Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
T,R 11:15am
30 comments:
Wilmer Almendares
said...
Cheap Food, High Price. The United States continue to be the largest consumer of goods and services across the world. The rise in food related diseases continue to grow due to sub-standard in raising animals for consumption, bad eating habits, and lack of exercise. The solutions are so simple and yet hard to accomplish. Animals are raised at alarming rates and fed drugs to increase bulk them in a manner to produce more. The consumption of goods and services is controlled by consumers, it begins with us. Consumers have the ability to dictate to producers of wanted goods and the amounts to be produced. Deciding on avoiding fast food restaurants and cooking healthier food will begin the process. Engaging in an exercise program becomes influential in reshaping the way you consume foods. Lobbyists and the media will forever manipulate and present incorrect data to the consumer about the foods we eat. Medical examinations are a great method for establishing a base line to determine health issues that arise from foods that are consumed. Perhaps the mirror may be more ideal?
Cheap Food The reality is that it’s cheaper (economically) and convenient to eat Mc. Donald’s than it is to eat organic or kosher. The reason is simple there is a larger demand for fast food in this country, than there is for healthy food. I feel that the way of living in America is a contributing factor, the life here is fast pace and people just don’t have the time to cook and eat a healthy meal with their families. It’s much easier and less time consuming to drive up to the window, order, and eat on your way. It’s unfortunate that this is the reality for many Americans, but the only way we can change this is by investing time and money in our school system and educating children from an early age of the harms of eating fast food and the benefits of exercising and eating healthy. There also has to be an emphasis on eating home cooked meals as a family at home; after all that’s where it all starts. As long as consumers continue to make Mc. Donald’s one of the riches fast food restaurants in the world they will continue to feed us with cheap, hormone infested animals. In the end all they care about is making money, not making us healthier.
The cheap food companies have to produce everything in large amounts. So they are going to make the food with the cheapeast supplies to save money. People are still going to go to the cheap food places because most dont have the time to cook and its more convient to drive a couple blocks and order a number 2. Thats why America is the most obese nation in the world. Because are diets consist of fats.
Major fast foods restaurants offer meals that are surprisingly cheap. This brings up questions like, how are they selling their food at such a low price? Do they even make any profit selling it so cheap? The answers to these questions bring a dark side that the fast food restaurant corporations tend to cover from the public. The majority of these animals are in poor conditions that would be considered sickening by most people. They are bunched up in small area between others, covered in their own waste for a long time, to then be slaughtered in a torturous way that most would call it inhuman. Animals are often given growth hormones that increase their growth wait dramatically. For example the chickens “KFC” cooks are given growth hormones, the chicken grow at such a fast rate that they become immobile and often break their own legs because they are not able to sustain their own weight. Some die and those that survive are in horrendous conditions and are sent to the slaughter house. At the end, the food is processed at taken to the restaurants. The food consumed may taste great for the price, but it will really cost one’s own health in the end. The majority of the fast foods meats are actually a lower quality than most dog food, Possibly filled with diseases or even parasites if not cooked well (which has happened many times). In the end it will all depend on us, the consumers. In my opinion , with such a demand it seems there will not be any changes for a while.
The Great Cost of Cheap Fast Foods. Fast foods franchises are well known for being extreme capitalists. They want to get the highest profit with the "cheapest" expense. They get this low price combo meals by speeding and over-producing their organic products. The meat which we eat is taken off animals that are fed by hormone injected food so they can grow faster. So why do we eat this? Most people in the United states live a fast life, so their food must be fast as well. People don't have time to cook, so why not buy a Mcdonalds value meal and you save a couple bucks? We are brainwashed by the media to consume on a daily basis these products with slogans as "I'm loving it." United states needs to be shake off the drug snoozing propaganda and learn what kinds of stuff they are putting inside their bodies. Because as long as we are don't know the errors of the past, we are doomed to do them again.
It’s not only the advertisement that makes us eat the fast food. It’s easy, it’s convenient, it’s cheap, and it’s of course fast. Should we eat it? No we shouldn’t, but we’ll do it anyways. Don’t get me wrong, kids these days are deprived of the childhood activity that we all once had. They sit at home and play their Nintendo DS instead baseball and street hockey. Eating fast food after sitting on your butt all day isn’t the best way to go. As for how they’re killing the animals and all that, their process is a shame and truly saddening. We do not realize how unhealthy things are for us and how disturbing the transactions really are until we see it firsthand. It’s a shame and there should be changes. Some lightening up with the fast food would be preferred.
Americans do have bad eating habits. However, I think the problem here has more to do with the food industries. The government should not permit such massive animal productions. Small farmers have no way of competing with companies that are mass producing our foods, and using barbarian and salvage methods for completing the high demand of product to make the most profit possible. If smaller companies such as family owned farms had a better chance of profit, maybe the high demand of animal products including ham and bacon, would be produced in a better environment.
Americans do have bad eating habits. However, I think the problem here has more to do with the food industries. The government should not permit such massive animal productions. Small farmers have no way of competing with companies that are mass producing our foods, and using barbarian and salvage methods for completing the high demand of product to make the most profit possible. If smaller companies such as family owned farms had a better chance of profit, maybe the high demand of animal products including ham and bacon, would be produced in a better environment.
The country that we call our home, is a true powerhouse not only in sports, but especially in deaths per year. Most Americans receive an image by the media and the news that crime is the main killer in our society, which it isn't by far. Indeed, crime is actually the smallest contributor to death in America. The Number one death rate in the USA origins from heart disease victims, whose deadly illness is caused by obesity. Strokes, and cancer are the ones to follow. So why is obesity such an issue which we daily have to fight with? Well, let's begin with saying that our food habits are disastrous. We have no true food culture anymore, instead the youth of today and tomorrow is being taught to eat fast food. We live in a fast paced world, and often many of us cannot find the time to cook, so what do we do, we buy ourselves a nice and big burger from the next by fast food restaurant. This is one part of the problem. Another major key factor is that our generation and the upcoming one was never taught how to cook, make healthy meals, or even know which foods include the necessary nutrients for our body without killing us. I saw a video once of a TED presentation, where a man called Jamie Oliver, who is a well known cook from England,spoke about the horrifying reality that over two thirds of all Americans have to face, obesity. He strongly believes, and I am one of his supporters, that one of the most important steps towards fighting this preventable issue is improving the lunch menu in American schools. Statistics say that over 30 million kids eat at school, which includes breakfast and lunch, for about 180 days of the year. What are they being served? Pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, milk filled with added sugars, and the list goes on. As we can see the school lunch is part of the daily menu of many children and therefore there has to be made a major change to make it healthier. Another so simple seeming but yet so brilliant idea that my British friend came up with was that the schools should start introducing a nutrition/health class in the curriculum of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools. I totally agree with his idea, and the earlier these kids learn how to eat healthy the better. Supermarkets should have a person responsible of informing and helping the customer in choosing the healthy and nutrition rich foods that we need for our daily diet. Fast food chains will change their menu and make it healthier once they notice that people are not buying their in grease and fat soaked burgers and french fries anymore. We are shortening the life span of our children by at least 20 years, if not more.We have to begin understanding that every one of us can truly make a significant impact on preventing the early deaths of millions of people, not only in America but all over the world. The foundation for change can be created through education.
