In the essay “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zincezenko talk about how fast food has contributed to the increasing amount of obese and unhealthy children in the U.S. Over the years many people has tried to sue these fast food restaurants like McDonalds, KFC, and Taco Bell for making them fat. David uses his own personal experience growing up to help bring perspective to everyone of how easy it is for people to choose unhealthy eating habits. He talk about how his mom worked and didn’t really have time to cook, so to make sure he ate she would have him choose something to eat that would be quick and not the most expensive. If you are looking for something that is inexpensive and a “quick buy” then fast food would be the most convenient. He also…
Eric Schlosser clearly is no fan of fast food. Schlosser argues that fast food chains are a major factor in causing obesity and ill health of Americans. To support his arguments against the fast food industry, the author, Mr. Eric Schlosser, spent over two years traveling around the world researching. Schlosser's main point throughout the book would be that fast food giants have negatively impacted American culture, and has contributed to urban sprawl. With his careful analysis and his effective writing styles using ethos, logos, and pathos he convinces you about fast food industry’s negative impact on the economy and society as we know it. Although there are many different writing styles you can use to affect the text, Schlosser's uses of all 3 main rhetoric devices helps you understand the amount to research that went into creating this book and his views on fast food…
David Zinczenko’s essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” (New York Times, November 23, 2002) emphasizes the idea that the large conglomerates may be held accountable for some legal responsibility for the skyrocketing rate of obesity in America within children. He uses anecdotal evidence from his past to argue that it is not the consumer’s fault that they are experiencing health issues, it is the multinational corporations that own the most well known fast food restaurants. Zinczenko starts by saying that he has been a victim of these large conglomerates as a younger boy. He states that he had a daily task of choosing where to have his lunch and dinner between four well-known fast food chains. Zinczenko also shares that he lost…
Schlosser teaches about the introduction of fast food to American culture by providing a brief history of how it came to be while explaining the effects it has on whoever…
Are fast food restaurant chains to blame for America being the fattest nation in the world? Morgan Spurlock tackles this question in his award-winning documentary, Supersize Me. Spurlock went on a “McJourney” where, for thirty consecutive days, he could only eat food that came from McDonald’s. He went on this fast food binge to analyze the effects it would have on the human body. In his documentary, Spurlock efficiently uses ethos, pathos, and logos to display America’s obesity crisis.…
David Zinczenko is the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine and the author of numerous best-selling books. Zinczenko is a man known for his work; his work and credibility shines bright because he has contributed op-ed essays to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. He has also appeared on Oprah, Ellen, 20/20, and Good Morning America. The fact that he is so accomplished in the area of eating healthy shows just how credible he is when it comes to discussing fast food vs. the eater. Zinczenko believes that the fast food industry is partly at fault for the growing rate of obesity. Although Zinczenko’s background and accomplishments gives us the evidence we need to know in order to trust his judgments, his emotional way of getting his points across make a difference as well. In the beginning of the essay, Zinczenko tells us about himself and how he grew up with troubled parents who weren’t together, and with very little options of what to eat for lunch and dinner every day. He explains that his options were mainly fast food, which caused him to be an overweight teenager. In other words, he uses his story of himself as a teenager growing up with family problems to draw people in and get them to sympathize with the overweight teenagers and get them to see that it is not all their fault and that it is, in fact, partly the fast food industry’s fault. One of his final arguments is that without warning labels on fast food industry products, we will see more sick, obese children and more angry parents.…
In the book “Fast Food Nation”, Eric Schlosser breaks down the fast food industry both in the United States and around the globe into various sections. In chapter 10 specifically, Global Realization, Schlosser examines all aspects of the globalization of this growing industry, how the perception of American imperialism affects certain societies, the impact the fast food on the economy, the effects of the food on the nation, and lastly the controversy and conflict that the industry ensues. Throughout the chapter, Schlosser essentially addresses both positive and negative effects of the fast food industry expanding internationally. Among these effects, we agree with Schlosser’s research in that the expansion of the industry benefits various countries politically and economically, yet in return is a major health issue. However, we believe that the overall effect the fast food industry will have on the world in the future is ultimately up to the consumers, and that they will lead the globe to mass uniformity.…
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…
Over the last few generations, obesity has become more common than it has ever been. Spurlock states in Girth of a Nation that “[t]he obesity epidemic is truly nationwide, cutting across class, race, ethnicity and gender” (25). In the past the only group who was obese was the wealthy, due to the fact that the lower classes did not have enough money to buy food enough to make them obese. Nowadays, a lot of food items have been made cheap for everyone, but this food is not necessarily nutritious. Spurlock points out that the rise in obesity appears to coincide with the rise of fast food (31). Fast food gives everyone a chance to get a plethora of non-nutritious food “fast, cheap, and easy.” In addition to getting the food cheap, one can choose to “super-size” the meal making it twice as harmful to the body.…
Far from being a run of the mill expose on calories and fat grams in fast food, Fast Food Nation is a hard-hitting critique of the industrialization of America¹s and, later, the world¹s food supply. The consequences of this industrialization have far-reaching effects on working people around the world. Fast food chains are at the pinnacle of a giant food-industrial complex that controls the nation¹s food supply.…
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.…
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.…
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.…
Fast food is everywhere around us from the time we wake up to the time we go home to stop and get dinner at a greasy restaurant. Most of us who eat from these same restaurants are not sure of the ingredients in the restaurant’s food or where it comes from. America is always moving at such a fast pace that now most of us don’t even have the time to closely examine the food we consume. One of the main reasons for obesity in America today is that no one has the time anymore to make a healthy lifestyle a priority in their life.…
Obesity is increasing in the United States; it is more than a size and more than being overweight. Obesity is defined by Mayo Clinic in their Diseases and Conditions definitions as, “a complex disorder involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn 't just a cosmetic concern. It increases risks of diseases and health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.” Moreover, it has been categorized as a growing epidemic, but how should we combat it if we don’t know who the enemy is? Many criticize and blame fast food restaurants for selling unhealthy foods and their negative influence on flawed eating habits. Fast food…