How often do we find ourselves blaming others rather than ourselves when a problem arises? Many people, myself included, tend to take the blame and rather than taking responsibility for it, place it on someone else. In Don’t Blame the Eater, David Zinczenko, the author of many best-selling books, comes to the defense of the eater on the topic of the decline of health in children. He claims that the reasons we shouldn’t blame the eater are because of the lack of options and false advertising from fast food companies. Personally, I feel as though this article was written as a defense mechanism to take the blame off of us and give to someone else. In reality, the decline in children’s health is a result of making bad choices when it comes …show more content…
By this I mean when we choose to eat out and eat bad food, we forget to make healthy choices. At one point in the article, Zinczenko mentions that he was once unhealthy and overweight as a result of his poor eating habits. He goes on to explain that once he joined the Navy Reserves, he learned how to manage his diet (463). He makes the point to say, “But most of the teenagers who live, as I once did, on a fast-food diet won’t turn their lives around (Zinczenko, 463).” Teens go through life eating unhealthy food with no sense of consequence. We must realize that everything should be done with a sense of balance in mind. For example, if we choose to eat a double cheeseburger meal two times a day, we should also choose to go on a run or take the time to work out afterwards. That being said having healthy habits is important regardless of what you eat in order to stay in shape, but more importantly if you have unhealthy habits it is your responsibility to enforce these healthy habits to counteract those unhealthy choices. Personally, I feel we shouldn’t blame companies for our health problems when there are other things that we can do in order to make ourselves healthier every day. After reading the article Don’t Blame the Eater, I immediately became upset about the fact that we have succumb to blaming others for problems that are in our control. When it comes to eating fast food, it is important that we fix the problem now through understanding that there are other options and learning to balance our poor choice with good choices. It isn’t the fast food companies that decide our fate it is our own. If we continue to blame others for our problems, we will continue to see an even greater decline in children’s
The food is not forced into anyone’s mouth, therefore it would be unethical to cast blame for the aftermath of consuming the foods. Even if, for the sake of humor, we did blame the food chains, we still could not assume the blame for a person being overweight was purely based on eating those foods. With an active lifestyle, it would be very difficult to become overweight. David Zinczenko himself states that had it not been for joining the Navy in college, he would still be overweight. Which has nothing to do with dietary habits. Between these two facts, we can confidently state that the viewpoint similar to the points made in “Don’t Blame the Eater”. Personal health should be as it sounds, personal. If you have the freedom to choose what you put into your body you should take the responsibility for the precautions that come with it. Like it is argued in “What You Eat is Your Business”, if we put more money/emphasis on these problems being a matter of our own conviction, obesity levels would drop. Health care costs would drop, and America would be a much healthier
He begins his argument by commenting about kids suing McDonald’s for “making them fat” (Zinczenko 462). Zinczenko ponders the absurdity of this claim considering how food choices are based on personal responsibility. However, he then considers the overwhelming availability ratio of fast food to fresh food while sympathizing he was once obese himself (Zinczenko 462). Zinczenko uses the primary argument that fast food companies are deceiving consumers with misleading advertisement, hidden nutrition facts, and calorie risks. He believes companies are encouraging the public to eat their unhealthy foods by omitting alarming information and levying “good” deals. In consequence, fast food companies are increasing the chances of obesity and diabetes in consumers by stimulating poor eating
The article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, is an article aimed to bring attention to the ever increasing obesity rates in the United States, which he believes has been caused be the ever increasing amount of fast food restaurants in the United States.
Richard Balko and Mary Maxfield discuss personal responsibility, and choices in one’s health in their essays “What You Eat Is Your Business,” and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” respectively. Balko feels the government should not intervene in people’s food intake because it is an individual preference. Instead, Balko asserts that the government should foster a program to assist the American people to take on personal responsibility and ownership of their own health. Similarly, Maxfield paints the same picture that our culture now finds it immoral to eat what our body needs, therefore believing in the idea of eating less is healthier. Maxfield points out the multi-billion dollar campaign of corporations into advertising false hope into consumers by buying into eradication of fatness. Why has food have suddenly become a risky subject at the dinner table? And who is to blame? Is it everyone else or do we blame ourselves?
In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, by David Zinczenko and in “What You Eat is Your Business”, by Radley Balko both authors discuss and make their stance’s clear on their believed cause of obesity in America. On one hand, Zinczenko argues that it is not the consumers fault for putting themselves at risk of becoming obese or being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but that it is the fast-food companies fault. While on the other hand, Balko argues that we as individuals hold responsibility on whether or not we are putting ourselves at risk for obesity.
Should people be held accountable for what they eat? Many believe that it is a matter of public health, but some think that it is the matter of personal responsibility. In the article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that the government spending more money on anti-obesity measures is the wrong way to fix the obesity epidemic. He claims that people should be more responsible for their personal health. I am of two minds about this author’s claim that eating and lifestyle are matters of personal choice. On the one hand, I agree with his claim because of the unfair insurance policies, people should be more responsible for their own health, and people should take the time to be responsible for their kid’s health instead of blaming someone or something irrelevant. On the other hand, the government should do their best to dispose of “food deserts,” provide more opportunities to live a healthy life style, and give tax breaks to people selling healthy foods.
