An investment into a healthier America is long overdue, because we are continuing to allow the government to do more harm than good to our health. There is an issue in our nation that is attacking the population’s health and rights. The American diet as a whole is continuing to worsen as time progresses, and no government action is being done to stop it. Genetic engineering now modifies our once natural foods and subsidies are not where they should be. To first get a grip on this unacceptable problem at my school, I would like to propose a change in menus, a change in what the vending machines have available, and more advocates visiting the school. It can be agreed that the more knowledgeable a person is, the better their decision making It is no secret that junk foods are priced at a level that the average consumer can afford. The author tells the readers of an experience he had while passing by a family restaurant. He inputs a scenery with detail in the reader’s mind by saying, “... a ‘Texas-size breakfast’... enough to produce a Texas-size heart attack, and for $1.99. Americans are not known for resisting such temptations, especially if money is tight,” (Brody 71). The issue Brody is trying to come forward is: even though junk food comes at an affordable price, the price of a bad diet will come back and leave a person in debt. It does not make any sense as to why the bad foods are cheaper than the good and healthier foods that are available to us. It should be the other way around, but big business will not allow it to be that way. A suggestion that was put on by the author says, “California, for example. Could bring in $1.5 billion a year with a 1-cent per pound excise tax on sugar-sweetened drinks,” (Brody 71). If we cannot initiate the movement towards healthier meals just yet, the government should at least provide some funds towards healthier snacks. The vending machines need to exchange the bags of chips, cookies, and brownies for apples and bags of carrots. These easy-access machines should function to benefit a student, not do damage to their health. According to observations made by Alice Waters and Katrina Heron, “The long list of options includes high-fat, low-grade meats and cheeses and processed foods like chicken nuggets and pizza,” (Heron, Waters). The idea to tax bad foods, as Jane E. Brody endorses, would be able to bring in funds for better options of meals than the harmful chemical-filled foods Heron and Waters mention. Though this transition may not be immediate, it is possible to
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans overeat because of their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed, but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation, and putting a stop to it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised to help prevent American obesity.
There has been withstanding controversy about whether fast food is easier on the pocket than eating home-cooked meals. Take McDonald’s for instance, they’re notorious for their convenient and affordable dollar and value menus. Since you can get a burger for just $1.19, feeding a family of four should be inexpensive right? Mark Bittman, author of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” argues otherwise. He claims that fast food is not at all cheaper than buying a few groceries and cooking at home. He expresses the different myths about fast food like how it is supposedly cheaper than real food when measured by the calorie, the mentality of people that if it isn’t fast food, it has to be costly organic food, and that there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. These myths followed by genuine factors such as addictions and a cultural impact, help Bittman prove his argument’s validity across to his audience. I have to say that Bittman proved his argument’s effectiveness, for he clearly stated his thesis and provided various reliable
In the argument “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman, it talks about taxing unhealthy food and promoting vegetables. With the use of different strategies like emotions, credible research, solutions to problems, and much more he effectively assures that a diet change is what Americans need and will benefit from.
“This Article constructively critiques the two arguments that public health advocates have made in support of anti-obesity soda taxes or junk food taxes. Part II discusses and critiques the first argument, an economic externalities argument that government should tax soda or junk food to internalize the disproportionately high health care costs of obesity. Part III discusses and critiques the second argument made by public health advocates, that government should adopt anti-obesity measures to improve population-wide health. Consider possible unintended consequences of anti-obesity proposals. Obesity policy debates present a conflict of fundamental values, such as health, fairness, efficiency, and autonomy. Part TV attempts to reconcile these values and responds to the "personal responsibility" objection to soda taxes and food taxes. Part V considers various factors that would affect behavioral responses to proposed soda taxes and food taxes and addresses concerns that such taxes would be regressive and thus unfair to low-income consumers. Part VI suggests the way forward for public health advocates, including a proposal to enact a tax on nutritionally poor foods and drinks, paired with a salient benefit. This Part also recommends enactment of a federal system of food classification, based on nutrient-profiling methods, along with a federal system of front-of-package nutritional labeling.” (Pratt)
This essay is not one to be taken lightly, but rather realize that as Americans, we are responsible for our children’s health, and to ensure the future of the nation at a healthy rate, then we must show them that sugar is not as kind as it seems. What will it take for us to realize that sugar is very toxic, and once we understand that, who is willing to step up and work together towards the goal of a healthier America? There are two Americas that we need to work towards for a healthy country: today’s America and tomorrow’s America.
After taking a closer look at the American diet, it 's clear to see Americans are in a lot of trouble. The average American diet is filled with lots of greasy fast food, large cuts of meat, salty junk food and sugar-laden sodas. This tradition is then passed on to the children and creates a legacy of ailments, disease and a lower quality of life. To many people, plant-based eating sounds like a death sentence. In reality, it 's all about getting creative with the foods you already like. It also involves intentional meal-planning and organization. However, your health is worth it. The ability to experience a better quality of life should be motivation enough to start changing your eating habits. Consider a few of these simple ways to incorporate plant-based eating into each meal without eliminating delicious taste.