Our country is aware of the fact that obesity is taking over the majority of the people. This is a fact that is being fought from many angles. However, the biggest reason our country is losing the fight against obesity is that big corporations are not about the people but about the money. It is a simple rule of business. One should reduce expenses to increase revenue. Even though some big corporations try to show the country that they are doing something to help, those changes in their food are merely “shows for the eye” to reduce criticism. Raisin the standards on the food the sale and how they cook the food would create great expense corporations are not willing to take. This being said, it is our responsibility, the consumer, to take action and really understand the consequences of fast food in our lives. From the base that supports our society, family, we need to educate our children on having good eating habits. Once again, my whole comment is based on educating the children so we do not have to punish the adult.
McDonald, Burger King, Checker's, and many other food franchises are Capitalistic. The problem does not lie within the company but more so in the people. The United States is a fast pace life style and because of that factor we tend to rely on these fast food industries to supply us with quick and cheap food for the moment being. This is a supply and demand culture as long as we continue consuming these unhealthy foods they will keep supplying. Unfortunately, animals are unable to reproduce fast enough, thus companies have resulted in these methods of drugs to increase the growth and development of these animals. As a result of these habits we have found several new diseases and it will carry on. Habits begin in the home and if children are educated about all these harmful goods that are integrated into their food products, there will be a higher likelihood to think twice before getting a Big Mac instead of steak and rice. The end result; these companies will not change the ingredients till government steps in and implement a new set of laws that will either remove all harmful growth hormones, or regulate the amount being supplemented into the animals.
We leave a life style that its more convenient to go to a fast food restaurant, order a meal and eat it in less than thirty minutes instead of go to a grocery store, buy the ingredients, and then go home to cook this will take at least an hour. we cannot take the luxury of spend more than a hour at lunch time; especially when some companies do not pay for that lunch time to its employees. Fast food restaurants provide great deals that can sound super convenient for most of us. Prices that can be afford for any person especially for large families that with less than twenty dollars can buy burgers and fries from the dollar menus instead of spend in the grocery store where a simple meal can cost up to fifty dollars. Unfortunately the healthier the products, the expensive they are. Organic products can be a great choice to substitute all those fast food products, but their market price is so high that it is almost impossible to a large family with low income to afford it.
It can be so difficult for Americans to blame themselves for this problem of obesity because of the way in which they are raised. Most of which see themselves as gods seeking to satisfy all the desires they have within (including ones that are not healthy). Living in an egocentric society that tells you to get as much as you can while you can makes it difficult for most people living in the U.S. to maintain a healthy life-style. One can understand that you get what you work for, but there is a disease going around called "lack of self control" and that gives birth to Obesity. Obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths a year, but I would rephrase that and go as far as saying that Americans are responsible enough within themselves to own-up to their own massacre. There are many ways to point the finger, we must start with ourselves.
Cheap Food Why do we do it? It pretty much has become the American lifestyle we want everything fast and cheap regardless of whether it is our food, or how are we run our industries. Most Americans don’t ask questions they don’t care where it comes from as long as it fulfills are needs; it has become sort of the norm in America. But the sad truth is many people don’t have the luxury of eating healthy. Organic and Kosher foods may be better but are also more expensive then the cheap unhealthy food and some people just don’t have the money to purchase the healthy food over the unhealthy food. What can be done though is stop the consumption of fast food from McDonalds to Kfc it may be quick and cheap but it is very poor quality food high in trans fat and calories. Parents should stop feeding this to their kids and try to break the habit it is much more economical to cook burgers at home for example. I think all parents should make an effort to try and teach their kids healthy eating habits and break bad ones that can be a big factor in trying to lower the obesity in America -Armando Guerrero
The way we eat has changed more in the last 5o years more than the previous 10,000. But the image is used to sell that food still the imagery of agrarian America. You go to the supermarkets and see pictures of farmers, the silo, the farm house, the green grass. If you follow the food chain back you would find a very different reality. The reality is a factory not a farm. The whole industrial food system began with fast food system. Mc Donald’s brought the factory system back to the kitchen. Mc Donald’s is the largest purchaser of ground beef in America, and they want they burger to taste everywhere exactly the same. They changed how ground beef been produced. The Mc Donald’s corporation is the largest purchaser of potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes, lettuce even apples. This big fast food chains want big suppliers and now they essentially a handful of companies controlling our food system. In the 1970 the top 5 companies controlled about 25% of the market, today the top 4 companies’ controls more than 80% of the market. Same thing happens with pork. Even if you don’t eat at a fast food restaurant, you are now eating meat that has been produced by the system. When you look at the labels in the market farmers this farmers that, but in reality only three or four companies are controlling the meat. How chickens are raised is entirely changed. Birds now are raised and slaughtered half the time then they were 50 ago but now they twice as big. People like to eat white meat so they redesigned the chicken to have large breast. In the meat isle there are no bones anymore, there is this deliberate curtain dropped between us and where the food is coming from. The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth what you are eating, because if you knew, you might not wanna eat it.
Cheap fast food is quickly becoming America’s solution to conveniently eating on a budget. It’s convenient because it requires no planning and is located everywhere. It takes little time from your day and is easy on the wallet. However, what might seem like a good choice today might not be the best choice for tomorrow. It’s actually ironic, that while we claim that we are saving time we are actually shortening our life span or compromising the quality of life we might have in the future. As a matter of fact, the leading causes of death in America are related to nutrition….Diabetes, Heart disease , Cancer, and Hypertension to name a few, are major health complications that at one point could have been eliminated or controlled. This problem is not being addressed and it’s only going to get worse! Many people simply need to be educated—How to read a food label? What should be your daily calorie intake? What health conditions are you genetically prone too? The list is endless. Another perception we have is that fast food is cheap; well I do admit that it is cheaper compared to other premade meals in restaurants but not to bulk groceries. For example, the average meal in McDonalds is approx. $7 (burger, fries, drink) so let’s say you eat lunch for a week that’s 7 x7= $49.00 with $49 dollars you can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. So in conclusion, the reality is that it does not save time or money we are simply lazy and ignorant (not all of us) and choose to eat fast food because it tastes good and we don’t care about anything else but our present.
