“This year Americans will spend over $110 billion on fast food more than they'll spend on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music combined.” (Fast Food Nation, 2002). Everyone knows that fast food is bad for you, but millions of people continue to eat it. McDonalds, arguably one of the most successful and well-known restaurants, has stores in 113 different countries and has opened almost 34,000 locations around the world. Why is it that they have managed to obtain this much success? It is common knowledge that fast food is incredibly unhealthy, yet people seem indifferent to the harm they are doing to their bodies. Fast food is not only unhealthy; it can be deadly, contributing highly to heart disease and stroke cases across America. Fast food is a combination of substances that are okay to eat in moderation, but incredibly harmful when eaten all the time. Fast food is harmful due to the high fat content of most items on the menu, the sodium content, and the sugar content.
The large big mac combo meal is advertised as a smart and money-conscientious decision, but is it really? Yes, money is saved, but at what cost. The fat in one big mac meal is equal to 83% of the recommended daily intake. The calories in a big mac meal are equal to 66% of your daily intake, and the fat makes up many of those calories. Unless someone was preparing for a marathon, it is hard to see why anyone would consume more than just one of these a day, but they do. Across America, thousands of people eat McDonalds or other fast food restaurants for nearly every meal. This is not only doing a number on their weight, but their hearts as well. A big contributor to high blood pressure is sodium and boy, does fast food have a lot of that...
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Harris, W. (n.d.). Top 10 most common ingredients in fast food. Retrieved from http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/10-ingredients-fast-food.htm Lee, M. (2012). Statistics of health risks from eating fast food. Retrieved from http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/statistics-health-risks-eating-fast-food-3290.html Schlosser, E. (2002, January 31). Americans are obsessed with fast food: The dark side of the all-american meal. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/americans- are-obsessed-with-fast-food-the-dark-side-of-the-all-american-meal/ Stossel, R. (2009, January 06). Why you should avoid fast food at all costs. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/025241_food_fast_meat.html
White, J. (2013, Ferbruary 22). Why fast food is bad for you. Retrieved from
http://janicewhite.hubpages.com/hub/why-fast-food-is-bad-for-you
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Common sense seems to dictate that fast food is bad for you, however, many Americans consume fast food on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. In “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that fast-food companies and the food industry are to blame for America’s obesity epidemic, essentially that it is not the individuals fault for becoming obese, and that in essence, fast-food companies ought to take responsibility for the health issues induced by consuming the food. He explains how bombarded you are with unhealthy, greasy, and fattening food everywhere you look; whereas it is much more difficult to access healthy alternatives. He describes the vicious cycle of purchasing cheap ailing meals, rather
Fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. Everywhere you turn you can see a fast food restaurant. An industry that modestly began with very few hot dog and hamburger vendors now has become a multi-international industry selling its products to paying customers. Fast food can be found anywhere imaginable. Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-through, at stadiums, airports, schools all over the nation. Surprisingly fast food can even be found at hospital cafeterias. In the past, people in the United States used to eat healthier and prepared food with their families. Today, many young people prefer to eat fast food such as high fat hamburgers, French-fries, fried chicken, or pizza in fast
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...
For example, a bundle at McDonald’s can feed up to four people at one time, and it only costs about fifteen dollars! So, in the long run, it is just easier to go pick up some fast food rather than wasting your time cooking an actual meal. Lastly, even though fast food is very cheap and in every corner, it is not healthy at all. Studies have proven that a person that ate McDonald’s for his meals for a full month ended up having some serious health problems. In conclusion, even though it is very easy to access and very cheap, fast food has some serious health issues and is very harmful.
Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve eaten at a fast food restaurant before. Maybe the tables were sticky, or chicken was suspiciously white, but the fries tasted great, so I’d overlook the less enjoyable aspects of my experience. After reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, I understand that isn’t an option anymore. In ways both big and small, the fast food industry exerts a ridiculous amount of power over the American consumer, and it’s imperative that this be understood, should any impactful changes be made. As it stands now, the fast food industry is in dire need of reform, as it poses innumerable health and societal risks to the country and the world.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Schlosser, E. (2004). Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal (first ed., Rev.). New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Millions of American people buy fast food every day without thinking about where, how and why. The ramifications of fast food is impacting the American people both around the waist line and the community where they live at. “As the old saying goes: you are what you eat.” (Schlosser) The customer have made the choices to eat fast food or not. The industry doesn’t care about the customers; studies have shown that the fast food industry is the reason for the rise of American obesity. “Live fast and die young” (Moore); this could not be more true when looking at the impact of the fast food industry.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
McDonalds chicken nuggets were my favorite meal as a kid. Theres nothing like getting a free toy and some greasy food. However, I 've gotten older and my palette has changed. As a kid I struggled with obesity and fast food was a major contributor. I now live in an area where fast food is really not an option. On the other hand, some Americans only option is fast food.
Fast food is widely considered a hallmark of American culture, but has spread worldwide. In a society where everyone is always on the go, the fast food industry has persuaded people to give up quality in favor of artificially-enhanced taste and drive thru convenience. Experts often blame fast food for obesity and related health problems. By using advancing kitchen technology to move towards efficient large-scale production rather than increased quality, the fast food industry has created lower quality food, forced lower standards of taste, and has caused adverse health effects in it’s consumers.
Nevertheless, some people insist that fast foods, such as chips, hamburgers and fizzy drinks, that are so cheap and tasty, are not a consequence of the health problems. However, I strongly disagree that fast food has no bad impact on people’s health. I believe that fast food has a negative impact on society and, therefore, people must take care of themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle if they do not want to face serious problems with their
Fast food is popular in America. In fact, one of America’s nicknames is “fast food nation,” (“Healthy” par. 1). It is quick and only takes a short amount of time to get the food. There are so many fast food restaurants in the world. Every corner people turn, there is another McDonald’s or a popular fast food restaurant. What people do not know about this easy way of eating is how unhealthy fast food really is. Quick food does not mean nutritious food. However, many Americans debate whether fast food restaurants should be required to show the nutrition in their food.
Is fast food to blame for the growing obesity in America? Obesity affects more than half of the population. With so many Americans gaining weight and so many health problems the matter has to be addressed. There is no one would argue that obesity, especially the children is considered a problem. In any case the cause of childhood obesity is fought about daily. Many people will say that fast food restaurants are to blame. In my research, I will explain the argument that who is to blame for the obesity in America: fast food restaurants or common laziness from the obese society.