Introduction Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally with at least 2.8 million people dying annually as a result (World Health Organization). Among others, the food industry, governments and the private sector, all have vital roles to play in contributing to obesity prevention or more controversially, obesity continuation. These groups have the power to govern the constitutional elements of consumption, distribution, inspection, regulation, control and production of food. Competition within the industry is inevitable as it strives to supply food in a staggering abundance, at such a low-cost and without regard to geography or season. These high production rates have spawned powerful conglomerates as companies have merged to increase overall influence and reduce competition. In order to safeguard these positions, issues of regulation and conflict of interests manifest themselves in questionable industry funded food research centered on potential health benefits of their products (Sharma); these are conducted by government organizations responsible for promoting healthy eating habits but are funded by food manufacturers. They attempt to provide scientific proof in order to lobby the government to ensure a sympathetic legal framework to influence the implementation of nutritional policies. This repeatedly indicates that business interests are winning out over health concerns. Innumerable resources have been expended to develop and market products that are guaranteed to sell regardless of the global “eat less” message. In this essay I will explore how the food industry is promoting an environment in which the net result is an increase in body weight. Global Perspectives Global patterns are indicating that the public health ... ... middle of paper ... ...oogle.co.uk/books?id=GZVweuXhZlkC&pg=PA469&lpg >. University Of Washington. "Researcher Links Rising Tide Of Obesity To Food Prices." ScienceDaily. Science Daily, 16 July 2008. Web. 13 June 2014. . Wikipedia. "Food Politics." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 June 2014. Web. 16 June 2014. . Wikipedia. "Lobbying in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 6 June 2014. Web. 11 June 2014. . Wikipedia. "Obesity in China." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 June 2014. Web. 16 June 2014. . World Health Organization. "10 facts on obesity." WHO. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014. .
Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Throughout the past years and more here recently obesity has become a fast growing problem in the United States and around the world. Since this has become such a problem certain authors are starting to take a stand in how they think the solution should be fixed. The solutions are discussed in the following articles: How Junk Food Can End Obesity by David H. Freedman and What You Eat Is Your Business by Radley Balko. Both articles have clear and distinct arguments, but the argument by Balko entices his readers and has a clear purpose and tone that allowed his article to be more effective.
Julie Guthman, the author of “The Food Police,” brings up the debate about the “epidemic of obesity” giving multiple examples of those who agree there is an epidemic of obesity; as well as those who disagree on the stance such as the author. Guthman brings the idea instead of pushing thin as the new beautiful to make suggestions to the food system so that everyone can benefit from making healthier choices and lives.
Food has become such a big complicated mess because of the involvement in sciences and politics in food production and distribution. They have all of the power to say and do whatever they want with food and somehow it has ended in obesity epidemic rates and the rates are drastically increasing as the years go on. Michael Moss in his book titled Salt, Sugar, Fat spends three years finding out how food companies manipulated the system and used their products to worsen the health of the public and rack up the money at the same time. He unfolds this situation and dives deep into the problem while giving his feedback on the issue itself. Throughout his book Michael Moss in a complex way, proves to readers by observing the
The World Health Organization defines obesity as the “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health”. (WHO, 2014). It is considered to be a medical condition which may reduce a person's life expectancy due to the negative effect it can have on our health and well-being. An epidemic is said to affect a disproportionately large number of people in a population and spreads rapidly. In recent decades, it has been suggested that we are facing an obesity epidemic. Obesity has been considered as a disease by some for over sixty years. It is more common globally than being underweight. The purpose of this essay is to look at the history of obesity and how it is defined. It will look at some of the causes and consider the effects. It will consider how obesity is framed, whether we are indeed in the midst of an epidemic, or if this suggestion is merely moral panic.
Goldstein, Hesh. Why There is an Obesity Epidemic. 16 Nov. 2009. 12 Nov. 2011 .
Mayo Clinic. "Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 December 2006. .
In the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser writes about the fast food industry. Schlosser tells the story of J.R. Simplot, the man behind McDonald’s source for potatoes. He started his own business right out of the eighth grade, after dropping out. He started out small but eventually became one of the riches men in America. He owned then 160 acres of land to start off this business. He sold his potatoes to companies at first all natural. But he soon discovered that if you dry out the food it will keep for longer, more companies then bought from him. Then in the 1950's he found out about freezing them, and the method of frozen food. McDonald’s started buying and selling Simplot fries. The customers seemed to like it, they didn't mind the change or even realize it. As a result though from freezing the potatoes, they lost a lot of the natural flavors. Companies began cooking their food in a high percentage of animal fat to capture that flavor, but soon they switched. They traded beef fat for more chemicals. The fries flavor all depends on the chemicals, it is all fake, and there is even more saturated fat from their fries than in their burgers.
Lobbying is an enormous business. A lobbyist is an advocate who seek outs to influence members of the government (like members of Congress) to endorse legislation that would advantage their group. The lobbying occupation is a lawful and essential part of our democratic political procedure that is not extremely well implicit by the broad population. While the majority people think of lobbyists only as paid experts, there are as well a lot of volunteer lobbyists. Anyone who appeals the government or contacts their member of Congress to say an view is functioning as a lobbyist. Lobbying is a synchronized industry and a guarded activity beneath the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that assurances rights to free assembly, speech,and petition. [Briggs, Emily Edson]
Repeatedly the news will highlight a story about the obesity epidemic sweeping the nation. Although the news and health experts bombard the common citizen with quick and easy ways to eat healthier and exercise more, the source of the issue is kept hidden behind closed doors. Before placing blame on the eating habits, it’s essential to take a closer look at what is being consumed. With rapid change in the food industry, progress must be met with caution because “The way we eat has changed more in the past fifty years than in the past 10,000” (Pollan and Schlosser). It is easy for the common man to provide the blanket statement of eating “better”, yet few actually proceed to do this. The average American has one of the worst diets in the world although opportunity and variety of options are overwhelming. Food industries are deceiving by masking the true process of how their food is produced. Not only does the eye not see how the food was made, but there is also a false sense of variety in the grocery market. The grossly unbalanced American diets and genetically modified organisms both coexist to create a greater problem than previously thought of.
If people are healthy, there is no need for medical care (Fontaine, English, & Williams, 2014). One of the biggest challenges in the world of medical care and health is the interest in healthy food. It is said that most diseases can be avoided with a healthy eating habit (‘Cancer Prevention Diet: Lower Your Risk with Cancer-Fighting Foods’, 2015). This takes us to the topic of food, and how food can be a large competitor to the system of healthcare and medicine (‘The Medical Device Industry in the United States, n.d.).
In his book there are a few main points discussed by Patel. One of them is that he focuses in on the huge food corporations and describes how they act as bottlenecks in the global food distribution system. What he means by bottlenecks is that there is a massive number of producers and consumers, but between the producers and consumers are only a few dominating processors and distributors that dominate their section of the food industry (21). Patel also tells us that we want to think that we make our own choices when we decide what to eat, but it is actually the complete opposite. A second purpose of the book is to determine the epidemics of starvation and obesity, and how they are connected. Patel claims that the people who are stuffed – by that he means obese – are actually starving because they are eating empty calories that make them fat, but don’t provide any nutrition.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
The government must have a say in our diets. Because the issues of obesity have already reached national scales, because the costs of obesity and related health issues have gone far beyond reasonable limits, and because fighting nutritional issues is impossible without fighting poverty and other social issues, the government should control the range and the amount of available foods. The cost of healthier foods should decrease. The access to harmful foods should be limited. In this way, the government will be able to initiate a major shift in nutritional behaviors and attitudes in society.
The 'Secondary'. Food politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health.