removing the problem, the fatty, sugary processed foods, from the aisles of our grocery stores…
order to survive and maintain a healthy lifestyle, everyone needs Food. How much do we actually know about the food we buy and serve to our families on a daily basis? There has been little awareness and understanding of food in America until the film Food Inc., which helps show us how our food is produced, packaged and sold in our native stores. Our nation’s food supply is being controlled by a few amounts of corporations that often put their income ahead of customer health. It’s time that the truth is heard about what we are putting into our bodies, and what is being hidden from us by the food industry.…
government wrongly spends billions of tax-payer dollars, just so they can assist food companies to gain more profits and subsidize foods. For example, the federal government annually spends approximately $38 billion in meat and dairy product subsidization. Although, national dietary guidelines encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, only about $17 million out of the $38 billion are spent towards produce. Additionally, two-thirds of American farmers received no funds from the last 15 years’ worth of subsidies, equivalent to $100 billion. Instead, those funds went towards corporation-owned-factory farms, which, hurt local economies and made meat and dairy production cheaper. Besides the subsidization costs, the government also spent an additional $550 million in marketing expenses, in order to boost sales for meat and dairy products. In fact, each dollar (of the $550 million) increases meat and dairy sales by $8, annually, which would be an additional $4.6 billion invested in the meat and dairy industry (“10 Things We Wish Everyone Knew About the Meat and Dairy Industries”). By subsidizing the meat and dairy industries, the government has unduly encouraged Americans to predominantly consume those products, which may contribute to future health complications. When meat and dairy are the primary components in a person’s diet, people miss out on the benefits other foods can offer; particularly, fruits and vegetables, which offer a variety of benefits, including the following: lots of vitamins and minerals; may reduce the chance of being diagnosed with many diseases; and fiber-rich produce that help with digestion; that is to say, all essential to a healthy…
Meat & Veggies: John Robbins, a food activist, writes, “…we often take for granted what may very well be the greatest danger of all to their health-the hundreds of billions of dollars spent each year on ads designed to get them hooked on junk food” (142).…
In today’s American Society, people yearn for quick and healthful meals. According to food research firm Technomic, 47 percent of Americans say they want healthier fast food options, but only about 23 percent actually order them (Sniegowski). An individual often subconsciously orders foods that look enticing in pictures or from companies that declare false information about the food in the advertisements; this enables fast food chains to operate profitably. A good fast food restaurant chain should have clean, simple and quality food with prices that can be affordable on the daily. Usually fast food Mexican restaurants are cheap and seem enticing but the food doesn’t meet the standards of nutritious and qualitative meals. In contrast Chipotle is a Mexican-style fast food restaurant that specializes in using meat that is obligated to satisfy the strict protocol for the treatment of animals. The company has a trademark called “Food with Integrity” that it uses to validate all of its meat…
Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food Is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer—And What You Can Do About It. Karl Weber, ed. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009…
“The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls is an extremely intriguing novel that really kept my attention throughout the whole story. The Walls family is definitely one that is unlike any I’ve ever come across, and the lessons that the children learned were ones that helped shaped their lives and made them who they are today. Jeanette obviously learned so much from her experience that she wrote a whole book about it, managing to hold the reader’s attention through all 281 pages. Jeanette Walls goes through many descriptions of situations that she faced that people normally should not face. For most of her childhood, she was traveling from place to place because her parents always thought that they would hit it big and never finding a steady job.…
In this society of fast-pace, easy access to almost everything and growing numbers of single-parent households it is too easy to fall into the traps of the deceitful advertising of fast food companies, not the mention their presence being on every other corner in our neighborhoods. Where are the alternatives for our children? As Zinczenko mentions, “Drive down any thoroughfare in America and…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.” It is true; eating healthy can be a challenge and very expensive. In this economy who can afford to shop at Whole Foods or even buy a bag of oranges at Dominick’s? And yes, while the…
a) Over the past 50 years, American diets have changed from leisurely family meals that were usually prepared at home using natural ingredients to today’s prepackaged, processed and convenience foods that are often eaten on the run with little thought towards nutrition or content.…
