisis occurring in the United States is due to the overproduction of corn, which has caused people to eat more calories. Also, aside from seafood all of the population’s food comes from the farm, and compared to the past, farms are producing five hundred more calories of food per daily intake. This high production of corn has

With more intake, a person is susceptible to gain weight, and with less intake, susceptible to lose weight over a given period of time. This is known as the Calorie-in Calorie-out effect. The source of the calorie, however, determines whether it is healthy for the body or not. The same amount of calorie coming from oats and chips are not comparable at all. In the USA, most people rely on processed and fast food, rich in artificial preservatives, Trans fat and sodium content. Fast foods, famous for their low price, large portion and taste are responsible for overeating and weight gain too (Food and Diet). With these foods, we get much more sodium, fat and cholesterol than required by our body, resulting in chronic heart disease, high cholesterol level in blood and gradual accumulation of fat leading to obesity. In addition to that, widespread use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an artificial sweetener in soft drinks, beverages and desserts is proved to have been related with high-calorie intake and increment in obesity, as mentioned by an article in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Bray).

About one hundred years ago, people ate very small amounts of corn syrup per capita, and they did not consume high fructose corn syrup. Before the late 1960s, corn syrup was either glucose or dextrose. In the early 1970s, one pound per person. In the early 1990s, there were about 63 pounds per person. It decreased to 50 pounds per person in 2012. The data shown in the chart below starts in the very early 1900s and moving through 2012, stating the per capita of both sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Some research shows that your average grocery store (not Whole Foods) products contain HFCS, and many of the calories from soda are from HFCS.

in Barber). Bad science and the processed-food industry have colluded to make fat public enemy No. 1. Big sugar paid three Harvard scientist in the 1960s to play down the connection between sugar and heart disease and instead point the finger at saturated fat (this is a interesting fact that is mentioned in the book). Sugar industry has been like a mafia. They pay politics, who votes against laws against sugar. Corn syrup is another form of sugar that most of the products include it in their ingredients. This makes that the people do not realize what they are taking inside their

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugars in the American diet. With that information comes a Word of

When you walk you walk into a grocery store, how much of what you buy is highly processed food? Eric Schlosser states that about 90 percent of money that Americans spend on foods goes to processed food. Highly processed foods have been a very controversial topic over the last couple year. Cara Rosenbloom reveals that highly processed foods account for 60 percent of the calories we eat. These highly processed(ultra-processed) foods are high in sugar, fat and salt (Rosenbloom). The biggest controversy out of those three comes from the sugar. How much sugar would you expect in a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup or 1 cup of pasta sauce? They are both 30 grams and 20 grams respectively (Sifferlin). 80 percent of the foods sold in grocery stores have added sugar (Soechtig). According to Alexandra Sifferlin the World Health Organization recommends a person should consume only about 26 grams a day for 2,000 calorie diet. They also say that the increasing rates of obesity and heart disease are linked to sugar consumption (Sifferlin). These controversies aren’t just American either. Mexico and Chile has created taxes on sugary beverages

The development of fast food was revolutionary; however this revolution was corrupted by big business and their desire to maximize profit. With fast food being a staple for society, due to its convenience, the consumers fail to realize what is inside that burger they are eating. These cost effective additives may be justifiable in a businessman’s perspective but what about the consumer?

Processed and junk foods have come to be the staple in American diets, and the result has been a nationwide epidemic of obesity-related health issues.