A big part of the reason for why Americans keep consuming these these cheap foods that are harmful to our health is lack of education about what is really in our foods, the government's refusal to let us know, and everyone's own refusal to open their eyes and accept that they need to change their habits. I am a vegetarian and i try to keep a mostly organic fruit and vegetable filled diet. In my home i've been educated my mind has been opened to see what really is in all the things we eat and how harmful they are. I try to tell all those close to me and to help people to eat healthier but people don't want to open their eyes. It is because it's cheaper yes to buy fast food and it's easier to not have to worry about what you put in your body. Bottom line is that because everyone chooses to close their eyes now, tomorrow they will pay a high price for it tomorrow.
Yes it’s economically easier to choose fast-food but doesn’t your body and mental well being suffer in the end? From personal experience I know how easy it is to pull up, order and go. But why am I going to waste my time and effort at the gym if I'm just going to make horrible food choices later on? I think if people took more time to educate themselves nutrition wise they would see how simple it is to just take your time at the grocery store and pick cheap yet wholesome foods that they would later benefit from physically and economically. I find it ridiculous that the advertisement companies take so much time and effort to manipulate us and the young children of today to eat unhealthy. One thing my mom never liked to feed me was McDonalds and as I child I disliked that fact but now that I’m older I couldn’t praise her enough because I hate to eat there. So from personal experience I believe my healthy choices came from the way I was raised and personal well being to change the way I feel about “Big Companies” and consuming the crap they try to feed us.
Unfortunately, the United States food industry is run by very large corporations that are extremely greedy. They will do pretty much anything to make sure that they stay on top and continue to keep a "clean" name. This includes practices that most of the general population is not aware of. The mass production of all this meat we see everyday comes at a cost. Not only to us but to the animals as well. It is a problem that is getting worse and worse as time goes by. I have seen a documentary, called Food Inc., where there are farmers and activists rallying against the large corporations and that is a huge key in preventing this to continue on as it is right now. By cutting back on the fast food consumption and eating more healthier, in-season foods, the food industry in America would definitely see a change for the better. -Grant Kunkel
Ive had the opportunity to experience weight gain from consuming too much of this junk food to a total change in diet and excercise. People ask me how is it that you look and feel this way? I wonder sometimes too and I feel that its easy to sit on a couch and become obese and then not have the will to be concerned with the dire situation of your own health. You are what you eat. If there's any truth in the possibility of food effecting the process of further development in one's mental health then I think its a real threat to the future of our children ( when i say children I mean everyone's kids). Living a healthy lifestyle juse doesnt include your behavior habits but also diet. The business blueprint of America is set up to meet the needs. Yes, there is a big chunk of responsibility that these companies hold in the way that they may direct the people they feed and they are as much as responsible for this mess as much as the people who have the choice of empowering themselves to the knowledge and education of a healthier diet. I think the government should be more aware of how theyre grants or subsidies are being spent and how it effects the people and lands of it own country it so dearly holds to protect. Education is key to the future and different approaches to teaching the children the importance in diet. I feel that the convenience of fast food caters to the populace's demand for a quick fix to hunger. Since it tastes so good who cares. What about the School system in Broward taking out physical education out of theyre curriculum? Complete madness. The gaming industry, Playstation, xbox360, are directing kids into couches all over america and playing less outside. No excercise and bad eating habits leads to higher risk of diabetes and other obese related diseases. The misconception that children have that vegetables are bad for you, lunacy! Kids make up anything to keep the vegetables away from theyre plates. Parents have to be stern in teaching theyre children what to eat. The treatment of these animals is barbaric and down right wrong. Do the laws of cruelty to an animal apply in such a case? Where are the Micheal Vick haters?PETA anyone? This problem is another animal all together. I see the near future is a very bad place unless we begin changing for the better.
Eating habits and quality of American food have led the nation to the increased levels of overweight and obese people and nutrition-related diseases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans. Balanced diet can play a great role in preventing it and healthy eating habits can significantly increase life expectancy and quality of life. First of all, eating habits are formed in the early childhood where our parents and the environment we grow up in drive our food choices. Have you noticed the correlation between obese parents and their obese children? The rates of type 2 diabetes among children have grown and are influenced by the lack of right nutrition. Parents have to start with themselves watching what and how well they are eating in order to change the horrified statistics of the nation and make life of their children healthier. They have to teach the children to make the right food choices in all this great variety of options in food industry and persuasion of advertisement. Even buying fast food there are always other healthier options except burgers and fries such as salads, sandwiches, soups, yogurts, fruits, etc. The grocery stores provide us with great assortment of products from cheap to expensive where you can always choose the better alternative of a” bad food habit”. There is always nutrition information on the label of a product for your convenience of buying this product or another one. You just have to read it. There are also tons of information on the internet and media about changing your eating habits and number of nutrients your body needs for healthy functioning. You just have to listen to the reliable ones (like DRI). Everything depends on you and your own willingness to improve your eating habits. Of course, there are lots of chicken loaded with hormones, sodas loaded with sugar, junk food loaded with fats, sodium and cholesterol but it’s always your choice what to eat and how much to eat. Plus, physical activity significantly helps to cut appetite and adapt faster to healthy eating. It’s in your own hands whether to be lazy and overweight or active and healthy. The nation should definitely pay more attention to the spread of “food education” and “food culture” in every American family.
Cheap food? High price Americans consume cheap food at low prices because it is affordable and has a variety of additives that makes you want more. Americans today would rather just go to McDonald's or Burger king than go to Publix. It is because it is cheaper and quick. Everybody likes cheap low prices; people would rather go to McDonalds and spend five dollars on a whole meal, instead of going to Publix where for a few vegetables for a whole meal would cost close to twenty dollars. I don’t think companies brainwash us into consuming cheap food, I think we ourselves choose to eat it, because it is something that looks appetizing while at the same time it is affordable. - Cinderella Santos
Juan Muñoz said… Cheap Food, High Price. The whole word in general has a problem with fast food “cheap food” we have become addicted to it. When we travel, any country we go to, is no different than united states, virtually everywhere we go we either see a MacDonald’s or a burger king or other fast food restaurant in every corner. This places that people call heaven, actually for their body health is hell. Americas desire to have everything bigger and better than everyone else; including waistlines have become a big problem. Over half of Americans suffer from obesity; this is due to our huge dependency on the consumption of this type of products. Cheap food is available any were we go, now days even in between classes at school you can get a high calorie snack and a sugary soda in a vending machine for just a couple of bucks. Schools have even gotten to the point where, they have accepted contract with fast food companies to carry just their line of products, this for the school is good because they have a profit out of that but, for the kids is horrible. Possible ways to fight this problem is encouraging kids to eat healthy at school and also make them exercise more. Having the memberships to local gyms reduce in price and also giving the advantage to kids under age to use the gym at no cost, those are only some ways that the government can help reduce this problem, but if we really want our future generations to have a healthy life style, we in the comfort of our home should start by cooking healthy foods, like vegetables and this that can help our body have a good diet, exercising is a key component to healthy diet, at least 30 minutes of walking every night could help us fight, a war that as of now we are losing.