Moreover, living and working environments contribute to health and socioeconomic differences more so than the influence of individual characteristics. Thus, there are structural inequalities in food retail, which may influence the imbalances in dietary outcomes of different socioeconomic classes. Therefore, findings submit the problems in this system appear to further hinder populations “already limited in their ability to purchase healthy food” (Beaulac, Kristjansson, Cummins, 2009). This is further enhanced for those lacking access to consistent transportation. According to Beaulac, Kristjansson, and Cummins (2009) 26.5% of Americans with incomes below $20,000 did not own a car in 2001. When this gets coupled with the growing presence of small, independent and convenience stores in lower earning communities, it limits residents to shopping at stores that charge higher prices (Beaulac, Kristjansson, Cummins, 2009). These stores tend to provide a weak medley of healthful foodstuff, but an abundance of unhealthy items; a major contributor to poor diet. Not surprisingly, research shows that in the United States better access to supermarkets correlates to lower incidence of overweightness, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and overall better diets among minority and low-income groups…
Zenk,S.N., Powell, L.M., Rimkus, L., Isgor,Z., Barker,D.C., Ohri-Vachaspati,P., & Chaloupka, F. (2014). Relative and Absolute Availability of Healthier Food and Beverage Alternatives Across Communities in the United States. American Journal Of Public Health, 104(11), 2170-2178. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014-302113…
There was a time when most people made their meals from scratch. Families sat down together around the table and ate homemade low processed foods. However, our society has changed greatly over the years. Very few households have time to prepare family style dinners and instead rely heavily on sources that offer fast effortless meals. Regrettably, parents are not always home and therefore cannot supervise what their children are eating at mealtime. Pantries are filled with junk food while family freezers are stocked with microwavable, processed foods. Inevitably, children are fending for themselves and end up consuming foods that will be, more than likely, high in fat, sugar, and…
The amount of convenience stores compared to the amount of stores that provide produce is shocking. One of the key components of a low income neighborhood is that they have very poor access to grocery stores (Larson, Story, & Nelson 2009). Instead, neighborhoods are polluted with convenience stores that provide very little to no healthy options. Research done into food availability conducted by Hilary Gebaeur and Melissa Laska looked into why an abundance of convenience stores is problematic. Audits of stores surrounding secondary schools in Minnesota revealed that there were specific patterns of what kinds of food were available. Healthier options such as sandwiches and salads were occasionally available but at marked up prices, all while unhealthy options like snacks and finger foods covered the store with product and advertisement (Gebauer and Laska 2011). The more nutritional value the food has such as fruit and yogurt, the less they would appear. Beverages were one of the most popular items at convenience stores. Sodas and sugary drinks were sold in individual packages and bottles and advertised with imagery around the store. Meanwhile, juices were unequally listed; “100% fruit juice was often sold in multiple-serving containers, which may promote excess intake”(Gebauer and Laska: 620). This availability poses a major threat to health because it could be some of the only sources of nutrition for disadvantaged individuals. Greasy and fat ridden foods bundled at low prices is certainly an indicator of why obesity and poor nutrition is so prevalent among these communities. The healthiest options at these convenience stores are scarcely available and expensive which prevent people from getting a sufficient amount of quality nutrition. It proves that access to markets and lesser amounts of convenience stores in the community…
It is often said that, “You are what you eat,” food is an essential provision that cannot be taken for granted. The access for food is crucial and the food people put in their body is significant. Food determines various aspect of the human body such as, body shape, production of energy and ultimately overall health. The American lifestyle is based on time, speed and efficiency; therefore the American people tend to be oblivious on what they put inside their body. Society in America, particularly poor people, are forced to live in an environment where food leads to obesity or health problems, and the rich gain more access on fresh, healthy diet with low fat and salt. American’s perspective on time has dramatically transformed the way they eat and how they eat food. Instead of viewing food as a substance to be delight in, the appreciation for food has deteriorated, in other words, food has become a “means” to an end. Food is the ultimate hot-button issue because everyone eats it and no one wants to feel guilty about what they’re eating. Food can be as sensitive a subject as religion or politics. Ultimately, as the passion and eagerness for food in America increases, it becomes difficult to bridge the gap of feeding America with healthy nutritious diet.…
In today’s generation, many people are engaged in instant products to suite their lifestyle. Due to their busy schedules, some people buy ready-to-eat foods from the supermarket or fast foods. Ready-to-eat foods from the supermarket and fast foods are mostly high in salt, fats and calories. Foods bought from these establishments are mostly meat products and oftentimes, vegetables are taken for granted.…