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More handpicked essays just for you.
Should government have a say in our diets? introduction
Should government have a say in our diets? introduction
Should government have a say in our diets? introduction
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Helping America? Imagine a place where one would be controlled by their government. Many people could see this as a vast opportunity to stop obesity. However, this could be detrimental to people where food play’s a big role in one’s life. The government shouldn’t control how much we eat because it would affect the holidays, it would ruin restaurants, and it will affect athletes. In the holiday’s it’s about family time and eating delicious food made by your family. Limiting one’s diet would change people’s yearly life and holidays would be forever changed. For example, Thanksgiving is a holiday known for eating until one is stuffed with turkey and other family traditional foods. Halloween would be no more since candy is too sugary. Kids across the U.S. would throw a fit to their parents, which would cause a parent to feel guilty. All in all, these are American traditions so why change America and focus on the bigger picture. In the “Education Level and Obesity” study it showed that people with less of an education were least likely to be fat (“Education Level and Obesity”). Why would that be? Big companies like McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s are the bigger picture. Selling burgers for a dollar each and still making profit seems ridiculous. Adding on, when big …show more content…
Could you handle having your favorite restaurant modified into something different? Sam Kazon, general counsel for the competitive Enterprise Institute said that if calorie counts don’t work on menus than the government will tell restaurants to take further action. Of course the government is going to change how much one can eat, now restaurants will be told what food they bring out. Furthermore, a great number of people in the U.S. passion is making food, by limiting their ideas can cause depression in a great chef’s mind. Ideas for food just wouldn’t be as creative and tasty since they can only work with healthy foods that the government regulates them
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans over eat because their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation and putting a stop on it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised more to help prevent American obesity.
Obesity is very common in America, around 66% of American adults are overweight and nearly 33% are obese, which leads to heart disease, cancer, stroke and many other illness. Furthermore, the consume of fast food is in my opinion one of the worst decisions we can make, the food may be cheaper but it leads directly to overweight problems, and it not only damages our bodies but they undermine local business, farmers, and in the process they support they massive slaughter of animals. Ms. Lappe states “…modern livestock production has steered away toward the industrial-style production to highly destructive overgrazing “(858).By consuming food from fast food industries we support the destruction of lands, and the poor conditions in which the animals we consume are suffering. Moreover, changing from consuming fast food to healthier food is in my opinion a transition every individual should make since we cannot keep supporting the companies that literally destroy our world and our body with our
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.
Radley Balko, The author of the essay “What You Eat is Your Business”, would agree that in order to stop obesity, we must turn this public problem around and make it everyone’s individual responsibility. Instead of inflicting the importance of personal ownership, government officials, politicians and congress make obesity a public problem by prohibiting junk food in school vending machines, federal funding for new bike trails and sidewalks, and restrictive food marketing to children. Overall I agree that this manipulation of food options is not the proper way to fight obesity, however, I think that government should inform people about the food they are eating because then they have no excuses for not taking responsibility of the actions.
As a market failure, the obesity epidemic in America is costing the federal government billions of dollars annually. While most obesity prevention programs aim toward changing the rate of children who become obese, many fail, causing an inefficient allocation of government resources. Much of what 's already been done has proven to barely be a speed bump in the progression that is the obesity epidemic. Several solutions which can be explored to effective halt this progression. The taxation of certain unhealthy foods, government benefits and subsidies for organic produce farmers, and passing new legislation to regulate the amount of calories a fast food restaurant is allowed to serve you, just to name a few. These solutions, however, are only effective if they affect the lives of the majority of the population, therefore preventing obesity, whilst correctly allocating valuable government resources efficiently. ...
If the government is slowly trying to slim down American’s, would not give society the right to control their diets. Therefore this makes it easier for them to get into more aspects of their lives. For instance, “The broader issue is this firmly establishes the government’s role in improving the nation’s nutrition,”(Brownell). This statement shows that they are slowly changing the way Americans eat and could possibly change more.
Policies implemented by the government have the potential to greatly impact the issues faced by Americans because of their food. One of the most serious epidemics to face Americans is obesity; a direct result of a lack of access to healthy, whole produce. The government has several options in solving this problem including food taxes, public education programs, and mandatory physical education in schools. A food tax on items high in process ingredients and low in nutrients should have a higher tax than whole foods. Much like the Cigarette Tax, a Processed Food Tax will persuade consumers to shy away from these nutrient-void foods and incorporate more healthy foods into their diet. Another solution to combating obesity is a series of public educational programs. By educating the public and even kids in school on the difference between processed and whole foods, individuals will be better able to distinguish between beneficial and non-beneficial foods. And finally, the most attention grabbing policy the United States government should be enacting is mandatory physical education. Including, but not limited to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, the government should require mandatory physical education classes in schools because they found increased PE time raised the amount of time students were exercising or "engaged in strength-building activities" but lowered the amount of time spent in
One billion people are starving to death worldwide while another one billion are gorging to death(C). Many more people are becoming overweight in first world countries, especially those such as Canada where obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980(C). While some countries such as Japan or the Netherlands are improving because of their government’s involvement, the Government of Canada continually does nothing to stop or prevent the increase of obesity nationwide. And while the government and the large food corporations it controls are the main issue surrounding obesity, the general public is just as well to blame for not taking action. Furthermore, the effect obesity has on the healthcare system and the economy as a whole is devastating,
Obesity has been a major predicament in the American society. The government has been trying to find ways in reducing the percentage of those who are obese.However many citizens disagree with the involvement of the government in our food diets. Naturally there will still be government codifications on our nutrition although there should not be because those regulations such as posting calories, banning certain foods and drinks and usage of posters is not beneficial.
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.
Here in the United States, the government has a great deal of influence and say in the way in which people live their daily lives. Everything from the things said on a cell phone to sites searched on the Internet to the laws by which everyone must abide, to say that the government has a fairly decent hold on Americans’ civil liberties would be an understatement. Yes, there is a certain level of freedom here that is not found elsewhere in the world, but there is still quite a bit of government intrusion. Therefore, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the next step in the government’s desire to exact some level of control and order on American society is through the food on people’s plates. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the levels of obesity among adults have risen from 13% in 1960 to 34% in 2008. In fact, it is predicted that by 2030, 42 percent of Americans will be obese and roughly 11 percent will be morbidly obese, which means they are carrying more than 100 pounds of excess weight (Marlow, 2012). .
A great deal of people tend to believe it’s the government responsibility to help people fight obesity. In 2012, the mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg took a huge step to help fight obesity and received a vast amount of criticism and some praise for doing so. Mayor Bloomberg pushed through a ban that prohibited the sale of sugary drinks above 16 ounces (Wall Street Journal). Many people felt as if the ban took away their freedom of choice, but the ban only prohibited the ban of sugary drinks over 16 ounces. In this case, people can buy as many sugary drinks as they want, but none of them will be over 16 ounces. Dr. Michael Tanner stated in the Wall Street Journal that “there should be no doubt that government policies contribute to the obesity epidemic in this country.” Government policies have contributed to the obesity epidemic in a few
We, as society have the tendency to blame the government for all kinds of issues; however, with all the best of intentions, the government is an institution, and institutions are not families. Radley Balko, a policy analyst with the libertarian Cato Institute, argues that “obesity never should have been a public health issue at all. Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health & well-being” (Tartamella, Herscher, & Woolstoon, 2004).
The article stated, “The government has no right, opponents contend, to curtail the food industry’s freedom and consumer choice, through measures like calorie posting requirements and soda taxes” ("Diet and Obesity" par. 9). I strongly agree. Just like it is stated in the Constitution, Americans have a list of rights. The freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the freedom of petition are a few examples. Does the freedom to eat need to be included? No, because citizens already have the right to choose what they want to eat. There are no laws that say people have to eat a specific kind of food. What people are allowed to eat should be left as a personal decision. If someone chooses to eat unhealthy, they can either choose to be fat or exercise and maintain good health. It, again, is completely up to
Therefore, they feel that government at all levels must try to control their diets. This control means trying to direct people to eat a certain way or expressly prohibiting or banning the consumption of certain foods.” As time progresses it is becoming more difficult for Americans to be able to eat healthier and it may become necessary for government to become more involved in our diet but Zinczenko and Haygood both agree in their articles that obesity is happening more in rural communities because there are not may healthier choices that are offered around them and also the inflation on health food but it is also up to us as consumers to know when to