In today’s culture, people judge food by its convenience and taste. Processed and fast foods are quick, easy, and taste fairly good. Children, especially, enjoy fast food and packaged snacks. While this may seem a good solution to this fast-paced society, it is actually a dangerous habit. Fifteen percent of children ages six to nineteen are overweight, and the number is growing (Back to School). Even if a child is not obese, he often does not eat healthy and faces the danger of becoming overweight. Processed and preserved foods and fast food negatively affect elementary-aged children’s health and future lifestyle.
First, consider the convenience factor. Processed and preserved foods are easy to obtain and stay fresh for long periods of time. However, these foods are unhealthy because of the refining process and additives. “Refining destroys and devitalizes most of the food’s goodness” (Jordan 1). The Health Department still allows food to be bleached, even though there is a toxic effect.
There are several different types of convenience foods today. They share the same qualities, such as chemical additives and less nutritional value than real food. The level of chemicals they contain differentiates them. The first is processed food, which is real food infused with chemicals and preservatives in order to keep the food fresh longer. To attain this goal, it is stripped of nutrients and pumped with additives that your body is unable to efficiently digest (Jordan 1).
The second type of convenience food is junk food. This contains very little real food and is made of processed food, fats, chemicals, and preservatives. The chemicals that junk food contains are less expensive than real food, so it is cheaper to mass-produce.
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The processed food we eat has many chemical additives that mislead our scenes, which are actually mascaraing the manufacturing process of the food industry. Eric Schlosser does an excellent job proving this fact in his report “Food Product Design”. His arguments point out that fast food industries main goal is to entice you with a brand of flavor that you eventually will be addicted to. Subsequently over the last fifty years the flavor industry has manipulated the population into spending 90 percent of the money that they spend on groceries, to ensure they are buying branded processed food. In effect these corporations are employing scientific research and a human beings natural instincts and scenes to persuade us into eating their certain brand of food.
Michael Pollan discusses two categories of food: one is real food (the kind our great-grandmother would recognize), while the other is “edible food-like substances”. The category that needs defending according to Pollan is the real food. This category of food is minimally processed, fresh (will eventually rot), and includes mostly things that are taken straight from the source (the ground, tree, etc.). When one walks into a store, they should look for and pick the foods that are more “quiet”such as fresh produce than the ones that have more labels that say they are more healthy, or better for you.
The article that I read on “Processed Foods: What’s OK, What to Avoid” say “It’s blamed for our nation’s obesity epidemic, high blood pressure and the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.” (Jill Kohn, 2015) It also says that it is surprising to “learn that whole-wheat, homemade soup a chopped apple are also processed foods.” (Jill Kohn, 2015) Even some of the conveniences we have could be considered processed like our bagged spinach or even the roast nuts. The conveniences that are not so good are like canned fruits, vegetables, because of the sugar or sodium that is in them.
Since the fast food industry is targeting America’s youth, providing healthier options on children’s menus will reduce the rate of childhood obesity and allow for a healthy future.
Food can be classified as fast food, junk food, whole food, organic food out of these whole food is unprocessed, unrefined so it has very short shelf life because most foods contain enzymes or natural chemicals, such as acids or alcohols, that cause them to begin to lose characteristics almost immediately after harvest or preparation. In addition, a several of environmental factors, such as heat and the presence of microorganisms, acts to change foodstuffs in ways that may harm the food product so food should be processed to increase its shelf life because food is vital for survival. Food preservation is one of the oldest technologies used by human beings to avoid its spoilage. Different methods have been found and developed for this purpose such as boiling, freezing & refrigeration, pasteurizing, dehydrating, pickling. Some of these are traditional methods. Certain chemical substances are also added into the food to avoid spoilage of food, such substances are called food preservatives.
To begin with, according to Pollan consumption of highly processed food is very high in America. Pollan says, “They [processed foods] contain much less water, fiber and micronutrients, and generally much more sugar and fat”(12). Pollan believes the American population does not consume enough real food; therefore, they constantly look for something to satisfy their hunger. Fiber and micronutrients in whole foods give people satisfaction after consuming them. Processed foods are significantly low in micronutrients and fiber. People do not feel satisfied after eating processed foods; consequently, they overeat the foods that negatively impact their health. Processed foods in America are sold at a minimum price, making it easier and more accessible to consume foods that are dangerous to the human’s health.