Our environment does indeed have a great influence on our eating habits. I am a musician and I spend a lot of time playing gigs with my band. After a long exhausting night, the number one thing my band mates and I think about is definitely food. Since fast food restaurants are cheap and you find them in almost every corner of every street or avenue, none of us hesitate to grab something to munch on at the nearest drive-thru window. My grandmother also loves to cook for everyone and she is always looking for an excuse to do so. I enjoy food so much and the fact that the temptation is always around makes it virtually impossible for me to resist a meal. Not only do I destroy my body with all the junk food I consume while I’m out, but then I go home and eat unhealthy Cuban food. Educating ourselves to eat healthier is difficult, but it is imperative that we try overcoming our terrible eating habits.
The standards of food in america are solely based on financially profitable decisions made by mostly monopolized food corporations in america. This combined with the corrupt lobbyist policies of the FDA, creates a quality of food based on profit, and not moral standard. This, is also being hidden from the public. Most food in our country is based on the experimentation in the versatility of corn. Meat and milk in america is of such quality that it is outlawed in japan and europe. Fortunately, it is blatant that the food industry is controlled by the consumer. Evidence of this, is the growth of the organic market in america. The argument that it is too costly to provide better standards to our food is non-sensical. Education on these facts will possibly ensure that the true desires of the american consumer are met.
With little knowledge on the matter, the following is a rather insolent (and superficial) analysis of the issue: the infinite supply of catastrophic food, and America’s need to worship it.
I’d like to argue that in all actuality, it is ridiculous to conceptualize a solid solution for this matter, much less execute a plan-of-action if one were to exist – but because cynicism is not a quality found within visionaries, nor is it a quality that promotes optimistic problem solving – let it be believed, for the sake of this commentary, that YES, the people of America can defeat the impetuous monster of temptation and it’s greasy edible minions. All for the sake of health, longevity, and the simple idea that humans are a resilient batch of bastards and refuse to be mortally terminated by something as humiliating as a double cheeseburger.
Before we diverge any further, though, I’d like to point out a striking pattern plaguing the comments of my fellow peers, one that is deserving of some written spotlight. It is interesting that many responses seem very self-assured as to who (or what) to blame for this entire obesity/cheapfood debacle, the most favored of accused icons being: the corporate giants of the food industry, the franchises of fast food, and even the gaming industry. And a special honorary mention goes out to the marketing/advertisement branches of the above stated, which solely exist to brainwash the masses with clever coffee slogans and waist-thinning yogurt adverts.
Fascinating.
Now, don’t misunderstand – I’m all for theatrical protests against monolithic corporations, and hating on the global distributors of our decade seems like such a righteously trendy thing to do – it’s not like the big guys can’t afford a couple of slanderous taunts by a group of college hipsters,
BUT.
But the problem with this kind of finger-pointing is that you disavow personal responsibility in favor of an easier to swallow theory:
Greedy corporations of our nation induce the masses to buy their products with hypnotic and audience-relevant advertisements.
And yes, while that is indeed a raging truth, it doesn’t justify an individual’s lack of ownership for poorly-made decisions and a misinformed mentality. Of course it would be a personal relief to say Kraft is the cause of your morbid obesity. This is aversion of responsibility on a universal scale, my friends.
It is rather unfortunate to note, but alas, we do live in a time where things of the ORGANIC nature are a supplemental luxury, not the default. Yet it’s there. It exists. The privilege of eating preservative, additive free food is at the palm of your hands. Is it cheap? Not in comparison with hormone-punched produce.
But the choice, however luxurious, is yours.
Nutrition is sacrificed for the sake of immediate gratification. That’s it – the drive of the American people: wants, desires, needs. In a whirlwind of demand, the food industry has cater to a colossal public, a mercilessly bunch of self-absorbed creatures in need of quick fulfillment.
Must be hard to balance company ambitions, the abiding of government regulations, and the pleasing of a ravenous consumer population. In a fast-paced world, fast-grown and fast-canned food is not just expected, it is required. When you remove the toxic factors of the food industry – preserving chemicals, continuous animal carnage, and questionable methods of mass production – you remove the fluid pace of a nation’s intricate food supply network. It is impossible to imagine a system that tends to the needs of the public without making controversial sacrifices. My speculation is at best, awkwardly phrased and shallowly supported, but the question needs to be posed:
If the food industry was to be forced to undergo a large-scale of reformation, one involving higher standards of nutrition, the removal of preserving toxins, rigid animal-related restrictions – wouldn’t the cumulative features of such a movement upset the delicate balance of America’s food industry? Would the nation still posses the capacity to fulfill the American public? Will instant gratification be difficult to attain? How does this affect the paradigm of employment within the industry? (You don’t think those preservatives make themselves, do you?) And so forth…
Ultimately, people need to own up. Big brand companies will do whatever they must to entice you and your taste buds, and occasionally calling out the corporate mongrels will not deter them from achieving their yearly quotas.
America is not apathetic, not entirely. There are support groups, organizations, community efforts, all dedicated to prevent obesity and inform the greater public of its prominent and growing presence within the country. Personal awareness and a basis of nutritional education are probably your best guides to avoid the pitfalls of bodily self-destruction, and help maintain a balance between healthy and the occasional sinful frozen dinner.
Fast food has been the easiest choice for Americans. in this fast environmet is crucial to choose the easiest, fastest and cheapest way possible. fast food has caused a very alarming increase on obesity in America. But i personally think Educating kids and adults about the animal cruelty that is behind fast food would create more impact on people minds than saying that fast food is not a healthy choice. fast food is well known by its methods by which animals are raised and processed for human consumption. the problem is just another massive addiction, the planet as a whole is ruled by goverment regulations, but it is the same goverment who should not allow these kind of businesses that are based on animal cruelty. can you imagine us without macdonalds? maybe you can but i am pretty sure the goverment and macdonalds employees'wouldn like to imaginate it. Asking for these kind of business regulations to be changed is practically impossible, so it is when educating our kids happens to be an essential tool. Amplying ways the consumers view the issue of animal welfare and food production will decrease obsession of eating fast food which is the number cause of obesity. vanessa morandi
Latecomer, because my internet was down for the last two days. Anyway, I don't think the problem with American eating habits lies so much in the taste or price of foods - after all, everyone can get generous food stamps - as in people's complete unwillingness to put any thought into their actions. Fast food is convenient instant gratification whereas you have to cook a meat loaf or vegetable stew, and all that is all that matters. Whether the methane from cow flatulence is contributing to global warming or a chicken is suffering through a beakless life in a KFC farm is of no concern to the consumer, whose tastebuds are so underdeveloped they couldn't tell Muenster from Velveeta.
30 comments:
Cheap Food, High Price.
