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Effects of fast food
How fast food affects our health
Effects of fast food
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When it comes to eating food most people weigh the options of cooking, eating fast food, or buying processed food. This essay will analyze America's decision on choosing a bad habitat or good habitat. Buying fast food rather than cooking a home cooked meal can be convenient and inexpensive for a lot of families in America. However, in the long run, their health can become an issue since fast food contains a lot of unhealthy ingredients. Meanwhile, home cooked meals contain fewer calories and help with countless of health issues. People would rather risk their health in the future to eat unhealthy than to buy food that you can cook because it can be pricey. Although, eating a home cooked meal can be healthy there can be obstacles people come …show more content…
In the article “Kitchen Confidential” Laura Newcomer express, “research finds that people who eat home cooked meals on a regular basis tend to be happier and healthier and consume less sugar than processed food, which can result in higher energy levels and better mental health.” A cooked meal does not contain as much sodium or fat as fast food. When people cook their food they have the control over of how much salt or seasoning goes into the food they prepare. Laura Newcomer also stated, “eating home-cooked meals five or more days a week is even associated with a longer life.” Eating a home cooked meal can benefit a lot of families and help them receive the nutrients they need to consume. As a matter of fact, both offer many disadvantages and advantages. When eating a home cooked meal and fast food they both can contain a lot of calories. Although, a home cooked meal can be better for your health, eating too much can make you overweight. Similar to eating fast food continuously. Cooking a meal at home has an advantage over fast food when it comes to the price. You save more money cooking at home rather than buying fast food and eating out on a regular …show more content…
It is evident that one is healthier than the other. Cooking a meal at home can be the healthier choice but there are some disadvantages. Fast foods and processed foods have many disadvantages. Although, the outcome of having bad habitats such as eating processed food or fast food on a regular basis can have a negative outcome when it is dealing with health people will continue to choose what is not good for their health.The fact that fast food is cheap and convenient is the main reason as to why eating out will always be popular. In the article “Kitchen Confidential,” Laura Newcomer expressed “ the most common excuses is that there is not enough time and people who work more than 35 hours a outside of the home each week do tend to cook less.” Cooking a meal at home can be time-consuming for the sixty-three percent of Americans who work. However, the people who do eat a home cooked meal on a regular basis tend to be healthier and have the opportunity to spend more time with their family. Therefore, the reason as to why people choose a bad habitat is over a good habitat is because they feel as if it is the easier route to
There has been withstanding controversy about whether fast food is easier on the pocket than eating home-cooked meals. Take McDonald’s for instance, they’re notorious for their convenient and affordable dollar and value menus. Since you can get a burger for just $1.19, feeding a family of four should be inexpensive right? Mark Bittman, author of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” argues otherwise. He claims that fast food is not at all cheaper than buying a few groceries and cooking at home. He expresses the different myths about fast food like how it is supposedly cheaper than real food when measured by the calorie, the mentality of people that if it isn’t fast food, it has to be costly organic food, and that there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. These myths followed by genuine factors such as addictions and a cultural impact, help Bittman prove his argument’s validity across to his audience. I have to say that Bittman proved his argument’s effectiveness, for he clearly stated his thesis and provided various reliable
Albeit the system seems rigged with an unfair advantage to fast food and junk food companies who dominate America’s landscape. In today’s society, if the government sets proportions, adults and children still have the freedom to choose what they consume. Companies are manufacturing to our taste in a series of experiments to find the “bliss” point in which consumers find the products more desirable (Moss 482). The logic is relatable as many businesses strive to appease their customers to return. Subsequently, in agreement with both authors, many adults are enticed by the convenience of these industries. Whether it be they are on the go or prefer not to cook after a strenuous day: the cheap prices and close proximity appeal to their fast paced
Forty-eight percent of individuals who cooked dinner six to seven times a week consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar daily. They were also able to conclude that those who consumed home-cooked meals depend less on frozen foods and are less likely to choose fast foods. However, as explained in, “Tasting food, tasting freedom: excursions into eating, culture, and the past” Sidney Mintz explains in chapter eight that the majority of Americans often choose to eat out at fast food joints because of the convenience of these meals. Mintz states that these meals are usually diets, “high in animal protein, salts, fats, and processed sugars, low in fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking more soda than tap water.” This is where cultural, and social aspects create conflict when attempting to switch to this healthier lifestyle (although it is feasible). Depending on an individual’s schedule, it will either be an easier switch to make home-cooked meals, or just another difficult task to accomplish throughout the
Families around the United States go through this dilemma on a daily basis. Fast food and junk food are everywhere. You can't drive almost any city block without passing a fast food restaurant or a gas station convenience store proudly advertising their dollar and value menus or two for one specials. The 2008 documentary, Food Inc, examines this dilemma and looks at how we, as a people, have got to this point.