Best selling author of Eat This, Not That, David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” blames the fast food industry for the growing rate of obesity in the United States. Zinczenko’s main idea is that fast food companies should have warning labels on all the food they supply. Zinczenko believes that since health labels are put on tobacco and preserved food product, fast food industries should put labels on today’s fast food. Discussions about the availability of fast food compared to healthier alternative were brought up as well. Zinczenko states that when looked at, a salad from a fast food restaurant could add up to half of someone’s daily calories (155). He believes that because of fast food, Americans are having more health risks, which includes an insane rise in diabetes. Some agree with Zinczenko saying fast food companies should be the ones responsible to show people the truth about their foods. On the other hand Radley Balko, a columnist for FoxNews.com, states that fast-food consumption ...
Ever since the creation of the golden arches, America has been suffering with one single problem, obesity. Obesity in America is getting worse, for nearly two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight. This obesity epidemic has become a normal since no one practices any type of active lifestyle. Of course this is a major problem and many wish it wasn 't in existence, but then we start to ask a major question. Who do we blame? There are two articles that discuss numerous sides of this question in their own unique way. “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko is better than “Don 't Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko due to its position in argument, opposition, and it’s reoccurrence in evidence.
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...
“Don’t Blame the Eater” is an article by David Zinczenko that explains to Americans, specifically overweight young Americans, about the risks eating at fast food restaurants and its cause of affecting one’s health. In his article, he tries to address the issue about America’s food industries by using literal devices such as tone, logos, ethos, diction, and organization in order to spread his message. He begins his article by addressing the topic and as he continues writing, he supports his topic by writing about personal experience and moves onto the reasons why his topic in a serious issue. Although he shows an overall clear progress, he does tend to have a few problems with his writing that could be improved.
Many people in America love to get greasy, high calorie fast food from many places such as McDonalds and its competitors, but in the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, he reveals the health problems associated with these fatty, salty meals. His articles are affective with its well organized layout, rhetorical appeals and tone which give it a very convincing argument. As you read through the article the author reveals the underlying problems with eating fast food and how there are no warnings of such problems posted. As a former obese child who grew up to diet and watch what he ate he sets a credible stance for the argument.
Fast food is one of the most controversial topics; most people tend to blame fast food industries because of their obesity or a disease they got, and never hold responsibility for their own action.
Remember how happy you were when your parents bought you a happy meal as a child. It came in that cool little red box with some fries and chicken nuggets. Oh, and best of all it always came with a toy; your parents would tell you not to open it until you finished your food but that never happened. Or the time you forgot money at home but still managed to scrap up a dollar and sixteen cents from your car for an iced sweet tea. Fast food always comes in the clutch, but what is really behind the happy meals and sweet teas. We all know fast food is not good for you, but who’s to blame. Is it fair that we blame fast-food chains or are we just to afraid to blame ourselves?
Not only is food education important, but also genomic education. For instance, ninety percent of lung cancer cases begin from smoking. Accordingly, personal obligation is a considerable aspect in determining the risk if somebody gets lung cancer. Individuals can even get lung cancer while never smoking a cigarette. Moreover, this obscures several health policy debates. I believe that a small amount of obese individuals are hereditarily preset to become obese and most likely will come to be overweight regardless even if they followed a strict diet plan. Some are hereditarily susceptible to obesity in that they must be vigilant about their nutrition, which may evade obesity. Furthermore, many have no inherited traits contributing to obesity, but through careless eating habits become obese. Radley Balko, a senior editor at Reason, states, “We’re becoming less responsible for our own health, and more responsible for everyone else’s” (396). Individuals consistently buy fast food around the country, choosing the decision to consume foods that can cause obesity. There is the false economic belief that it is less expensive to eat fast food than to purchase healthy alternatives at a grocery store. Fast food is less expensive in the beginning, yet costs significantly more at the end; I am simply discussing nourishment quality here, not the consequent health insurance costs it puts on the obese. No one needs to reprimand the individuals who end up getting obese on account of no deficiency they could call their own, yet neither would anybody like to exonerate obese individuals from personal
We are facing a big problem that will make our life more miserable. We are eating junk food constantly that is bad for our health. Many people eat junk food because they think it’s cheap and faster or some people do not like to cook their own food. “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko. This article is talking about how fast food is making us eat bad because of their fast service and cheap prices. People tends to choose fast food instead of cooking a healthy meal. It is easy for teenagers to gain weight by eating fast food meals. Zinczenko also argues about the absence of nutrition information about the food. I agree with Zinczenko. However, Zinczenko could also have examined the issue of fast food advertisements, mention some benefits