If given the option of a quick and easy full meal for under five dollars, who would choose the equally expensive bag of kale at the same price? The documentary “Food Inc.”, produced by famous author Eric Schlosser, contains many questionable claims portraying the food industry as deliberately nefarious. However, it also highlights many valid reasons to support these assertions. Schlosser justly argues that “the biggest predictor of obesity in America is income level”. The affordability of a processed, fast food meal offered at popular fast food chains usually equates to a nominal serving of a healthy, balanced food. Restaurants such as McDonalds and Taco Bell offer an array of highly processed menu items
Mark Bittman’s article “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” tells about how people are not really getting their money’s worth when it comes to consuming junk food. He does this by showing the differences between ordering a meal at McDonald’s and cooking a meal at home. The twenty-eight dollars that is spent to feed a family of four at McDonald’s can be put to use making a meal that could last for a couple of days and feed more than four (Bittman 660). Engineered to be addictive, hyper-processed food has a taste that makes people wanting more. Lastly, Bittman addresses the convenience of junk food provides nowadays. Therfore, the cost of junk food is not really cheaper in comparison to a home cooked meal.
Albeit the system seems rigged with an unfair advantage to fast food and junk food companies who dominate America’s landscape. In today’s society, if the government sets proportions, adults and children still have the freedom to choose what they consume. Companies are manufacturing to our taste in a series of experiments to find the “bliss” point in which consumers find the products more desirable (Moss 482). The logic is relatable as many businesses strive to appease their customers to return. Subsequently, in agreement with both authors, many adults are enticed by the convenience of these industries. Whether it be they are on the go or prefer not to cook after a strenuous day: the cheap prices and close proximity appeal to their fast paced
People are going to argue that adding taxes to junk food is not going to decrease the amount of consumption, and they are going to argue there is not is not going to be any proportional change in the consumption if it is taxed. Even if “Observational data suggest that food consumption is relatively insensitive to price changes, the proportional change in consumption being less than the proportional change in price” (Mytton, Clarke, & Rayner, 2012). The argument against adding taxes to alcohol and tobacco had the same issues. However, it is suggested that “market failures for food include a failure to appreciate the true association between diet and disease, time inconsistency (preference for short term gratification over long term well-being) and not bearing the full health and social costs of consumption” (Mytton, Clarke, & Rayner,
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years,” meaning that America’s children need to start eating healthier, including healthier school lunches. The National School Lunch Act is a fairly recent addition to American society. For, as the world waged war a second time, the United States began to worry about the strength and health of the country’s soldiers. However, in the beginning, selling excess agricultural goods was more important than building a healthy, well-balanced meal for students. Unfortunately, many children coming from poorer families could not afford well-balanced school lunches, so in order to compensate, the School Lunch Program changed its focus to help these students. This program, however, decreased schools’ lunch budgets, and schools had a hard time keeping up with the amount of free meals they had to provide, so they came up with some extra ways to increase revenue. However, in a small town in Massachusetts, one chef makes a difference in the health of the school lunch students eat each day, and proves that hiring a trained chef to cook real, healthy meals can increase profit. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most schools across the nation. The quality of health of the food being served in school lunches is extremely poor and was allowed to decline even more with a new set of rule changes. However, there are some improvements currently being made to increase the quality of health of the food being served to students, including teaching them all about food and its nutritional information, both good and bad. In order for students to eat healthier lunches at school, the USDA needs to implement healthier ...
health needs to be taken immediately. The first step is to stop people before they develop their eating habits (which targets students). Without junk foods, health has the chance to improve. So why not attempt to save America’s health if it doesn’t hurt anything?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
In America over 300,000 people are obese and that number continues to grow because the about of junk food that is being consumed. This cost the economy one hundred billion dollars. That more damage done than smoking or drinking. (Crowley, Michael 5) There are other health problems, such as heart diseases, chronic diseases, and type-two diabetes that occur because of junk food. Increasing the price of junk food, by adding tax, researchers hope that this will prod people to reject unhealthy foods. Taxes will also encourage a healthier lifestyle, even in low-income families (Franck, Caroline 2).
It became so clear that junk foods lead to a punch of catastrophic diseases like obesity, type two diabetes, vascular diseases and cardiac disorders. Those kinds of diseases cost more than $150 billion annually, just to diagnose, treat people who suffer from them. That disease is chronic and leads to many health-related issues, for example, obesity considers a risk factor for type two diabetes, and high blood pressure, joint disorders and many others (The Denver Post 2012). The key of preventing many chronic problems is nutrition. Low income plays an important role of limiting most people to buy and eat a healthy diet and in the other hand, it is easy for people budgets to purchase junk foods. So controlling the prices of healthy foods to be suitable for all people make good nutrition available for everyone. Adequate diets mean decreasing the epidemic of those serious diseases, and stopping the spread and break the bad sequences that may happen. Long-term exposure to junk foods that are full with chemicals like additives, preservatives have led to chronic illnesses difficult to treat. Also, the chemical added to junk foods are tasted unique and made millions of people becoming addicted to them and are available everywhere for example in restaurants, cafes, lunchrooms (The Denver Post