Hamburgers and Ground Beef
Each individual in America has a goal he or she wants to accomplish. Whether it’s to purchase a new car or a huge home, it’s a goal wanted to be reached. However with the amount of fast food that Americans eat today, they will have a hard time accomplishing these goals because of the obesity or even disease they’ll have from the fast food. One major fast food that we like to eat while on the go is hamburgers. If it’s breakfast we grab a burger, if it’s lunch we grab a burger and even when it’s dinner we will grab a burger and might throw in some fires and a huge soda to go with it. Hamburgers are one of the leading causes of obesity and disease catching food.
In the Bio Analogics article it states that nearly two-thirds of residents of United States are overweight, and since 1991 the incidence of obesity has risen from 12 percent to more than 25 percent. This is due to the amount of junk food and burgers, we ate daily. To see if I am also one of these fast food consuming eaters, I composed a diary of what I eat daily and I discovered that within my weekly schedule, that’s between school and work- I eat hamburgers at least three times a week. I ate these burgers not just from one place, I ate them from four different places. The first one I ate was at In-and-Out. The second one was at Fuddruckers. The fourth day I had one in McDonalds and on the sixth day in which my friends and I went to Applebee’s after work and I still had the nerve to order a hamburger even when there were other items on the menu.
Hamburgers come from ground beef, which in reality if you consume a couple of hamburgers per month, it won’t harm you, but it states in ConsumerReports.org, “Americans show their affection for ground beef and burgers by consuming approximately 30 pounds of ground beef per person per year. Ground beef's saturated fat can contribute to heart disease, and the bacteria it sometimes harbors can sicken or kill someone who eats beef that is not cooked thoroughly.” With this information available to Americans daily, we still do consume the ground beef and even have the nerve to tell ourselves and our friends that we plan to cut back on it any day now.
Fast food, while a quick alternative to cooking, has always been known to be less healthy than traditional preparations, but the extent of its health benefits or detriments was not known until a lawsuit came out which inspired documentarian Morgan Spurlock to engage in a 30 day experiment. The resultant documentary specifically targeted McDonald’s, the largest fast food chain in the world, which also happens to be a major recipient of lawsuits linking obesity and their food. Spurlock endeavored to spend a thirty day period eating nothing but food that came from the golden arches, with the rules that he would supersize only when asked, and every time he was asked, and that he would have everything from the menu at least once. In the 2004 film Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock explores the concept that McDonald’s contributes to the nation’s obesity problem through the utilization of statistics and scientific evidence as a logical appeal, comedy and repulsive qualities as an emotional appeal, and s...
Throughout the United States many American’s go through and eat at fast food places such as, McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack ‘n the Box. Mainly unaware of the amount of weight one can gain if consuming it on a daily bases or even two times week, can cause health issues, diabetes and possibly obesity. This was the main premise for writer Dave Zinczenko essay Don’t Blame the Eater, who makes an argument that many people are becoming obese and diabetic because of the fast food they eat. He asks a regarding his concern; Shouldn 't we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?, As a way to engage the general public, like parents and teenagers, he expresses his argument through his own experience when he was a teenager eating at fast food places and information on the fast food industry in regards to how many calories are in the food.
In today's society, organic food is a giant new thing in which food is produced without any chemicals. In other words, the product must be 100 percent natural. A major food source of the American people is meat, and the way that it is produced today is a major issue. In feedlots, where cattle are fed grain to grow before being slaughtered, the conditions are terrible and horrifying. Cattle are confined to a limited amount of space and not allowed to roam freely. Also in these cattle growing yards, the risk of disease is much higher in these animals than out on the open range grazing on the grass. Beef critics say that there are no cattle breeds that posses the amounts of marbling present to make a good steak. It is a true statement to say that these critics are very indeed wrong. Also, Many people also do not know that that the meat from cattle that are fed grain, is high in fat content and has too much marbling. Grass-fed beef is much leaner than grain-fed beef, has less fats, and is produced all naturally. Therefore, grass-fed beef is much healthier and safer to eat than grain-fed beef.
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
Fast food restaurants in America can be located on almost every street corner in almost every city. The enticing aroma of a burger and fries can be found at several locations in nearly every city, town, or suburb. According to Alaina Mcconnel, the 5 most popular fast food restaurants of 2011 are McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, Wendy’s and Burger King (Mcconnell, A., & Bhasin, K., 2012). Fast food joints have a ruthless history of being fattening, greasy, and unhealthy with films like Super-Size me and Food Inc. giving the...
In 1997, approximately 35 million pounds of ground beef was recalled by Hudson Foods because a strain of E. Coli was found in the food. However, by the time the beef was recalled, 25 million pounds had already been eaten. Schlosser notes that the nature of food poisoning is changing. Prior to the rise of large meatpacking plants, people would become ill from bad food in small, localized arenas. Now, because meat is distributed all over the nation, an outbreak of food poisoning in one town may indicate a nationwide epidemic.
