Preview

fast food industry

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
fast food industry
Bigger is Better?: American’s Growing Obesity Problem
America is in a state of growth and it is not the economy. The rate at which obesity has risen in the last half century is at an all-time high. Many factors are said to attribute to this epidemic one of the main ones being the rise of the fast food industry over the last few decades. Although, many other factors also attribute to this the eating of fast food is the main one. Should the fast food industry really be held at an ethical or moral standing for what they feed their customers? This has led to many debates and also many changes, but also it shows that the fast-food industry is operating on demand from the consumer. Right now the consumer doesn’t have a moral or ethical obligation to themselves, therefore the fast food industry should not.
Over half of the food served in most of the fast food restaurants are highly processed, loaded with saturated fats, and empty calories. The change that has happened in America over the last half century can also be attributed to more people eating take-out and turning to fast food for meals. A major reason fast food and take-out is escalating seems to be that we are now living in a much faster paced economy which in turn leads us to live faster paced lives. Also, during the 40’s and 50’s being a stay at home mom was as common as the cold, now during the 2000’s in order to get by most families require both parents working this in turn leads less time and energy to prepare healthy meals. This in turn leads to ordering take-out or going through a drive-thru for the family meal, but should the responsibility lie solely on the fat-food industry, or is this a way for us to take away the guilt from ourselves for unhealthy eating habits and leading sedentary lifestyles? It is true almost all of the food seen on the menu is bad for a person’s health but, now many fast food restuarants now offer healthier options such as salad and fresh fruit. Although eating fast food does

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    M3A1 100 Case Analysis

    • 614 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What if we all get fat? According to the Obesity Society this is already occurring; obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S. adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity has steadily increased since 1960, a trend that has slowed in recent years but shows no sign of reversing. Today, 69 percent of U.S. adults are categorized as being affected by obesity or having excess weight (Obesity Society, 2014). Two factors are under consideration: Corporate or consumer responsibility. With the obseity trend seemingly growing, many propose a question that if these high calorie fast food chains should take responsibility for the growing number of obesity or is it all the consumers’ responsibility. Slowly, sandwich shops and healthy eateries popping up everywhere. Do fast food chains such as McDonalds and Taco Bell keep an competitive advantage by taking some responsibility of our overweight society? A huge factor is how these corporations identify and develop their corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR initiatives are a crucial component of a company’s strategy and the development of sustainable competitive advantage.…

    • 614 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is the value of freedom? Not the effort of achieving freedom but the extent of its value. Should an individual control every aspect of their life or should they not? This is an important question when it comes to the fast food industry. Fast food annual revenue is an outstanding 170 billion dollars per year: diabetes has never been higher and yet we are still pondering on a problem that has not been resolved. The problem between people and fast food has been a recent problem in the Unites States with the industry continually growing. The root of the problem is that people are not in taking fast food at a moderate rate and the obesity index is climbing exponentially. This crisis is hard to stop because we all consume food and it’s needed for survival. In the United States you cannot deny a person the right to eat what they want. But yet it’s obvious that the fast food industry has the upper hand when it comes to people picking food. Propaganda techniques like offering toys for the young and advertising around every corner makes it hard for someone to resist the “perks” of fast food. David Zinczenko the editor and chief of Men’s Health explains his point of view of the fast food crisis in his article “Don’t Blame the Eater”. He doesn’t present a solution but his points are crucial to help stop this epidemic.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Purpose of this essay is to inform the consumers and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services the negative effects of the fast food industry. Eric Schlosser wrote the book “Chew on This” in 2006, to open oblivious people eyes and show them the truth about the fast food industry. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services should know how the fast food industries has a negative impact towards the community. They manipulate kids by using advertisements, violating animal rights and their is human health concerns we should be aware of.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When it comes to the topic of America’s social problems, most of us will readily agree that the obesity epidemic is one of the major problems in America’s society now. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of who is responsible for this problem. Whereas some are convinced “Don’t Blame the Eater”, that the fast-food industry is responsible, other maintains that is a personal responsibility and what you eat is your business. My feeling on the issue are mixed. I do support Radley Balko’s position that it is a personal responsibility “What you eat is you business”. However I find that Radley Balko has over looked some issue on the corporation’s side and I also agree with David Zinczenko’s argument that it is corporate responsibility.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The only entity fast food restaurants desire is money. They do not care about health, weight, or medical problems. Fast food is everywhere, also “ there are more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America. More than fifty million customers are served per day” (Zinczenko 464). These statistics are outrageous and embarrassing for Americans. The food these companies produce is horrible in nutrition and damaging for one’s health. Even though fast food is tempting, one should stay far away from it as possible. In David Zinczenko article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” he has his own personal experience as an example for people, specifically teenagers, to stay away from fast food. Although fast food produces delicious products, these products contain blinding nutrition facts, and the companies mainly target teenagers.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Putting the blame on the entire industry is shear stupidity. There is a myriad of information that shows just how unhealthy fast food is. Everyday there are new cases of overweight people because of their love for fast food. There have been many tests done, which are available to the public that expose what you are eating. One test that was personally performed sticks out more then anything else. A few years ago my eighth grade class took a McDonald’s McDouble, which is basically just a double cheeseburger on the dollar menu. The burger sat out for around one year (school year). At the end of the year, despite the burger being rock hard, it looked absolutely no different. There was no decomposition, or rotting smell. One simple…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine, discusses the recent lawsuits against fast-food chains. He does not deny that there should be a sense of personal responsibility among the public, but has sympathy for the kid consumers because he used to be one. Zinczenko argues that due to the lack of nutritional facts and health warnings, it’s not so ridiculous to blame the fast-food industry for obesity problems.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    America’s obesity can be an argument that has many sides to it. The one that is the most straightforward and logical is that us as americans are bringing this upon ourselves. We know the kinds of foods that are good and healthy along with the foods that are bad, fattening, and unhealthy. We try to blame fast food restaurants and grocery stores for serving us foods that are unhealthy. In reality, we know. We try to blame those companies because we don’t want to blame ourselves. As much as we are told what is good and bad for our bodies, we tend to ignore that and keep eating those unhealthy products. America is blaming the fast food industry for obesity, when in reality, it comes down…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America is one of the richest, most technologically advanced and powerful country in the world, but it is also known as home to the most obese population in the world. It is because of the environment that is filled with fast food stores. As David Zinczenko says in his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater”, “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now, Drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.” (p392). Paraphrasing this quote, it says how easy to get fast food and how hard to find fresh food in the same place. Now, fast food is almost unavoidable. Regulating advertisements to include warning labels about…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Student

