You Can't Blame The Eater in America Let's face it: the ubiquity of fast food has become one of the defining characteristics of America in the 21st century, one that values convenience and accessibility. In almost every zip code, the fast food industry has a strong foothold on diets, both domestic and abroad. This strong and originally American industry has increased its influence on the world's diet and impacted societies. However, fast food goliaths such as McDonald's and Burger King have come to be associated with health risks including, but not limited to, obesity, diabetes, and other ailments. Its omnipresence in society and in media both contribute to the spike in the these cases. David Zinczenko, former Editor-in-Chief of Men's Health magazine, weighs in on this topic in 2002 and offers his take on who should be responsible for this national health crisis. In his op-ed, "Don't Blame the Eater," …show more content…
This national health epidemic, Zinczenko argues, should be an important issue to his readers since he has first-hand knowledge of the subject matter, making himself a credible source.
Zinczenko first identifies himself as a former consumer of fast food, proving himself as someone with first-hand experience to fast food's effect on the body. By way of appearing as someone who deeply understands this issue, Zinczenko notes that he "tends to sympathize with these portly fast food patrons, though. That's because I used to be one of them" (462). Zinczenko, currently the author of a diet-based book, offers the surprising fact that he once consumed the products that he now warns against, a shocking concession made to draw the reader into the rest of his article. He more importantly establishes himself as a former foodie, meaning he understands both the ends of the spectrums of this discussion. On
The food is not forced into anyone’s mouth, therefore it would be unethical to cast blame for the aftermath of consuming the foods. Even if, for the sake of humor, we did blame the food chains, we still could not assume the blame for a person being overweight was purely based on eating those foods. With an active lifestyle, it would be very difficult to become overweight. David Zinczenko himself states that had it not been for joining the Navy in college, he would still be overweight. Which has nothing to do with dietary habits. Between these two facts, we can confidently state that the viewpoint similar to the points made in “Don’t Blame the Eater”. Personal health should be as it sounds, personal. If you have the freedom to choose what you put into your body you should take the responsibility for the precautions that come with it. Like it is argued in “What You Eat is Your Business”, if we put more money/emphasis on these problems being a matter of our own conviction, obesity levels would drop. Health care costs would drop, and America would be a much healthier
Throughout the United States many American’s go through and eat at fast food places such as, McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack ‘n the Box. Mainly unaware of the amount of weight one can gain if consuming it on a daily bases or even two times week, can cause health issues, diabetes and possibly obesity. This was the main premise for writer Dave Zinczenko essay Don’t Blame the Eater, who makes an argument that many people are becoming obese and diabetic because of the fast food they eat. He asks a regarding his concern; Shouldn 't we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?, As a way to engage the general public, like parents and teenagers, he expresses his argument through his own experience when he was a teenager eating at fast food places and information on the fast food industry in regards to how many calories are in the food.
As for David Zinczenko, he grew up on the infamous fast food diet that once saved his life when hunger struck due to the affordable prices restaurants had to offer. “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut” (Zinczenko 462). These unhealthy habits eventually caught up to him and resulted in an unflattering weight gain. Fortunately, he went to college, connected with the Navy Reserves and also became associated with a health magazine in which he learned how to manage his diet. He didn’t stop there; in fact, he is president of Galvanized Brands, a global health and wellness media company and he is also the author of multiple books: Eat This, Not That and the Abs Diet series. The most remarkable part, he was able to recover and become healthy again unlike many others who have gone too far to make a comeback, therefore, becoming obese. In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko talks to those who are consuming the
The book begins with the question of “What should we have for dinner?” and stands to answer that question the rest of the way. Speaking directly of Americans, Pollan explains in-depth how the Nation tends to jump from fad to fad, first being afraid of carbohydrates, and then switching to fats, and so on. He goes on to explain where this thought process might have come from with the history of the Carter administration in 1977, as dietary goals were issued and the red meat lovers of America were warned to cut back. From that time on it has been an ever-changing lipo-, carbo-, phobia, with a cycle of weight loss and gain. With this question at hand, Michael Pollan begins to dive de...