The United States continue to be the largest consumer of goods and services across the world. The rise in food related diseases continue to grow due to sub-standard in raising animals for consumption, bad eating habits, and lack of exercise. The solutions are so simple and yet hard to accomplish. Animals are raised at alarming rates and fed drugs to increase bulk them in a manner to produce more. The consumption of goods and services is controlled by consumers, it begins with us. Consumers have the ability to dictate to producers of wanted goods and the amounts to be produced. Deciding on avoiding fast food restaurants and cooking healthier food will begin the process. Engaging in an exercise program becomes influential in reshaping the way you consume foods. Lobbyists and the media will forever manipulate and present incorrect data to the consumer about the foods we eat. Medical examinations are a great method for establishing a base line to determine health issues that arise from foods that are consumed. Perhaps the mirror may be more ideal?
Cheap Food
The reality is that it’s cheaper (economically) and convenient to eat Mc. Donald’s than it is to eat organic or kosher. The reason is simple there is a larger demand for fast food in this country, than there is for healthy food. I feel that the way of living in America is a contributing factor, the life here is fast pace and people just don’t have the time to cook and eat a healthy meal with their families. It’s much easier and less time consuming to drive up to the window, order, and eat on your way. It’s unfortunate that this is the reality for many Americans, but the only way we can change this is by investing time and money in our school system and educating children from an early age of the harms of eating fast food and the benefits of exercising and eating healthy. There also has to be an emphasis on eating home cooked meals as a family at home; after all that’s where it all starts. As long as consumers continue to make Mc. Donald’s one of the riches fast food restaurants in the world they will continue to feed us with cheap, hormone infested animals. In the end all they care about is making money, not making us healthier.
-Melida Ortega-
The cheap food companies have to produce everything in large amounts. So they are going to make the food with the cheapeast supplies to save money. People are still going to go to the cheap food places because most dont have the time to cook and its more convient to drive a couple blocks and order a number 2. Thats why America is the most obese nation in the world. Because are diets consist of fats.
Major fast foods restaurants offer meals that are surprisingly cheap. This brings up questions like, how are they selling their food at such a low price? Do they even make any profit selling it so cheap? The answers to these questions bring a dark side that the fast food restaurant corporations tend to cover from the public. The majority of these animals are in poor conditions that would be considered sickening by most people. They are bunched up in small area between others, covered in their own waste for a long time, to then be slaughtered in a torturous way that most would call it inhuman. Animals are often given growth hormones that increase their growth wait dramatically. For example the chickens “KFC” cooks are given growth hormones, the chicken grow at such a fast rate that they become immobile and often break their own legs because they are not able to sustain their own weight. Some die and those that survive are in horrendous conditions and are sent to the slaughter house. At the end, the food is processed at taken to the restaurants. The food consumed may taste great for the price, but it will really cost one’s own health in the end. The majority of the fast foods meats are actually a lower quality than most dog food, Possibly filled with diseases or even parasites if not cooked well (which has happened many times). In the end it will all depend on us, the consumers. In my opinion , with such a demand it seems there will not be any changes for a while.
The Great Cost of Cheap Fast Foods.
Fast foods franchises are well known for being extreme capitalists. They want to get the highest profit with the "cheapest" expense. They get this low price combo meals by speeding and over-producing their organic products. The meat which we eat is taken off animals that are fed by hormone injected food so they can grow faster. So why do we eat this? Most people in the United states live a fast life, so their food must be fast as well. People don't have time to cook, so why not buy a Mcdonalds value meal and you save a couple bucks? We are brainwashed by the media to consume on a daily basis these products with slogans as "I'm loving it." United states needs to be shake off the drug snoozing propaganda and learn what kinds of stuff they are putting inside their bodies. Because as long as we are don't know the errors of the past, we are doomed to do them again.
Daniel Mendez
It’s not only the advertisement that makes us eat the fast food. It’s easy, it’s convenient, it’s cheap, and it’s of course fast. Should we eat it? No we shouldn’t, but we’ll do it anyways. Don’t get me wrong, kids these days are deprived of the childhood activity that we all once had. They sit at home and play their Nintendo DS instead baseball and street hockey. Eating fast food after sitting on your butt all day isn’t the best way to go.
As for how they’re killing the animals and all that, their process is a shame and truly saddening. We do not realize how unhealthy things are for us and how disturbing the transactions really are until we see it firsthand. It’s a shame and there should be changes. Some lightening up with the fast food would be preferred.
People, sign your comments. Otherwise I don't know who you are.
Americans do have bad eating habits. However, I think the problem here has more to do with the food industries. The government should not permit such massive animal productions. Small farmers have no way of competing with companies that are mass producing our foods, and using barbarian and salvage methods for completing the high demand of product to make the most profit possible. If smaller companies such as family owned farms had a better chance of profit, maybe the high demand of animal products including ham and bacon, would be produced in a better environment.
Daniel Restrepo said...
Americans do have bad eating habits. However, I think the problem here has more to do with the food industries. The government should not permit such massive animal productions. Small farmers have no way of competing with companies that are mass producing our foods, and using barbarian and salvage methods for completing the high demand of product to make the most profit possible. If smaller companies such as family owned farms had a better chance of profit, maybe the high demand of animal products including ham and bacon, would be produced in a better environment.
The country that we call our home, is a true powerhouse not only in sports, but especially in deaths per year. Most Americans receive an image by the media and the news that crime is the main killer in our society, which it isn't by far. Indeed, crime is actually the smallest contributor to death in America. The Number one death rate in the USA origins from heart disease victims, whose deadly illness is caused by obesity. Strokes, and cancer are the ones to follow. So why is obesity such an issue which we daily have to fight with? Well, let's begin with saying that our food habits are disastrous. We have no true food culture anymore, instead the youth of today and tomorrow is being taught to eat fast food. We live in a fast paced world, and often many of us cannot find the time to cook, so what do we do, we buy ourselves a nice and big burger from the next by fast food restaurant. This is one part of the problem. Another major key factor is that our generation and the upcoming one was never taught how to cook, make healthy meals, or even know which foods include the necessary nutrients for our body without killing us. I saw a video once of a TED presentation, where a man called Jamie Oliver, who is a well known cook from England,spoke about the horrifying reality that over two thirds of all Americans have to face, obesity. He strongly believes, and I am one of his supporters, that one of the most important steps towards fighting this preventable issue is improving the lunch menu in American schools. Statistics say that over 30 million kids eat at school, which includes breakfast and lunch, for about 180 days of the year. What are they being served? Pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, milk filled with added sugars, and the list goes on. As we can see the school lunch is part of the daily menu of many children and therefore there has to be made a major change to make it healthier. Another so simple seeming but yet so brilliant idea that my British friend came up with was that the schools should start introducing a nutrition/health class in the curriculum of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools. I totally agree with his idea, and the earlier these kids learn how to eat healthy the better. Supermarkets should have a person responsible of informing and helping the customer in choosing the healthy and nutrition rich foods that we need for our daily diet. Fast food chains will change their menu and make it healthier once they notice that people are not buying their in grease and fat soaked burgers and french fries anymore. We are shortening the life span of our children by at least 20 years, if not more.We have to begin understanding that every one of us can truly make a significant impact on preventing the early deaths of millions of people, not only in America but all over the world. The foundation for change can be created through education.
