“Effects of Food on Your Health, Who is Responsible?” As consumers, we like to believe that the information we are told is truthful and unbiased however, this is not always the case in relation to the fast food industry. In his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko builds a convincing argument by using logical reasoning that fast food companies should be more truthful with their caloric content. Zinczenko also uses this logical reasoning to show how ease of access and family structure can affect fast food consumption. However, Zinczenko’s use of hasty generalizations and cause and effect fallacies render his argument unconvincing overall.
Zinczenko provides a sound example of how easily one can be misled by the fast food company
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Zinczenko uses information from the National Institutes of Health stating that “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder”. While reading this statement one must ask, what significance does 1994 have on the increase in Type 2 diabetes? As well as how does this date support Zinczenko’s theory that fast food influences Type 2 diabetes when McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants have been around since well before 1994. In addition, Zinczenko uses another statistic to support his claim that “Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country” (242). One reason Zinczenko’s argument is invalid is because he neglects to take into consideration the varying reasons that Type 2 diabetes rates could go up. For example, children may not be getting enough exercise or eating poor meals at home. In addition, only 30 percent of new childhood cases of diabetes in America are Type 2, which means that 70 percent of these childhood cases are genetically related. Although these statistics are unsettling, we cannot solely blame the fast food industry for the rise in Type 2 diabetes. In the final analysis, Zinczenko is ineffective in arguing fast food’s cause of childhood illness by using an argument with a missing claim and a cause and effect
There has been withstanding controversy about whether fast food is easier on the pocket than eating home-cooked meals. Take McDonald’s for instance, they’re notorious for their convenient and affordable dollar and value menus. Since you can get a burger for just $1.19, feeding a family of four should be inexpensive right? Mark Bittman, author of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” argues otherwise. He claims that fast food is not at all cheaper than buying a few groceries and cooking at home. He expresses the different myths about fast food like how it is supposedly cheaper than real food when measured by the calorie, the mentality of people that if it isn’t fast food, it has to be costly organic food, and that there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. These myths followed by genuine factors such as addictions and a cultural impact, help Bittman prove his argument’s validity across to his audience. I have to say that Bittman proved his argument’s effectiveness, for he clearly stated his thesis and provided various reliable
First Zinczenko starts off with stating how kids are suing fast food restaurant and how parents are outraged. He explains how he has been in there shoes, growing up with split parents is not always easy. He started to put on weight; thankfully, he joins the navy in college. In where he learns to manage his diet. Throughout the reading he points fingers at the company more and more. According to Zinczenko, “There are no calorie information charts on fast food packaging, the way there are on grocery items” (Zinczenko,463).In other words, Zinczenko believes, fast food restaurants should label their food; he compares them to how grocery items have nutrional
He begins by saying that while it may seem easy to avoid fast food and eat relatively balanced meals, it is easier to fall victim to than you may assume, based on life circumstances. His mother, for example, had custody of him after his parent’s divorce and was too busy working to provide for him to have time to shop for and prepare healthy meals. “Advertisements don 't carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do. Prepared foods aren 't covered under Food and Drug Administration labeling laws. Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand.” is an example Zinczenko gives that even though consumers often times know fast food is bad for your body, but not to the full magnitude. These companies find loopholes to justify projecting calorie/content information that is either insufficient or perplexing enough that you would be forced to go to great lengths to uncover exactly how many calories are actually in your meal. Another one of his main points is the lack of alternative options. With a McDonalds on every corner and a busy schedule, it is almost inevitable to choose a drive thru burger rather than going into a grocery store to buy something you then later have to go through the trouble of preparing, especially for
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.
“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.
Zinczenko’s argument summed up is that fast food restaurants are to blame for America’s obesity issues. He gives statistics that go over childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes, diabetes cost of health care in the United States, and the number of McDonalds restaurants in the United states. The only thing that Zinczenko suggests to change is that he wants all fast food restaurants to post nutritional information, and he
Zinczenko shares his personal story about how fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s led to a weight problem during his high-school years. He claims that the ease of accessibility and lack of healthy alternatives make it all too easy to fall into the cycle of unhealthy eating. Zinczenko also contends that the lack of nutrition labels on fast-food products leaves the consumer in the dark about what he or she is actually consuming. At the time Zinczenko wrote his article, fast-food restaurants were not willingly disclosing nutritional values of their products. Today this has changed. Fast-food companies, including McDonald’s, have put the full nutritional information of their products directly on the packaging and wrappers. All other fast-food establishments either post it on the menu board (Panera), offer easy access to pamphlets containing all nutritional information of their menu in store, or have it easily accessible online (Taco Bell, KFC). I am sure that this is a helpful step forward toward educating the public as to what they are consuming, but has this new knowledge to consumers had a dramatic change toward ending obesity? No. People have always known that eating a Big Mac and fries with the giant soft drinks that McDonald’s and other chains offer is not healthy; putting the nutritional labels on these items has done little to nothing to stop people from eating these high-calorie meals. This again leads back to the point that people as consumers need to be more accountable to themselves and stop blaming others for what they willingly choose to put in their
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.
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...
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 ...
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
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.
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.
In this article “Fast Food and Personal Responsibility” (2003) which was written by Ninos P. Malek, Malek tries to argue and show people that it’s not entirely the fast food industries’ fault that people are obese or sick . He argues using 3 different supporting examples; first he says that, “High school students blaming their poor diets on school cafeteria” (Malek, 2003, p.309). Most student tend do that, but actually most cafeterias sell healthy and unhealthy food but people always need something to blame and never hold themselves the responsibility for their own action, secondly he says that no one is putting people under gun point to make them buy fast food (2003, p.309). That’s actually true but still he forgot to mention the fact that they are trying to brain wash people into buying their food through their erroneous advertisements. Third and last Malek tries to compare smoking to fast food, because back then tobacco companies were sued too for almost the same reason which is about health. Malek’s argument was precise because people need to learn to take responsibility for their own actions and should know that when they buy fast food they are weighing their own costs and benefits. But he didn’t show the immoral and unethical things the fast food industries were doing by using erroneous advertisements. The fast food industries shouldn’t be held accountable for this because everyone has a freedom of choice and they can choose whether to eat it or no.
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