Eating five to six servings of fruit, choosing whole grains or even just avoiding foods high in density can be a step closer to reducing chances of becoming obese or overweight. Mark Bittman in his article, “Is junk food really cheaper,” argues that Americans are wasting their money on junk food or fast food restaurants when that money could be used towards a healthy home cooked meal. He persuades the readers to have alternatives. Instead of buying McDonalds’ French fries people should get apple slices, instead of drinking sodas drink water, instead of buying junk food get vegetables. Bittman states, “The fact that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes.” I agree food (fast food) plays a huge role unto why Americans are so overweight. It is because fast food is so convenient and inexpensive to some. Even if a person wanted to eat healthy from a fast food restaurant, salads are more expensive than a burger or chicken nugget meal. How can a person with low income choose the “healthy” way when the healthy way is more expensive? Although fast food can be beneficial more so convenient in the short term, it can be very detrimental in the long term. One man filmed a documentary where he was supposed to eat McDonalds three times a day. Unfortunately during the film, he had to stop because his health started to fail. This shows that fast food is indeed not good for people’s
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
There is no surprise that food is important in all aspects of our lives—it is shared amongst families, celebrated as a major part of our culture, and crucial to our daily routine that keeps us fit, healthy, and active. Today’s western culture glorifies a skewed perspective on how food is supposed to fit into our lives. Somehow this perception has led us to believe we no longer have the time or money it takes to prepare a wholesome, healthy meal that is shared at the dinner table with family. Instead, we are trained to want a meal that is fast, cheap, and easy. This meal is usually highly processed and filled with sugars and fats. This has led us to a problem of epidemic proportions characterized by the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes.
Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...
We make personal choices about what and where to eat. The government is not going to eliminate the unhealthy food because we think it is the cause of obesity. Ultimately, we must decide to either stay away from unhealthy food or eat them in moderation. Despite all the efforts of education, media and guidance it doesn’t prevent us from grabbing that cheeseburger with fries on the way to work. In his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that society should take full responsi...
When we speak of McDonald’s, we will consider it as cheap food or Junk food. But if we go back to more than ten years ago, everything is different, Including our impression of McDonald. When I was a kid, I thought McDonald was the best restaurant in the world. If my mom tell me that we are going to eat some hamburger, I would be wonder and happy for whole day. Without paying attention what time, the public blamed McDonald and other similar restaurants for their food. They call it junk food. But because of the low price , good taste and better convenience that those restaurant provide, numerous people in US still prefer those food. Hamburger, pizza, bread, salad and other fast food even establish the American diet style. Mark Bittman,whose “Minimalist” column ran in the Dining section of the New York Times for more than 13 years, is a lead writer for the Time Magazine Dining section. In his “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” published at September 2011, he clarified a public misconception on Junk Food--Junk Food is cheaper than Real food. By comparing both the total price and the net price after measuring by calorie, he proved that real food is cheaper than Junk Food if you cook at home. He also claimed the food that cooking at home was healthier than Junk Food so he asked for political act to persuade home cooking.
The story, In Praise of Fast Food, written by Rachel Laudan is an evaluation argument recommending healthy food choices in comparison to fast food. Laudan responds by sharing her experience with growing up on a farm and a child and eating food from her family garden. “Modern, fast, processed food is a disaster” (Faigley 302). In this writing selection, the author provided effective evidence to argue the inadequate safety of food today saying, “They built granaries, dried their meat and their fruit, salted and smoked their fish, curdled and fermented their dairy products, and cheerfully used additives and preservatives- sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, lye- to make audible foodstuffs” (Faigley 304). Food in the past was very different than what we have today.
Many people in America, from toddlers to the elderly, have shown numerous signs of bad health. People have the desire to keep on eating due to more, new things being merchandised as “new and improved items” from the producers. For example, nowadays, people are eating pure junk that they find satisfying on the grocery food shelf. As, stated by Michael Pollan, in his article, “Eat Food: Food Defined” he affirmed that “real food is the type of things that our
What is the reason that people feel that cooking at home is the best option for
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot
Lack of time to cook a proper meal and decide to order fast food? This situation always happened in everyone daily life. This shows that choosing fast food as a meal is already a trend in this modern era. Fast food and home cooked meal can be differentiated by time, cost and its nutrition value.