David Zinczenko’s essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” stresses the connection of fast food restaurants to obese children. With his parents spilt up, and his mother working long hours to support the family, as a child Zinczenko had a limited choice of fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut for both lunch and dinner. Just like today those were the only affordable meals for teenagers. Due to this, at the age of 15, Zinczenko becomes obese (212 pounds). Unlike a lot of people with similar issues, he he turns his life around by joining the Navy Reserves. Zinczenko notes that fast-food restaurants are located almost everywhere, attract to children, are cheap, and are easy to access. Hence why he believes that …show more content…
According to him, “There are no calorie information charts on fast-food packaging, the way there are on grocery items. Advertisements don’t carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do” (Zinczenko 463). Zinczenko that fast-food companies are “vulnerable,” and he urges the industry to protect its consumers (464). Zinczenko is right about the need of nutritional information for fast-food; however, common sense dictates that people should know not to eat at fast-food restaurants every day.
When deciding what to eat for dinner, the nutritional value of food can be an important aspect of the decision. However, unlike grocery items and tobacco products, fast-food items do not require nutrition labels. Zinczenko emphasizes to his audience that the nutritional information, provided by the fast-food companies, can be confusing to understand:
“One company’s Web site lists its chicken salad as containing 150 calories; the almonds and noodles that come with (an additional 190 calories) are listed separately. Add a serving of the 280-calorie dressing, and you’ve got a healthy lunch alternative that comes in at 620 calories. But that’s not all. Read the small print on the back of the dressing packet and you’ll realize it actually contains 2.5 servings. If you pour what you’ve been served, you’re suddenly up around 1,040 calories…and that doesn’t take into account that 450-calorie
…show more content…
However, it is important to remember that this essay was written in 2002; today, many fast-food restaurants have a variety of salads, and they serve fruit, juices, and milk on their children’s meals now. However, I do agree with what Zinczenko is calling for: fast-food restaurants need to display the nutritional values of their food. Like the warnings on tobacco and alcoholic items, fast-food nutritional information can be there to warn consumers about what they are about put into their
Research shows that when such information is given, customers use it to limit the way they eat. This can consume an average loss of calories than they typically did before labeling. This trend poses increased risk, not just in terms of calories, but in terms of unhealthful ingredients such as fat and sodium. According to the passage, "the U.S. government agrees that restaurant meals should be labeled. It is part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which requires that standard menu items include information on nutrition 1". This poses that fast food places and restaurants should in fact label information, not only for ones own health but it is required.
Zinczencko complains that unlike many other hazardous items, fast food does not come with warnings on how terrible the food is for one’s health and its future effects. He emphasizes that even if the customers were able to obtain the nutritional facts, they are not palpable, but rather obscure. He points out that the fast-food companies make the nutrition labels vague and misleading; they calculate the calories for every separate part of the meal, and they make it so the consumer must pay attention to serving size as well. He observes that the fast-food industry can get away with confusing labels because there are not any Food and Drug Administration labeling requisites (Word Smart, p. 220) covering fast food. Zinczenko complains that there is not any sort of nutritional labeling on the menus at fast-food restaurants. Now, nine years later, there are some changes, but his point is still valid. McDonald’s menu now states the calories of each meal, but as Zinczenko points out, it is very difficult to
Zinczenko's is experienced in the matter of fast food and the disastrous effects it can have on a person's health because he experienced it from a first-person perspective. His personal experiences and the knowledge that he gathered through the years enabled him to understand that many fast-food companies make it difficult for customers to interpret information concerning their products. The writer highlights that many people are tricked into adopting particular attitudes with regard to foods because they believe that it is healthy for them to do so. However, it appears that even salads are typically probable to contain much more calories than advertised.
In his essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko brings forward his points about how the American fast food system needs to have a change or there will be serious consequences for the future of American children. Zinczenko presents an argument largely based on facts from sources such as the Center for Disease Control and the actual websites from these fast food chains to bring to light what is going on with the state of American health and how it relates to fast food companies. In one paragraph he breaks down a salad from a prominent fast food chain. He lists the calories that the website lists, (150 food calories) then goes on and show that a normal person eating that salad would most likely consume around 1,040 calories (Zinczenko
In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition. It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to
Also, he attempts to warn consumers about how unhealthy fast foods really are. He makes a strong point; there is a need for nutritional information about fast food. Having access to the information about the contents and nutritional values of fast food may help one make an informed decision about his food options. However, people need to take accountability for the choices that they make. Choosing fast food is not a forced decision. With the nutritional information and will power at hand, can turn their lives around. When someone walks into a fast food restaurant, he or she is not trapped in there forever; all it takes is for him or her put down the burger and walk
Which gives fast food restaurants less worry about their consumer’s health. However, Zinczenko also affirms the fact that “Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request out of that would be hard to find” (Zinczenko 464). He explains that for obesity rates to drop, people must be informed with the necessary information on what they are going to eat at fast food restaurants. With the knowledge of how healthy their food is and how many calories they are going to be consuming, Americans can better orchestrate a healthier diet plan and possibly eat less when they decide to dine at fast food restaurants.