We have all seen those advertisements that show glorious looking hamburgers that look like they are simply exploding with tasty goodness, but how many times has our food actually looked like the advertisement? In my experience, that number is zero. These advertisements are meant to trick our minds into thinking fast food is much better than it is in reality. Although, this argument could be made about just about any company in this age of brand personification, but just because other companies do this does not mean its ethically sound. In addition to that, fast food is an item that is potentially harmful to ones health
Obesity in America is directly due to the fast food industry. From the rising mortality’s among people who are obese from fast food. To even the preservatives fast food chains use within their food. Not only have that calorie’s people intake from these restaurants even been miss looked. While people may think they can overcome the urge, fast food chains exclusively use addictive’s in their products to hook people from day one of use. Healthy lifestyles among society have been misled by the very fast food chains, which state their “healthy”. With that said, emotional issues even come to play when involving a human’s appetite to fast food. Even beverages sold at these fast food chains exceed the normal limit of sugar a healthy being should consume. Even America’s view point on serving sizes of meals served at these fast food chains goes way beyond a healthy lifestyle that everyone wants.
Not only will you gain weight, you will have higher risks for chronic diseases, and there are many things that come from eating these foods that are high in fat, salt, calories and sugars. One of the things you can get from eating fast food too often is Obesity. In America, the obesity rates are higher than ever. With obesity comes many other risks. Stanford Health Care has written an article, “ Obesity Causes” proves the many negative effects that comes with obesity. The article states, “ Obesity has a far-ranging negative effect on health. Each year obesity-related conditions cost over 150 billion dollars and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US. The health effects associated with obesity include, but are not limited to, the following: Heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bone and joint disease. ” ( Stanford Health Care ). All three of the diseases listed above are life threatening and have many negative effects that make day to day life much harder than it should be. With knowing these things and it being a problem is that hamburger really worth the repercussions that can come with it? These diseases need to be made known to the general public so they will think before making fast food a daily
According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, "Fast food has had an enormous impact not only on our eating habits but on our economy, our culture, and our values"(3). According to Roni Rabin on any given day, about one quarter of U.S. adults visit a fast-food restaurant. The typical American now eats about three hamburgers each week (2). Schlosser also writes that “thirty years ago Americans spent about six billion dollars annually on fast food. In the year 2000 they spent over one-hundred and ten billion dollars, more than on higher education, personal computers, or new cars (3). The reality of fast food is regarding the spreading and feeding of illness and disease; as well as the inhumane treatment of animals through modern meat farming practices. Our society imagines images of happy animals living on farms where the cows graze in lush green fields and the chickens run around as they please. This vision of free-roaming animals living out their days in sunny fields is very far from the reality. A majority of the animals that are raised for food live miserable lives in dark and overcrowded facilities. These facilities are commonly called "factory farms"(Maguire 5).
One out of every three Americans is obese, and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food has become a big necessity.
Jeremy Rifkin’s book, Beyond Beef, is an indictment against the cattle culture that has come to shape our world. America’s obsession with beef has led to increased hunger, disease and environmental destruction. Rifkin, without a doubt, is anti beef and with painstaking verisimilitude attempts to shed light on the horrific conditions which are brought about by the entire industry. Furthermore, his book is somewhat of a continuity of Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle, the first attempt made at exposing the exploitations of the meat slaughtering industry.
Today’s medical experts say that avoiding meat helps you avoid saturated fat. They have found out from studies that women who eat meat daily have a fifty percent greater risk of developing heart disease than vegetarian women and a sixty-eight percent greater risk in men (staff writer). People may not know about serious diseases meat can cause such as, mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease. In the September 1999 issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases, approximately 76 million food-borne illnesses- resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths occur in the United States each year from improperly cooked or diseased meat (Licher). That is a lot of fun!
Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy foods, more and more Americans are developing health diseases and disorders. We should be getting the correct daily nutrition amount, but because of our fast paced lifestyles we sometimes do not have enough time. Fast food restaurants make it possible to grab a meal and go. We often do not pay attention to the nutrition amount, but are simply looking for a quick bite to eat that will fulfill our hunger. Fast food is assisting in the increase of obesity in America (“Phrase” par.2).
Meat is a coroner stone to the majority of American’s diets. I would venture to say the majority of American’s eat meat for their three meals a day. Eating meat isn’t all bad, it actually brings a good source of protein to one’s diet, in a moderate amount. In 2012 a study was done and found that the U.S. total meat consumption was 52.1 billion pounds. That comes out to be 270.7 pounds per person. We still eat more meat than just about any other country, besides Luxembourg (A Nation of Meat Eaters). Eating red meat is bad for humans because of the negative health effects, the environmental issues it causes, and the inhumane treatment of the animals.