In American, has an obesity epidemic that is growing year after year. According to the CDC more than one third 34.9% or 78.6 million U.S adults are obese and it continues grow. In the FDA recorders people that are obese usually have type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma, heartburn and other digestive and mental health problems. The author David Zinczenko, the author of the article “Don’t blame the eater” thinks that fast food restaurants does not have alternative foods and not labeling their food products. Then there is Radley Balko the author of the article “What you eat is Your Business” believes that law makers should allow insurance companies to charge higher premium on obese people for their unhealthy eating habits. After reading both article, I disagree with Zinczenko idea of fast food restaurants not having fast food alternatives because fast food chains do have other alternative and they also label their food products
The article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, is an article aimed to bring attention to the ever increasing obesity rates in the United States, which he believes has been caused be the ever increasing amount of fast food restaurants in the United States.
In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, by David Zinczenko and in “What You Eat is Your Business”, by Radley Balko both authors discuss and make their stance’s clear on their believed cause of obesity in America. On one hand, Zinczenko argues that it is not the consumers fault for putting themselves at risk of becoming obese or being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but that it is the fast-food companies fault. While on the other hand, Balko argues that we as individuals hold responsibility on whether or not we are putting ourselves at risk for obesity.
Many people in America love to get greasy, high calorie fast food from many places such as McDonalds and its competitors, but in the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, he reveals the health problems associated with these fatty, salty meals. His articles are affective with its well organized layout, rhetorical appeals and tone which give it a very convincing argument. As you read through the article the author reveals the underlying problems with eating fast food and how there are no warnings of such problems posted. As a former obese child who grew up to diet and watch what he ate he sets a credible stance for the argument.
However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension”
Best selling author of Eat This, Not That, David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” blames the fast food industry for the growing rate of obesity in the United States. Zinczenko’s main idea is that fast food companies should have warning labels on all the food they supply. Zinczenko believes that since health labels are put on tobacco and preserved food product, fast food industries should put labels on today’s fast food. Discussions about the availability of fast food compared to healthier alternative were brought up as well. Zinczenko states that when looked at, a salad from a fast food restaurant could add up to half of someone’s daily calories (155). He believes that because of fast food, Americans are having more health risks, which includes an insane rise in diabetes. Some agree with Zinczenko saying fast food companies should be the ones responsible to show people the truth about their foods. On the other hand Radley Balko, a columnist for FoxNews.com, states that fast-food consumption ...
Companies are to blame for obesity due to lack of information. Zinczenko argues that companies don't give a proper understanding of consumer products, stating "Prepared foods aren't covered under Food and Drug Administration
“Don’t Blame the Eater” is an article by David Zinczenko that explains to Americans, specifically overweight young Americans, about the risks eating at fast food restaurants and its cause of affecting one’s health. In his article, he tries to address the issue about America’s food industries by using literal devices such as tone, logos, ethos, diction, and organization in order to spread his message. He begins his article by addressing the topic and as he continues writing, he supports his topic by writing about personal experience and moves onto the reasons why his topic in a serious issue. Although he shows an overall clear progress, he does tend to have a few problems with his writing that could be improved.
Jennifer Rotz Professor Killingsworth English 101 5 October 2015 The War on Food Poverty In David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater”, he writes about a vulnerable behemoth in the form of the fast food industry, correlating an increase in obesity and Type II diabetes with a skyrocketing increase in health care costs. As these costs increase, we are left to wonder where public responsibility ends and personal responsibility begins. Who is really to blame when a person is so addicted to eating at McDonald’s that they file a lawsuit against the food giant, claiming that fast food caused their obesity?
The story, In Praise of Fast Food, written by Rachel Laudan is an evaluation argument recommending healthy food choices in comparison to fast food. Laudan responds by sharing her experience with growing up on a farm and a child and eating food from her family garden. “Modern, fast, processed food is a disaster” (Faigley 302). In this writing selection, the author provided effective evidence to argue the inadequate safety of food today saying, “They built granaries, dried their meat and their fruit, salted and smoked their fish, curdled and fermented their dairy products, and cheerfully used additives and preservatives- sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, lye- to make audible foodstuffs” (Faigley 304). Food in the past was very different than what we have today.
We are facing a big problem that will make our life more miserable. We are eating junk food constantly that is bad for our health. Many people eat junk food because they think it’s cheap and faster or some people do not like to cook their own food. “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko. This article is talking about how fast food is making us eat bad because of their fast service and cheap prices. People tends to choose fast food instead of cooking a healthy meal. It is easy for teenagers to gain weight by eating fast food meals. Zinczenko also argues about the absence of nutrition information about the food. I agree with Zinczenko. However, Zinczenko could also have examined the issue of fast food advertisements, mention some benefits