Secondly, fast food offers greater perceived monetary value in comparison with slow food products. Fast food, prepared with inexpensive chemical enhancers, gives marketers the advantage of low production costs, and consumers the illusion of monetary value. Additives including artificial colours, flavours, and sweeteners enhance the taste and presentation of food giving the illusion of freshness mimicking flavours, and tastes of fresh products. Furthermore, Preservatives such as Benzoate (BHT, BHA, and TBHQ), Sodium Nitrite, and Nitrate used to preserve colour and flavours, and hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated shortening creates an appealing cost effec...
Fast food contains high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives. Americans in today’s society want food and they want it now. Manufacturers have figured this out and fill the food with many artificial and unhealthy chemicals. If a person saw what the food looked like in the pre processed state, one would most likely not buy it or eat it.
Processed foods have little or no nutritional value and are chemically altered to increase the appeal to your taste buds, which means they are also overriding your body’s signals that would otherwise tell you it is time to stop eating. These foods are also loaded with additives, which are extremely harmful to your body. One of these additives is, fructose the number one source of calories in the US and a chemical that diminishes your feeling of being full. Another additive is genetically modified ingredients (GMO), which are linked to serious health problems. The last additive I am going to mention is monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that helps even spoiled food taste fresh. Another vital missing ingredient is bio photons, the smallest physical units of light, which are stored in, and used by all biological organisms including our
Unhealthy dieting contributes to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the U.S. and that causes obesity. The presence of overweight and obesity in a patient is of medical concern because it increases the risk for several diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and it increases all-cause mortality. The presence of overweight and obesity in a patient is of medical concern because it increases the risk for several diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and it increases all-cause mortality. According to Andrew Smith he agreed that eating too much junk food is becoming a bigger problem in our society today and, that it is the number one cause of obesity. Andrew informs that, “Statistics indicates that the percentage of children and adolescents who are obese has doubled in the last twenty years. Today 25 percent of American children are now classified as overweight according to CDC” (6). Studies are showing that if we don’t stop our bad eating habits. It will hurt Americans in the end. We are relying too much on the convenience rather than the quality of our
Yet, the human population can decide to buy food that is fast and unhealthy before considering to eat an at home nutritious meal. Processed food and fast food are high in both sodium and sugar. In terms of people knowing the consequences of eating unhealthy, they would rather choose a poor habit. In the article “Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food’s Popularity,” the article states “Studies show that people prefer food that is inexpensive, convenient, and rather buy food instead of eating a cooked meal.” Food that can be brought in less than ten minutes to eat is what causes people to eat out a majority of the
Food has been a common source of necessity in our everyday lives as humans. It helps gives us nutrition and energy to live throughout our life. Over several decades, the development of making foods has evolved. They have changed from natural to processed foods in recent years. Nowadays natural ingredients are barely used in the making of foods like bread, cheese, or yogurt. The food industry today has replaced natural food making with inorganic ingredients. The cause of this switch is due to processed foods being easier, cheaper and faster to make. Artificial nutrition and processed foods have been proven to last longer in market shelves then natural foods. Also, due to artificial additives in processed foods they help satisfy consumers taste more than natural ingredients. The method of producing processed foods is common in today's food industry and helps make money faster and efficiently for companies. Examples of this can be found in all markets that distribute food. Even though processed foods may be easier and faster to make, they are nowhere near as healthy for consumers compared to natural foods. Natural foods are healthier, wholesome, and beneficial to the human body and planet then processed foods.
The impact on children and adolescents that derive from the fast food industry raise questions in the details of the nation of fast food. The health of these people is the biggest concern among the issues that have raised questions from adults and health officials around the world and how later on the way these kids are eatin...
What are processed foods? It is food “composed of synthetic chemical additives, such as colorings, preservatives, sugar substitutes and trans-fats” (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.72). Fitzgerald reported that by the “1970s most meats and dairy products that were factory farmed were laced with growth hormones, antibiotics and a range of pesticides” (p.72). Furthermore, food that is frozen, packaged and canned is considered processed food. A brief explanation of the chemical additives in processed food.