The FDA tried to help consumers make healthy choice when consume foods by provide and encourage accurate label, whether for the nutrition facts label, menu label and the sodium level label that said about a particular product. The nutrition fact label improved on the format and content that display on the package such as highlight the calories and serving information concise that will reflect the portion serving per person and add a caterigo of “Added Sugars, Vitamin D and potassium” for helping people who under the calorie limitation to know so they are not consuming more than it should. Also, FDA reinforces restaurant to make the menu label for consumers that eat out so consumer aquice the nutrition information such as calorie count for food,
What i mean by this is people with healthy habits look for these labelings to be on their menus because it helps the se how much calories or fats are in a certain food and it's not just people with healthy habits that do this it is everybody a lot of people look for labeling on their menus of their foods. If you read paragraph three of food labeling if states “this trend poses increased risks for all of us, not just in terms of calories, but in terms of unhealthful ingredients such as fat and sodium. Armed With relevant information, consumers can address this risk and be better for
In Don’t Blame the Eater, David Zinczenko composes his opinion on the fast food industry’s absence of nutritional information and more. Zinczenko starts his piece by giving his own life experience. He recalls his childhood trying to find food and that fast food was “the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (Zinczenko 462). By giving his own life experience, Zinczenko relates to the reader and grabs their attention.
Fast food restaurants are the only option for many teenagers today because their parents often work during the day. The problem is that fast food companies are easy to eat and has a fast service. If people were truly thinking about their meal, it might influence consumers to look for healthier options. At home, parents are the ones who feed their children. If they continue to feed their children hamburgers and french-fries, their children will continuously want more and more. It is set out their healthy pattern as opposed to obesity. David Zinczenko states “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder -- only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National Institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes account for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country”(463). There are so many other meal options, but the parents are not taking that extra steps. When children grow up, they are going to be unhappy with their weight because it is not their fault to be served with the fast food from their teenage years. Even with other options, the parents are the ones who buy their kids the meal. A little kids can’t drive through a fast food restaurant and order foods, the parents are the ones who give it to them. All parents want their children to be healthy, and fast food is making them
Fast food is extremely popular in North America in that it is a cheap, convenient, and delicious way to eat. It is also no secret that a quick meal is as unhealthy as tasty. Due to the fact that eating a large number of fast foods can cause health problems, an issue of food labelling has been the subject of debate in recent years. Some agree with this idea, saying it helps people in making healthier choices. However, unhealthy fast foods with warning labels is definitely not necessary because of the possibility of being a short-sighted policy, the difficulty of providing accurate information, and the responsibility of individual’s.
It has been proven that amounts of fast food can be harmful and unhealthy; however, when paired with other healthier options, the results will not be as harsh. During the Food Fight special, it was discussed that “as a nation we accept personal responsibility as the default solution to things.” It is up to the people to be aware of the foods they are eating, and their nutritional values, but it is also up to the producers to put forth the effort to make discovering the nutritional information easy. For example, at Subway, nutritional facts are on their napkins and other paper products; this helps the customer know exactly what they are ingesting and how many fewer calories they are eating as opposed to other restaurants (McDonalds, etc). This is a great initiative because it educates the customer and creates a trust between the consumer and the producer. In Food Fight, it is mentioned over and over that America, and even the world, would have drastically lower obesity levels if more customers were educated about the unhealthy nature of fast food products. More and more restaurants and other chains are posting their nutritional facts on their websites and with many people getting smart phones, we are getting closer to the point where claiming ignorance over what one is eating will be an untenable
It is mournful for this great country, to see public facilities and streets, crowded with overweight and diseased youth population. This is the country that the fast food industry has created; it has a hold of the youth and it's only strengthening its influence. Children are eating unhealthy food, growing up obese, and adhering to that same lifestyle. Imagine being a young teenager, raised in a home where fast food is a weekly thing on Fridays. It’s all fun and games until finding out one has developed Type 2 Diabetes, at the age of 17; now the rest of this person's life will revolve around careful tracking of food intakes. Parents, turn this into their children's lives. Therefore, new measures need to be taken, in order to encourage healthier life choices, two things need to be said: 1) consumers need to say “no” to junk food and 2) junk food restaurants need to produce healthy and nutritious meals, to which customers can say “yes.”
Fast food has turned into an enormous piece of America over the most recent 30 years. Families lives have turned out to be exceptionally occupied and fast food is a simple path for guardians to bolster their youngsters when they don't have sufficient energy to cook a feast. What guardians don't understand is the manner by which terrible fast food is for individuals and that it is so appalling to eat regularly. Consistently,