In Defense of Food and Supersize Me have both educated and opened up my eyes to the current food and nutrition related issue. The film that taught me the most about issues related to food and nutrition was In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen, unlike Supersize Me’s research Michael Pollan's research was actually backed up by medical research. Michael Pollen was addressing complex diets that are commonly used in our society and explaining how there are actually worse for us. Michael Pollen seven words for eating “Eat food,not too much,mostly plants” caught my attention and simplified the way I eat food. Supersize Me also taught me the negative effects of eating fast food but did not go in depth like In Defense of Food. Although Supersize Me …show more content…
Both films were entertaining but the most entertaining of the two was Supersize Me. In Defense of Food took on a more direct approach unlike Supersize Me which took on a comedic approach. The most entertaining part of Supersize Me, was when they revealed how much weight Morgan gained after his McDonald's diet. Morgan body fat percentage before the Mcdonald's diet was 11% but increased to 18% by the end of the diet. Morgan always went through withdrawal symptoms including massive headaches when he didn't eat Mcdonalds. Nevertheless In Defense of Food also educated me about the food and nutrition industry but was not as entertaining. In Defense of Food also had some entertaining moments including when Michael Pollen expressed that anything that isn't raw food can be considered “food-like substances” as they can be full of preservatives or chemicals. Michael Pollen destroyed the complex dieting myths and explained how eating a simple diet will do …show more content…
After watching Morgan transform from a healthy to a overweight and very unhealthy individual left me speechless and could only be expressed best, visually. Also after seeing how much sugar Morgan consumed in total after his McDonald's diet was best left as a visual image. In Defense of Food also had many striking visual images that helped enhance my learning experience. In Defense of Food had some very memorable images including when they changed the size of a plate and the insane diets Dr.Kellogg put his patiences throw to improve their health. I was very shocked by how much effect changing the size of a plate had on how much food someone ate on a regular basis. Another eye catching visual image was when they showed the drastic diets people went through in attempts to cure themselves of diseases, back in the day, directed by Dr.Kellogg. Both films had breathtaking images that were best expressed
In the book In Defense Of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, the first three chapters; "From Foods To Nutrients", "Nutritionism Defined" and "Nutritionism Comes To Markets" author Michael Pollan discusses how scientists views on foods have changed, the definition of Nutritionism and how Nutritionism moved to markets. In the first chapter,"From Foods To Nutrients" Pollan discusses how scientists have changed their view on whole foods over the 1980's as well as years through World War II and instead focuses more on macronutrients; protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Since vitamins helped in 1912, this contributed to the changing view about whole foods. Chapter two,"Nutritionism Defined" Pollan introduces the definition of Nutritionism as an ideology and
Supersize Me is a movie where Morgan who goes on a diet for 30 days with McDonald's only. His health deteriorates throughout the 30 days of eating McDonalds only. His doctors was wrong with the outcomes of Morgan’s health. His health decrease dramatically after his diet. Not only his health decrease dramatically, his relationship with people decrease too. His emotions vary sometimes throughout the month.
Malcolm Gladwell’s article “The Trouble with Fries” is about a very invasive topic. Fast Food is killing us. Can it be fixed? Although his thesis statement isn’t exactly clear, he effectively uses evidence to convince his audience that a nutrition movement is needed especially for fast food. By discussing many factors with supporting evidence that is factual he shows why fast food is struggling to have a nutrition movement.
In a sense that obesity is a growing epidemic I think that the documentary was fairly realistic, but who actually eats McDonalds three times a day? Morgan did say that 22% of all McDonald?s consumers were known as super heavy users, which means that they eat McDonald?s food 3 times a week or more. I think Morgan conveyed his negative opinions about the fast food chains, particularly McDonalds very well although there may have been some dramatization. The people who are most affected by McDonalds marketing and pricing practices are definitely kids and/or lower budget people. The cheap food that supposedly fills you up for longer due to the long list of ingredients in
Fast food is unhealthy and does not provide the necessary nutrients needed for a daily diet, however Mcdonald's, a fast food empire claimed in a 2004 lawsuit against them that fast food can be a part of a healthy diet. The court ruled that the plaintiffs would have a serious claim if they could prove that eating fast food for every meal is dangerous for the person and their health. Morgan Spurlock, writer, director, producer, and star of 2004 documentary Supersize Me set out to prove that fast food is dangerous for a person's health. The documentary follows Morgan on his 30 day challenge of only eating fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Through Morgan's challenge his weight skyrockets, his health declines and feels terrible all the time. Many people believe that fast food companies are to blame for America's obesity but the individual must take responsibility for what they put into their bodies instead of blaming fast food companies for their unhealthy eating habits .The documentary explores the idea that people should avoid eating fast food because Fast food, although more convenient and easier is worse for you than making your own meals. Fast food leads to many health risks and is not a good substitution for traditional meals. People should avoid eating
Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is an eye-opening analysis of the American food industry and the fear driven relationship many of us have with food. He talks in depth about all the little scientific studies, misconceptions and confusions that have gathered over the past fifty years. In the end provide us with a piece of advice that should be obvious but somehow is not, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He follows the history of nutritionism and the industrialization of food, in hopes to answer one question….. how and when "mom" ceded control of our food choices to nutritionists, food marketers and the government.