    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Over the past 20 years, the population of overweight individuals has grown tenfold. Within Northern America, many cities, towns, and even school cafeterias are inundated with fast food options. Eric Schlosser, in his book Fast Food Nation, conducts an in depth examination of the "hidden meal" within fast food companies, assesses the multiple influences of the fast food epidemic on modern American life, and analyzes the preparation of fast food. The book is divided into two parts; the first exhibits Schlosser’s extensive research, whereas the second part of the book is where Schlosser begins to reveal his viewpoints and ideas on the radical development of the fast food industry. Furthermore, Schlosser discusses how the commercialism of the American fast food industry has had a revolutionary influence on not only the average person’s diet and health, but also on popular culture and media, both farming and cattle industries, work habits, and every day life in general.…

    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Obesity: Who Is at Fault?

    • 3120 Words
    • 13 Pages

    It is no secret that an increasing amount of Americans are gaining weight and much of this blame is put on fast food establishments such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Krystal’s, to name a few. According to Warren Belasco and Philip Scranton (2002), “The increasing consumption of convenience foods is an international trend influenced by changing lifestyles” (p. 3) From a superficial perspective, this doesn’t seem like much of a problem. However, Robert Jeffery and Simone French (1998), authors of the article Epidemic Obesity in the United States: Are Fast Food and Television Viewing Contributing? assert that “Obesity is an important public health problem that, in recent years, has reached epidemic proportions” (p. 277). In fact, some are calling the problem the “obesity epidemic.” Several lawsuits against fast food establishments have been filed by those who are overweight. It’s a serious problem, one that cannot be ignored. Before anyone assumes that it’s just the United States, think again. With the increasing number of fast food establishments in countries other than the United States, such as China, Japan, and Brazil, so are obesity rates.…

    • 3120 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obesity Vs Freewill

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The American obesity epidemic has long been blamed on the fast food industry. For decades convenience, advertising and affordability have all been the scapegoat for those who are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions. I constantly wonder why we demonize the fast food industry without ever once scalding those who choose eat it by their own free will. Free will can be defined as a free and independent choice. Since no one is forcing us to eat what we know is unhealthy for us the reason why some still choose to do so can only be explained by free will. Therefore the fast food industry should not be…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nutrition and Obesity

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Americans are heavier than ever before and, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million adults are obese, and 9 million adults are morbidly obese. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. It can be caused by many reasons. One obvious reason is the rise in fast food consumption that companies are so adamant on pushing the public to buy, especially children. With fast food chains creating more and more ways to entice the American public to eat their food, it is becoming harder and harder to stay in shape these days. The fast life of America is quickly taking its toll on the public with the silent enemy called obesity creeping up at an alarming rate. In fact, the rate of it overtaking our lives is so fast; the Surgeon General has called it an "epidemic". Now, the real question is- are fast food restaurants really the culprits at work here? In this essay I intend to compare two very different takes on fast food companies and their ways of making people fat as well as my stand on the matter.…

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Obesity in America

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Some believe that while reasons of obesity are obvious due to the excessive amount of fast food restaurants surrounding us that it is the manufactures fault for the constant weight gain in America today but they fail to realize that it is not the food manufactures who force us to consume their food. People tend to blame the manufactures for the health issues today in America, but obesity is not something that needs to be addressed as a nation, it is more of a personal problem, food manufactures have not changed much throughout the years besides boosting their prices, and fast food branches may hand out toys and other objects that would appeal to adolescents but that does not put them at fault for the individuals who consume their food.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obesity In America

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages

    According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately one-third of Americans are obese. There are several culprits to this alarming increase such as lack of exercise, failure to research nutrition information, and modality of convenience. Author of the book, “Fast Food Nation”, Eric Schlosser states the expenditure on fast food annually by Americans, has increased from six billion to 110 billion dollars in the span of approximately three decades. Schlosser correlates the increase of consumption to increase of Americans becoming obese. As mentioned earlier, fast food availability is only one aspect of the poor health epidemic. There are not enough valid grounds to prove the increase of obesity and diseases such as diabetes. The employees of the tobacco industry are not slipping cigarettes into the pockets of civilians forcibly. Similarly, these fast food corporations despite their sophisticated marketing are not completely directing individuals to consume their foods. Individuals have the freedom of choice and should be aware that their choices may lead to…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics