The Doubts of Eating Out

Michael Pollan’s article The Cooking Animal, describes the decline of home cooked meals and its effects. Cooking, he says, is what separates us from animals. It’s how we became civilized. By making us come together and share food, we learn about each other and ourselves. Although its importance, cooking is rapidly declining in modern times. What was once a daily ritual is now becoming a special occasion. Replacing cooking is convenient, yet horribly unhealthy, processed foods thus worsening the already increasing obesity problem. ”The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity” (Pollan 583). Pollan explains the importance of home cooked meals and it’s correlation with obesity and how we have

Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a

This rhetorical analysis is over the effects of fast food and the health of the person eating it. “Eat fast, die young” is the motto of the second spoof ad. The reality is that this spoof ad is accurate. Studies over the past 30 to 50 years show that fast food and junk food is extremely unhealthy and causes obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and several other diseases. Most fast food restaurants serve high caloric and low-density foods. That means one get a lot of calories and very little nutrition value from the food. Obesity rates have steadily climbed over the past 60 years as have the number of fast food restaurants. “The prevalence of obesity and obesity related diseases has increased rapidly in the U.S. since the mid-1970s. At the same time, the number of fast food restaurants more than doubled over the same time period, while the number of other restaurants grew at a much slower pace.” (Currie Vigna Moretti Pathania 1) Saying the fact that when one eats substantial amounts of fast food, the health of that person will drastically decrease is definitely true.

from McDonalds than a home cooked meal of baked fish with a Caesar salad on the side. A Big Mac cheeseburger alone is 550 calories and with French fries, that’s an extra 365 calories, compared to the baked fish and a salad which is only 324 calories combined. Mostly because they are too lazy to actually take out the time to prepare the meal for themselves. When cooking you have to keep checking to see if the foods done, take out certain supplies, and you have to stand up to cook, while at the drive-through you come in hungry and leave out full in less than ten minutes. After a long day of work, most people want to take the easy way out by going through the drive thru and ordering a combo. Take the easy road one night then slowly but surely it starts to become a habit, and that’s when lots of Americans find themselves in a fast food restaurant line almost every day. For example, my cousin works long hours as a nurse and when she gets off from work, she’s usually exhausted. She has a ten year old son who’s never had a home cooked meal from his mother. Nutrition experts have long identified the lack of home cooking as one of the factors contributing to the ongoing obesity crisis, including childhood obesity. My family always question my cousin about why she doesn’t cook and she always give us the same answer.

In “How Cooking Can Change Your Life” renowned author and food activist Michael Pollan argues that cooking is the most important step people can take to mend our country’s broken relationship with food. His main points are that cooking at home can improve the health of individuals and counteract our increasing dependence on large corporations. He argues how important cooking at home is detrimental to our overall health. Pollan says that eating fast food, highly processed convenience foods, and restaurant meals are detrimental to our health and well-being. If people were to just start cooking their own meals again at home, obesity and other diet related diseases would decrease in our society.

IN the movie we see how some families rather eat out from a fast food chain or just buy chips and soda thinking it is cheaper. There was an example on the movie where a meal bought from a fast food chain was actually more expensive ($25-$26) vs a healthy meal composed of vegetables, water and some protein that could only cost you about $13-$15 .Results showed that much healthier diets cost, on average, only $1.50 more per day, a small price in comparison to both the health benefits and the savings in health costs (hsph.harvard.edu, 2018). Preparing your own food rather than eating at fast food chains (unhealthy places) allows you not only to eat healthy, but to also save some coins. Overall, they are just trying to tell us that highly processed tend to make us hungrier because they send your blood sugar spiking and subsequently crashing, leading to increased appetite even after you’ve eaten. On the other hand, healthier foods tend to satisfy your appetite more eating

Women love when men cook them a homemade meal and men love when they can come home to work to dinner already ready. Also kids love has that sense of importance whenever one of their parents asked them for help in the kitchen. With how fast everyone is moving nowadays people do not want to take the time to cook a homemade meal so fast food or eating out seems more pleasing. Though eating out may seem more pleasing and easier there are complications that can occur due to eating out too much. Most fast food is place in boxes or handle with gloves that can a chemical called, Phthalates, this chemical is known to cause fertility issues, pregnancy complications and other health issues. In a study done by George Washington University and the University of California at Berkeley found that, “people who eat more fast-food or food prepared at restaurants or cafeterias had phthalate levels almost 35 percent higher than those who said they mostly cooked and ate their own food”(Allen Coe). This study just shows how harmful eating out can be for the human body and how its effects can take place before you even recognize it. Through cooking it not only allows you to bond but also allows for you to avoid chemicals like phthalates and many others that are harmful for your

The need for a job in American society is vital and not having one in today’s society can cause major financial problems for an individual or a whole family. An average American, typically works eight hour shifts and sometimes even put in overtime to meet their needs. After an exhausting day at work, people tend to get hungry and the infamous question of “what to eat” begins to occupy every inner thought. Some are not only wondering what they should eat for dinner, but most of these workers also have a family to come home to and feed. People come home tired, lacking motivation to do anything, and the thought of having to prepare dinner for themselves or their family sounds discouraging. On the way home from work, everyone is bound to see a fast food restaurant of some sort, waiting for potential consumers in the street corner, illuminated by an infamous neon sign. The temptation to stop by and grab a quick meal is overwhelming, but there is always one jumbled up thought that suggests preparing a meal at home would be wiser. The typical American citizen has to fight a mental battle on deciding where they should take their health and how it will benefit them in the long run. Though most individuals who visit these fast food establishments can care less about the nutrition value behind their favorite meals, it is an important component to consider when buying at these places. With working from nine to five and coming home with the potential to eat everything in sight, if it

To start off you’ll make better choices. Food at the grocery store would seem more appetizing if you cooked more yourself. Rather than being lead by hunger, like tasty cheeseburger photos, at a fast food restaurant with unhealthy processed foods, making healthier choices at the grocery store would lead to healthier meals. People who cooked meals at home for at least 6 days

You have been at the office all day long, slaving over a telephone and a computer terminal. It's lunch time, and you've got an hour to eat. No problem; there's a McDonald's a mere five minutes from the office. You could go there-it's hot, it's fast, and it's convenient. Besides, they supposedly have healthy foods like chicken and fish on the menu. Approximately 45.8 million people are served at fast food restaurants every day in America, and why not? Fast foods are pre-prepared meals that are served quickly at several restaurants strategically located throughout nearly every American city. But there is a downside to the convenience they provide: they simply are not good for us.

“Americans spend nearly $100 billion on fast food every year” (Ransohoff). This shows that people are wasting high amounts of money on fast food. Some reasons fast food is more expensive than cooking is that when buying pre-made food people are also paying for the price of advertising, business costs, payroll, transportation, processing, and packaging (Why Home Cooking is Important). When people cook at home, they save money by cutting out all of these additional unnecessary expenses. According to GRACE communications foundation home cooking can help people learn to save food and use every part of it which will also save people money (Why Home Cooking is Important). This shows that cooking can also teach people how to save food, which will make people need to buy food less often and spend less money. People can also save money by using old scraps as compost or fertilizer so they can grow their own food (Why Home Cooking is Important). If people grow their own food they will not have to buy food as often and will be eating healthy and for less

Sometimes fast food is an easier option for dinners and lunch because they are busy with work or other things to take time out to make food from home .

In today’s society, most people plan their daily meals around their busy schedules. Food plays an important role in our lives and most just rely on fast food because it is quicker and easier. However, devouring fast food is one of the worst choices you can make. In order to maintain proper health and prevent numerous illnesses and diseases, consuming healthy homemade meals is definitely a more ideal choice. According to a recent study, “when people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all – even if they are not trying to lose weight” (Wolfson). Because many people work full time and get home very late, people continue to eat it without being aware of how unhealthy it is for you and the health risks that it can eventually bring on. Based on the demand for quality food choices of today’s generation, it is important to compare and contrast the effects of preparing healthy, homemade meals versus relying on fast food restaurants for daily eats.

Besides time, saving money gives fast food an edge over a regular meal prepared in the kitchen. Especially for individuals living on their own, it is much cheaper to go out and buy a meal, rather than to cook one in the kitchen. Not only would one have to buy the ingredients necessary, but one would also have to buy any equipment needed in order to cook the meal. Not to mention, in comparison to healthy foods available at a local supermarket, fast food is much cheaper. The healthiest diets cost about $1.50 more per day than unhealthy diets according to new research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The researchers found that healthier diet patterns—for example, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts—cost significantly more than unhealthy diets (for example, those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains). Instead of spending all that time and money, one could just as easily travel to their closest fast food restaurant and order a meal for a fraction of the price.

So on the way to work they will buy dinner at a fast food restaurant. Places such as McDonalds's, Burger King, and Taco Bell have begun to appear on every street corner. Fast food restaurants made an appearance in America in the 1960's. They have not been around for very long and already the effects are destroying the health of the people in America. This is because people go to what to tastes good and these foods taste good to the kids. When their parents grew up a trip to grandmas for Sunday dinner was a treat and a variety from the meals at home. Today the treat is going out to a fast food restaurant. These foods are usually inexpensive, prepared for the person, and they taste good. The downside to these places is that their food is greasy and high in fat. Both of these are contributors to high blood pressure and high frequency of heart attacks among the American population.