There has been a strong concern, however, that unhealthy fast-food has been served and advertised at cafeteria in public schools nationwide and legislation against serving and promoting these foods may be necessary to solve the problem. Schlosser revealed in his book ten years ago that “nation’s food chains are marketing their products in public schools” (Schlosser 52) and points out that “about 30 percent of the public high schools in the United States offer branded fast food” (Schlosser 56). In Super Size Me, the director and performer Morgan Spurlock also shows that many public schools serve innutritious fast food at cafeteria (Super Size Me). In 2005, the Institute of Medicine recommends
Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Morgan Spurlock’s amateur documentary “Supersize Me” pushed reform in both fast food culture, and eating habits of citizens, being one of the first catalysts in a new movement in America. This 2004 film, being the first of his works to establish Spurlock as a filmmaker, focuses on Spurlock’s 30 day journey in which he vowed to eat solely McDonalds for three meals a day, and track his overall mental, physical, and social changes over this span of time. Throughout the film, Spurlock consults three doctors (a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner) as well as a nutritionist to monitor physical change and gather quantitative data supporting his claim. The film often exhibited
McDonald’s is killing Americans, at least that is what Morgan Spurlock believes. In his documentary Super Size Me he embarks on a quest to not only describe and use himself as an example of the growing obesity trend, but to offer the viewers with base-line nutritional knowledge that will allow them to draw their own informed conclusions. Spurlock's primary intention is to prove through self-experimentation that eating solely McDonald's food is dangerous. His secondary intention is to denounce the rising obesity rate in American by using statistics, his own research, and the opinions of experts. His broader message is for a general audience while he tailors select chapters towards more specific demographics such as parents or McDonald's
Morgan Spurlock’s motivation to create his documentary emerged from a certain court case, in which two teenage girls sued McDonald's for selling them products that resulted in them being obese for their age group (Spurlock). McDonald’s testimony stated that the girls could not fully prove that it was the McDonald’s product that were making them overweight and that eating their products for every meal would be seemingly dangerous (Spurlock). Spurlock to this statement into his owns hands and a decided to conduct a month long experiment, in which he would go on a thirty-day long binge of McDonald’s food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to prove if and how fast food can make a person obese (Spurlock). It is well known within the general public that fast food in not a healthy option for a meal but for many, fast food is the only
Over the last several decades, the diet of society has been continually changing. This has resulted in different formulas for nutrition and the proper portions of foods that must be consumed. To fully understand the various arguments requires looking at numerous viewpoints. This will be accomplished by focusing on Michael Pollan's Escape from the Western Diet in contrast with Mary Maxfield's Food as thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating. These views will highlight how diet and nutrition is based upon individual opinions. This is the focus of the thesis.
Body mass index, or BMI, is used by doctors and health physicians to measure excessively high levels of body fat in relation to lean body mass in an individual. Having a BMI ratio that is considered above average or too high normally denotes persons at risk to several health adversities such as heart attacks, liver damage, diabetes, and even more widespread, obesity. In 2005, the United States Department of Health and Human Services estimated that over half of the adult American population was either overweight or obese, and many of these health concerns were correlated with a person’s diet and type of food consumption. In an attempt to assign blame for the cause, political and social commentators’ claim that long standing farm subsidies on particular food commodities correlate with rising obesity trends in America. In a documentary titled Food, Inc., opened to audience in 2008, award winning filmmaker Robert Kenner argues that current agricultural policies on these subsidized food commodities are allowing major food corporations to mass produce products that negatively affect the health of consumers nationwide. He contends that commodity crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans are heavily subsidized by the government to produce snack foods that are high in calorie content but low in cost, becoming the prime choice for Americans looking for cheap and readily available foods to eat. Kenner believes that government subsidies need to either be
Michael Pollan’s in defense of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto details the problems with the Western diet and nutritionism that are supported by evidence in the form of research, experiments, and even historical information. Pollan even makes the books easy to read for those that do not have any knowledge in science by explaining how macromolecules work people have a general idea. Additionally, he keeps the reader engaged by adding a little bit of humor whenever he gets the chance. However, Pollan has been a journalist, which could possibly add some bias in his book as members of the media tends to hyperbolize many facts. Yet, Pollan does his best to avoid this by quoting studies and presenting evidence not only from science, but also
Obesity is only second to tobacco smoking as the most preventable death in the United States today. In order to publicize the obesity epidemic, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarks on a thirty day experiment documented in his film, Super Size Me. Nutritionists, healthy eaters, and unhealthy eaters alike are shown the harmful effects of fast food. In order to emphasize the scale of the epidemic and address a large audience, Spurlock appeals to logos through his use of expert testimony, statistics, anticipating counterarguments, and piling.
In a society that is facing numerous problems, such as economic devastation, one major problem is often disregarded, growing obesity. As the American society keeps growing, so does growth of the fast food industry and the epidemic of obesity. In order to further investigate the main cause of obesity, Morgan Spurlock, the film director and main character, decides to criticize the fast food industry for its connection with obesity in America. In his documentary Spurlock performs a radical experiment that drives him to eat only from McDonald's and order a super-sized meal whenever he is asked. By including visual and textual techniques, rhetorical appeals, and argumentative evidences, Morgan Spurlock was able