- Lester Alvarez
Our country is aware of the fact that obesity is taking over the majority of the people. This is a fact that is being fought from many angles. However, the biggest reason our country is losing the fight against obesity is that big corporations are not about the people but about the money. It is a simple rule of business. One should reduce expenses to increase revenue. Even though some big corporations try to show the country that they are doing something to help, those changes in their food are merely “shows for the eye” to reduce criticism. Raisin the standards on the food the sale and how they cook the food would create great expense corporations are not willing to take. This being said, it is our responsibility, the consumer, to take action and really understand the consequences of fast food in our lives. From the base that supports our society, family, we need to educate our children on having good eating habits. Once again, my whole comment is based on educating the children so we do not have to punish the adult.
McDonald, Burger King, Checker's, and many other food franchises are Capitalistic. The problem does not lie within the company but more so in the people. The United States is a fast pace life style and because of that factor we tend to rely on these fast food industries to supply us with quick and cheap food for the moment being. This is a supply and demand culture as long as we continue consuming these unhealthy foods they will keep supplying. Unfortunately, animals are unable to reproduce fast enough, thus companies have resulted in these methods of drugs to increase the growth and development of these animals. As a result of these habits we have found several new diseases and it will carry on. Habits begin in the home and if children are educated about all these harmful goods that are integrated into their food products, there will be a higher likelihood to think twice before getting a Big Mac instead of steak and rice. The end result; these companies will not change the ingredients till government steps in and implement a new set of laws that will either remove all harmful growth hormones, or regulate the amount being supplemented into the animals.
We leave a life style that its more convenient to go to a fast food restaurant, order a meal and eat it in less than thirty minutes instead of go to a grocery store, buy the ingredients, and then go home to cook this will take at least an hour. we cannot take the luxury of spend more than a hour at lunch time; especially when some companies do not pay for that lunch time to its employees. Fast food restaurants provide great deals that can sound super convenient for most of us. Prices that can be afford for any person especially for large families that with less than twenty dollars can buy burgers and fries from the dollar menus instead of spend in the grocery store where a simple meal can cost up to fifty dollars. Unfortunately the healthier the products, the expensive they are. Organic products can be a great choice to substitute all those fast food products, but their market price is so high that it is almost impossible to a large family with low income to afford it.
It can be so difficult for Americans to blame themselves for this problem of obesity because of the way in which they are raised. Most of which see themselves as gods seeking to satisfy all the desires they have within (including ones that are not healthy). Living in an egocentric society that tells you to get as much as you can while you can makes it difficult for most people living in the U.S. to maintain a healthy life-style. One can understand that you get what you work for, but there is a disease going around called "lack of self control" and that gives birth to Obesity. Obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths a year, but I would rephrase that and go as far as saying that Americans are responsible enough within themselves to own-up to their own massacre. There are many ways to point the finger, we must start with ourselves.
Cheap Food
Why do we do it? It pretty much has become the American lifestyle we want everything fast and cheap regardless of whether it is our food, or how are we run our industries. Most Americans don’t ask questions they don’t care where it comes from as long as it fulfills are needs; it has become sort of the norm in America. But the sad truth is many people don’t have the luxury of eating healthy. Organic and Kosher foods may be better but are also more expensive then the cheap unhealthy food and some people just don’t have the money to purchase the healthy food over the unhealthy food. What can be done though is stop the consumption of fast food from McDonalds to Kfc it may be quick and cheap but it is very poor quality food high in trans fat and calories. Parents should stop feeding this to their kids and try to break the habit it is much more economical to cook burgers at home for example. I think all parents should make an effort to try and teach their kids healthy eating habits and break bad ones that can be a big factor in trying to lower the obesity in America
-Armando Guerrero
The way we eat has changed more in the last 5o years more than the previous 10,000. But the image is used to sell that food still the imagery of agrarian America. You go to the supermarkets and see pictures of farmers, the silo, the farm house, the green grass. If you follow the food chain back you would find a very different reality. The reality is a factory not a farm. The whole industrial food system began with fast food system. Mc Donald’s brought the factory system back to the kitchen. Mc Donald’s is the largest purchaser of ground beef in America, and they want they burger to taste everywhere exactly the same. They changed how ground beef been produced. The Mc Donald’s corporation is the largest purchaser of potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes, lettuce even apples. This big fast food chains want big suppliers and now they essentially a handful of companies controlling our food system. In the 1970 the top 5 companies controlled about 25% of the market, today the top 4 companies’ controls more than 80% of the market. Same thing happens with pork. Even if you don’t eat at a fast food restaurant, you are now eating meat that has been produced by the system. When you look at the labels in the market farmers this farmers that, but in reality only three or four companies are controlling the meat. How chickens are raised is entirely changed. Birds now are raised and slaughtered half the time then they were 50 ago but now they twice as big. People like to eat white meat so they redesigned the chicken to have large breast. In the meat isle there are no bones anymore, there is this deliberate curtain dropped between us and where the food is coming from. The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth what you are eating, because if you knew, you might not wanna eat it.
Cheap fast food is quickly becoming America’s solution to conveniently eating on a budget. It’s convenient because it requires no planning and is located everywhere. It takes little time from your day and is easy on the wallet. However, what might seem like a good choice today might not be the best choice for tomorrow. It’s actually ironic, that while we claim that we are saving time we are actually shortening our life span or compromising the quality of life we might have in the future. As a matter of fact, the leading causes of death in America are related to nutrition….Diabetes, Heart disease , Cancer, and Hypertension to name a few, are major health complications that at one point could have been eliminated or controlled. This problem is not being addressed and it’s only going to get worse! Many people simply need to be educated—How to read a food label? What should be your daily calorie intake? What health conditions are you genetically prone too? The list is endless. Another perception we have is that fast food is cheap; well I do admit that it is cheaper compared to other premade meals in restaurants but not to bulk groceries. For example, the average meal in McDonalds is approx. $7 (burger, fries, drink) so let’s say you eat lunch for a week that’s 7 x7= $49.00 with $49 dollars you can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. So in conclusion, the reality is that it does not save time or money we are simply lazy and ignorant (not all of us) and choose to eat fast food because it tastes good and we don’t care about anything else but our present.
