Soul Food vs. Fast Food

In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more

On the other hand, the major concern right is to fight that problem starting with the children since as most of the children attend to become adults in following unhealthy food, drinks so they can become bigger so they can look older by getting that size faster. The other type of children are trying only following the same habit because of their parents, and that depends on the way the parent living. Parent are buzzy due to live demands, and most of them work two or even three jobs. That will lead the parent to rely more on the fast food rather than have some time to make a healthy homemade food.

Food is used in different circumstances in life represents a culture, but can also reflect one's personality, lifestyle, and socio-economic

Because of parents using food as a reward, many children learn that being good means eating unhealthy. Combined with the advertising techniques used by the fast food industry, children begin to make a correlation between fast food and a reward. Ellen Gustafson further confirms that fast food contains “more refined grains, fats and oils and sugars than the 1980’s.” All of these components of fast food make it appealing to children. Furthermore, many parents do not have time to make healthy meals for their children because of our fast-paced society. As David Zinczenko relates in Don’t Blame the Eater, “lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. Then, as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal.” This is not a rare situation. Many parents work long hours and therefore encourage their kids to eat fast food instead of taking the time to teach healthy habits. This has the ripple effect of overeating and lack of exercise. Without exercise, many kids gain weight, become obese or are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma. (Childhood Obesity) Today, type 2 diabetes exists in 30% of childhood obesity. (Zinczenko 154) Gustafson further states in her presentation “1/3 of American children are overweight and obese.” When a child has obesity, their ability to participate in everyday activities like sports and play is inhibited, which means

There are many books and movies, coving fast food and the dark side of all American meals. According to Eric Schlosser, “Fast food is now so commonplace that it has acquired an air of inevitability, as though it were somehow unavoidable, a fact of modern life”(7). In fact, there are

People’s ignorance is leading the society to a period where obesity will be the norm and healthy living an unwanted lifestyle. Therefore, it is high time when people realized their mistakes and started living a healthy life. Healthy feeding is one’s responsibility despite the factors that may force one to turn to fast foods. In addition, it is the parent’s responsibility to encourage their children to lead a healthy lifestyle and help them embrace the fact that eating fast foods regularly is unhealthy and may cause obesity.

The majority of Americans enjoy fast food like bees enjoy their honey. Fast food is hard not to love due to families experiencing fast paced days, parents who work more than 20 hours a week, and having children with picky appetites can be rough. For most American families, it can be a challenge to not consider eating fast food more than once a week. The fast food industry has grown tremendously through the years. The one restaurant that is known all over the world for their golden arches and their big macs is McDonalds. With knowledge and personal experiences, I can say that McDonalds is by far the worst fast food restaurant in America. I believe this due to how unhealthy the food is for our bodies, the disturbing facts about the happy meals, the poor service, and the non-cleanliness of the restaurant.

Southern food plays a huge role in the South. “To identify as a Southerner or to relate to Southerners through the food provides a unique rhetorical tool for bring people together” (Sayre and Strokes 8). Soul food brings out the good at a funeral because people are surrounded by their family and friends and they’re eating some good soul food. Food is where we build as a community and diverse our identity with one another. “The rhetorical function that food serves in constructing a more positive and broad-appealing Southern identity is an important part of understanding how to create the space for finding commonality in the region” (Sayre and Strokes 13). Food brings out the positive sound of many

Fast food has become so dependable in America because it seems everyone is on the go. Many parents are constantly working, children have late activities at school, and some days just the thought of and going home to make food is no fun. It seems like everyone is doing something and they can 't stop to make food for themselves. Going to a fast food restaurant is quick. Most of the time a person is in a drive-thru for around five minutes. Some fast foods such as Jimmy John 's is freaky fast and deliver quickly after the order. Fast food facilities are everywhere. Eric Schlosser in the Fast Food Nation said, "Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-throughs, at stadiums, airports, zoos, high schools, elementary schools, and universities, on cruise ships, trains, and airplanes, at K-Marts, Wal-Marts

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.

Fast food is not only found at the drive-thru diners with the golden arches or the giant burgers in front of their buildings although they are the most common thing we think of when we hear the term “fast food“. Fast food is any food that is quick, convenient, and inexpensive for the most part. It can be bought just about anywhere that sells food and snacks. Vending machines play a huge part in bad food choices. They are found in most offices and schools for people on the go to grab a quick bite. Twenty-four hour convenience stores are probably the most common places to find fast food but we don’t usually think of it as fast food because it isn’t sold threw a drive-thru restaurant. These foods are so popular because for under five dollars you can usually get a meal that may not be the healthiest choice but will fill you up. However, although fast food is inexpensive it is only that way because it is made with cheaper ingredients.

Eating food is essential for all of us, it keep us alive and also gives us enjoyment at the same time. Food can be defined as any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue. (ilearn) In ancient time, when people feel hungry, they eat. However, as human history keep developing and evolving, we have a higher standard on choosing food that we like to eat nowadays. In this paper, we are going to evaluate factors that are influencing our food habits and food culture. Those factors can be divided into two main categories, internal factors (individual preference and values) and external factors (geographical, religion, social, economic and political).

All aspects of fast food have been criticized significantly, especially since the health food trend craze came around. An argument by culinary Luddites that is often thrown around is that our ancestors never had the access to these options and lived a much happier natural lifestyle. Rachel Laudan brought these points to the forefront to be critiqued in her writing “In Praise of Fast Food”. Rachel Laudan brings the argument that individuals have always participated in the consumption of convenience based foods, the goal in growing and producing food has always been to alter produce to make it more convenient as well as better tasting. Fast food is not as new of an invention as many believe it to be. Modern mainstream media outlets have pushed the belief that processing food has been the worst thing for the well being of the human body. Rachel Laudan makes some very solid points in the fast food debate that should be noted.

The fast-paced lifestyle of Americans today results in unhealthy frozen T.V. dinners and take-out meals. In present day society, the role of woman and men are virtually equal. With this making both the mother and father of families busy, there is little time for home cooked meals. A hardy breakfast is replaced with sugary pop-tarts, hand packed lunches is replaced with money for fast food, and frozen T.V. trays take the place of a healthy dinner. These foods may all taste good, but they are not healthy. By giving children lunch money, the children are having the choice to buy whatever foods they please. It could be easily assumed that a child would choose a candy bar, chips, and a soda over a school lunch. Again, the children are not the only ones to be blamed here. The parents need to take time to guide their children towards what food is healthy and what food is unhealthy. By taking a little more time out of the day and making healthier food choices, the rate of childhood obesity could slow down, if not stop altogether.

We consider one of the top reasons of eating fast food the modern, busy life that a big percent of families workers have. People who have a busy schedule usually do not have time to cook at home,