A big part of the reason for why Americans keep consuming these these cheap foods that are harmful to our health is lack of education about what is really in our foods, the government's refusal to let us know, and everyone's own refusal to open their eyes and accept that they need to change their habits. I am a vegetarian and i try to keep a mostly organic fruit and vegetable filled diet. In my home i've been educated my mind has been opened to see what really is in all the things we eat and how harmful they are. I try to tell all those close to me and to help people to eat healthier but people don't want to open their eyes. It is because it's cheaper yes to buy fast food and it's easier to not have to worry about what you put in your body. Bottom line is that because everyone chooses to close their eyes now, tomorrow they will pay a high price for it tomorrow.
Yes it’s economically easier to choose fast-food but doesn’t your body and mental well being suffer in the end? From personal experience I know how easy it is to pull up, order and go. But why am I going to waste my time and effort at the gym if I'm just going to make horrible food choices later on? I think if people took more time to educate themselves nutrition wise they would see how simple it is to just take your time at the grocery store and pick cheap yet wholesome foods that they would later benefit from physically and economically. I find it ridiculous that the advertisement companies take so much time and effort to manipulate us and the young children of today to eat unhealthy. One thing my mom never liked to feed me was McDonalds and as I child I disliked that fact but now that I’m older I couldn’t praise her enough because I hate to eat there. So from personal experience I believe my healthy choices came from the way I was raised and personal well being to change the way I feel about “Big Companies” and consuming the crap they try to feed us.
Unfortunately, the United States food industry is run by very large corporations that are extremely greedy. They will do pretty much anything to make sure that they stay on top and continue to keep a "clean" name. This includes practices that most of the general population is not aware of. The mass production of all this meat we see everyday comes at a cost. Not only to us but to the animals as well. It is a problem that is getting worse and worse as time goes by. I have seen a documentary, called Food Inc., where there are farmers and activists rallying against the large corporations and that is a huge key in preventing this to continue on as it is right now. By cutting back on the fast food consumption and eating more healthier, in-season foods, the food industry in America would definitely see a change for the better.
-Grant Kunkel
Ive had the opportunity to experience weight gain from consuming too much of this junk food to a total change in diet and excercise. People ask me how is it that you look and feel this way? I wonder sometimes too and I feel that its easy to sit on a couch and become obese and then not have the will to be concerned with the dire situation of your own health. You are what you eat. If there's any truth in the possibility of food effecting the process of further development in one's mental health then I think its a real threat to the future of our children ( when i say children I mean everyone's kids). Living a healthy lifestyle juse doesnt include your behavior habits but also diet.
The business blueprint of America is set up to meet the needs. Yes, there is a big chunk of responsibility that these companies hold in the way that they may direct the people they feed and they are as much as responsible for this mess as much as the people who have the choice of empowering themselves to the knowledge and education of a healthier diet. I think the government should be more aware of how theyre grants or subsidies are being spent and how it effects the people and lands of it own country it so dearly holds to protect. Education is key to the future and different approaches to teaching the children the importance in diet. I feel that the convenience of fast food caters to the populace's demand for a quick fix to hunger. Since it tastes so good who cares. What about the School system in Broward taking out physical education out of theyre curriculum? Complete madness. The gaming industry, Playstation, xbox360, are directing kids into couches all over america and playing less outside. No excercise and bad eating habits leads to higher risk of diabetes and other obese related diseases. The misconception that children have that vegetables are bad for you, lunacy! Kids make up anything to keep the vegetables away from theyre plates. Parents have to be stern in teaching theyre children what to eat. The treatment of these animals is barbaric and down right wrong. Do the laws of cruelty to an animal apply in such a case? Where are the Micheal Vick haters?PETA anyone? This problem is another animal all together. I see the near future is a very bad place unless we begin changing for the better.
Eating habits and quality of American food have led the nation to the increased levels of overweight and obese people and nutrition-related diseases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans. Balanced diet can play a great role in preventing it and healthy eating habits can significantly increase life expectancy and quality of life. First of all, eating habits are formed in the early childhood where our parents and the environment we grow up in drive our food choices. Have you noticed the correlation between obese parents and their obese children? The rates of type 2 diabetes among children have grown and are influenced by the lack of right nutrition. Parents have to start with themselves watching what and how well they are eating in order to change the horrified statistics of the nation and make life of their children healthier. They have to teach the children to make the right food choices in all this great variety of options in food industry and persuasion of advertisement. Even buying fast food there are always other healthier options except burgers and fries such as salads, sandwiches, soups, yogurts, fruits, etc. The grocery stores provide us with great assortment of products from cheap to expensive where you can always choose the better alternative of a” bad food habit”. There is always nutrition information on the label of a product for your convenience of buying this product or another one. You just have to read it. There are also tons of information on the internet and media about changing your eating habits and number of nutrients your body needs for healthy functioning. You just have to listen to the reliable ones (like DRI). Everything depends on you and your own willingness to improve your eating habits. Of course, there are lots of chicken loaded with hormones, sodas loaded with sugar, junk food loaded with fats, sodium and cholesterol but it’s always your choice what to eat and how much to eat. Plus, physical activity significantly helps to cut appetite and adapt faster to healthy eating. It’s in your own hands whether to be lazy and overweight or active and healthy. The nation should definitely pay more attention to the spread of “food education” and “food culture” in every American family.
Anastasiya Soldatova
Cheap food? High price
Americans consume cheap food at low prices because it is affordable and has a variety of additives that makes you want more. Americans today would rather just go to McDonald's or Burger king than go to Publix. It is because it is cheaper and quick. Everybody likes cheap low prices; people would rather go to McDonalds and spend five dollars on a whole meal, instead of going to Publix where for a few vegetables for a whole meal would cost close to twenty dollars. I don’t think companies brainwash us into consuming cheap food, I think we ourselves choose to eat it, because it is something that looks appetizing while at the same time it is affordable.
- Cinderella Santos
Juan Muñoz said…
Cheap Food, High Price.
The whole word in general has a problem with fast food “cheap food” we have become addicted to it. When we travel, any country we go to, is no different than united states, virtually everywhere we go we either see a MacDonald’s or a burger king or other fast food restaurant in every corner. This places that people call heaven, actually for their body health is hell.
Americas desire to have everything bigger and better than everyone else; including waistlines have become a big problem. Over half of Americans suffer from obesity; this is due to our huge dependency on the consumption of this type of products. Cheap food is available any were we go, now days even in between classes at school you can get a high calorie snack and a sugary soda in a vending machine for just a couple of bucks. Schools have even gotten to the point where, they have accepted contract with fast food companies to carry just their line of products, this for the school is good because they have a profit out of that but, for the kids is horrible.
Possible ways to fight this problem is encouraging kids to eat healthy at school and also make them exercise more. Having the memberships to local gyms reduce in price and also giving the advantage to kids under age to use the gym at no cost, those are only some ways that the government can help reduce this problem, but if we really want our future generations to have a healthy life style, we in the comfort of our home should start by cooking healthy foods, like vegetables and this that can help our body have a good diet, exercising is a key component to healthy diet, at least 30 minutes of walking every night could help us fight, a war that as of now we are losing.
Our environment does indeed have a great influence on our eating habits. I am a musician and I spend a lot of time playing gigs with my band. After a long exhausting night, the number one thing my band mates and I think about is definitely food. Since fast food restaurants are cheap and you find them in almost every corner of every street or avenue, none of us hesitate to grab something to munch on at the nearest drive-thru window. My grandmother also loves to cook for everyone and she is always looking for an excuse to do so. I enjoy food so much and the fact that the temptation is always around makes it virtually impossible for me to resist a meal. Not only do I destroy my body with all the junk food I consume while I’m out, but then I go home and eat unhealthy Cuban food. Educating ourselves to eat healthier is difficult, but it is imperative that we try overcoming our terrible eating habits.
The standards of food in america are solely based on financially profitable decisions made by mostly monopolized food corporations in america. This combined with the corrupt lobbyist policies of the FDA, creates a quality of food based on profit, and not moral standard. This, is also being hidden from the public. Most food in our country is based on the experimentation in the versatility of corn. Meat and milk in america is of such quality that it is outlawed in japan and europe. Fortunately, it is blatant that the food industry is controlled by the consumer. Evidence of this, is the growth of the organic market in america. The argument that it is too costly to provide better standards to our food is non-sensical. Education on these facts will possibly ensure that the true desires of the american consumer are met.
-Manuel Venegas
With little knowledge on the matter, the following is a rather insolent (and superficial) analysis of the issue: the infinite supply of catastrophic food, and America’s need to worship it.
I’d like to argue that in all actuality, it is ridiculous to conceptualize a solid solution for this matter, much less execute a plan-of-action if one were to exist – but because cynicism is not a quality found within visionaries, nor is it a quality that promotes optimistic problem solving – let it be believed, for the sake of this commentary, that YES, the people of America can defeat the impetuous monster of temptation and it’s greasy edible minions. All for the sake of health, longevity, and the simple idea that humans are a resilient batch of bastards and refuse to be mortally terminated by something as humiliating as a double cheeseburger.
Before we diverge any further, though, I’d like to point out a striking pattern plaguing the comments of my fellow peers, one that is deserving of some written spotlight. It is interesting that many responses seem very self-assured as to who (or what) to blame for this entire obesity/cheapfood debacle, the most favored of accused icons being: the corporate giants of the food industry, the franchises of fast food, and even the gaming industry. And a special honorary mention goes out to the marketing/advertisement branches of the above stated, which solely exist to brainwash the masses with clever coffee slogans and waist-thinning yogurt adverts.
Fascinating.
Now, don’t misunderstand – I’m all for theatrical protests against monolithic corporations, and hating on the global distributors of our decade seems like such a righteously trendy thing to do – it’s not like the big guys can’t afford a couple of slanderous taunts by a group of college hipsters,
BUT.
But the problem with this kind of finger-pointing is that you disavow personal responsibility in favor of an easier to swallow theory:
Greedy corporations of our nation induce the masses to buy their products with hypnotic and audience-relevant advertisements.
And yes, while that is indeed a raging truth, it doesn’t justify an individual’s lack of ownership for poorly-made decisions and a misinformed mentality. Of course it would be a personal relief to say Kraft is the cause of your morbid obesity. This is aversion of responsibility on a universal scale, my friends.
It is rather unfortunate to note, but alas, we do live in a time where things of the ORGANIC nature are a supplemental luxury, not the default. Yet it’s there. It exists. The privilege of eating preservative, additive free food is at the palm of your hands. Is it cheap? Not in comparison with hormone-punched produce.
But the choice, however luxurious, is yours.
Nutrition is sacrificed for the sake of immediate gratification. That’s it – the drive of the American people: wants, desires, needs. In a whirlwind of demand, the food industry has cater to a colossal public, a mercilessly bunch of self-absorbed creatures in need of quick fulfillment.
(Continued from above)
Must be hard to balance company ambitions, the abiding of government regulations, and the pleasing of a ravenous consumer population. In a fast-paced world, fast-grown and fast-canned food is not just expected, it is required. When you remove the toxic factors of the food industry – preserving chemicals, continuous animal carnage, and questionable methods of mass production – you remove the fluid pace of a nation’s intricate food supply network. It is impossible to imagine a system that tends to the needs of the public without making controversial sacrifices. My speculation is at best, awkwardly phrased and shallowly supported, but the question needs to be posed:
If the food industry was to be forced to undergo a large-scale of reformation, one involving higher standards of nutrition, the removal of preserving toxins, rigid animal-related restrictions – wouldn’t the cumulative features of such a movement upset the delicate balance of America’s food industry? Would the nation still posses the capacity to fulfill the American public? Will instant gratification be difficult to attain? How does this affect the paradigm of employment within the industry? (You don’t think those preservatives make themselves, do you?) And so forth…
Ultimately, people need to own up. Big brand companies will do whatever they must to entice you and your taste buds, and occasionally calling out the corporate mongrels will not deter them from achieving their yearly quotas.
America is not apathetic, not entirely. There are support groups, organizations, community efforts, all dedicated to prevent obesity and inform the greater public of its prominent and growing presence within the country. Personal awareness and a basis of nutritional education are probably your best guides to avoid the pitfalls of bodily self-destruction, and help maintain a balance between healthy and the occasional sinful frozen dinner.
That'll be all. I'm hungry.
- Yeney Echevarria
Fast food has been the easiest choice for Americans. in this fast environmet is crucial to choose the easiest, fastest and cheapest way possible. fast food has caused a very alarming increase on obesity in America. But i personally think Educating kids and adults about the animal cruelty that is behind fast food would create more impact on people minds than saying that fast food is not a healthy choice. fast food is well known by its methods by which animals are raised and processed for human consumption. the problem is just another massive addiction, the planet as a whole is ruled by goverment regulations, but it is the same goverment who should not allow these kind of businesses that are based on animal cruelty. can you imagine us without macdonalds? maybe you can but i am pretty sure the goverment and macdonalds employees'wouldn like to imaginate it. Asking for these kind of business regulations to be changed is practically impossible, so it is when educating our kids happens to be an essential tool. Amplying ways the consumers view the issue of animal welfare and food production will decrease obsession of eating fast food which is the number cause of obesity.
vanessa morandi
Latecomer, because my internet was down for the last two days. Anyway, I don't think the problem with American eating habits lies so much in the taste or price of foods - after all, everyone can get generous food stamps - as in people's complete unwillingness to put any thought into their actions. Fast food is convenient instant gratification whereas you have to cook a meat loaf or vegetable stew, and all that is all that matters. Whether the methane from cow flatulence is contributing to global warming or a chicken is suffering through a beakless life in a KFC farm is of no concern to the consumer, whose tastebuds are so underdeveloped they couldn't tell Muenster from Velveeta.
-Jannine Snider
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