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The increasing popularity of fast food
The growing popularity of fast food and its effects
The growing popularity of fast food and its effects
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American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot …show more content…
Which all provide either ready to eat food, or it will be ready really quick, hence the name “fast food”. The process they use to make the food is very efficient, so efficient it makes you question if the food is really food. All the food is processed, all made in a factory somewhere, using god knows what kind of ingredients, then frozen and shipped to all the restaurants over America. People say that Americans are becoming addicted to it, or are addicted with the efficiency of it. Being able to stop quick, get fast food and go on about their day with minimal time loss. Why not right? Why wouldn't you save your time, by simply grabbing some fast food? Being that it’s so efficient, there’s no way that it’s going to have the same health value as a home cooked meal. Most of these meals are high in fat, calories, and sodium; this is because they are prepared in factories with little regard for dietary
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...
“The basic science behind the scent of your shaving cream is the same as that governing the flavor of your TV dinner,” (Schlosser 122). Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal was a Princeton graduate with a degree in American History. He’s written for the Atlantic Monthly since 1996 where he was given a prompt about America and its fast food industry. His simple magazine article transformed into an international bestseller. His book was on the New York Times bestsellers list for nearly two years. Schlosser has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, FOX News, and many others. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone and The New Yorker (Drury University). In Schlosser’s book, Chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good” helps to explain what we are actually eating when it comes to America’s fast food industry.
Meriam-Webster Dictionary defines food as “material taken into an organism and used for growth, repair, and vital processes as a source of energy” (Mish). Food is simple, yet humans have made it very complex. In the United States of America, food has become more of a hobby than a nutritional need. Every family gathering, holiday, and birthday celebration contains food of some sort. Types of food are customary at different times, like birthday cake at a birthday party, or stuffing at Thanksgiving. There is an entire holiday dedicated to dressing up and giving children candy (Halloween). One of the popular holiday foods is meat. An average of 10 million land animals (not including fish or other water dwelling organisms) are brutally slaughtered
Most people wouldn’t deny that food is vital to everyday life, but perhaps it has more importance than just simply nourishing our bodies. According to Carole M. Counihan, a doctor of anthropology, food is so important that society has constructed rules regarding its consumption. Counihan emphasizes in her 1992 Anthropology Quarterly article, “Food Rules in the United States: Individualism, Control and Hierarchy,” that these rules serve as the “means through which human beings construct reality” (Counihan, 1992, p. 55). Counihan advocates for the importance of studying food rules by explaining that knowledge about how food is viewed in our culture can do three things: improve understanding of other culture’s food rules, allow nutrition education programs to mesh with these rules, and reveal an aspect of society that helps maintain our current stratification system, which has not been thoroughly examined yet (Counihan, 1992). Through her study of food journals kept by American college students, Counihan argues that their adherence to food rules suggests that students strongly believe in self-control and individualism. Consequently, these beliefs reinforce our current social hierarchies, specifically classism, racism, and sexism. Counihan’s argument that our rules about food allow for the perpetuation of sexism is a compelling one that I very much agree with. I have personally seen my best friend plan her entire diet and exercise regimen based on what her boyfriend thinks. Although this article was written in 1992, I believe the message it conveys will still be applicable in years to come.
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Darks Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser claims that fast food impacts more than our eating habits, it impacts “…our economy, our culture, and our values”(3) . At the heart of Schlosser’s argument is that the entrepreneurial spirit —defined by hard work, innovation, and taking extraordinary risks— has nothing to do with the rise of the fast food empire and all its subsidiaries. In reality, the success of a fast food restaurant is contingent upon obtaining taxpayer money, avoiding government restraints, and indoctrinating its target audience from as young as possible. The resulting affordable, good-tasting, nostalgic, and addictive foods make it difficult to be reasonable about food choices, specifically in a fast food industry chiefly built by greedy executives.
The American life has been transformed by the fast food industry not just changing the American diet but also the culture, workplace, economy, and the landscape. “Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly fast food restaurants.” (Schlosser) This could be due to the fact that about two-thirds of working women are mothers. The impact of fast food on the American culture is transparent when just looking at McDonald’s. McDonald’s has become the world’s most famous brand; the golden arches are more known than the Christian cross. “A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald.” (Schlosser) McDonald’s is responsible for 90 percent of new jobs in The United States. The landscape has changed due to the fast food ...
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
They love to eat. They have to eat. Eating just makes them feel good. Who? Americans. The urge to consume food must be satisfied every single day, in fact a few times a day. American food brands and products are patronized by its consumers. Although America has a cultural mix of cuisines they are Americanized. Food in American represents a culture, in which can reflect the lifestyle and socioeconomic status of one. Here one is inundated by food.
In addition to the addictive recipe that keeps people hooked on fast food, the actual recipe itself is unhealthy in a variety of ways. For example, it is common knowledge that real food rots, so it seems unlikely that McDonalds food can be healthy considering a hamburger “from 1999 [had] been sitting on a shelf for 14 years [without] a spot of mold or a single maggot” (Buczynski, 2015). The food itself is also shown to be incredible unhealthy, as revealed in a 2004 study published in “The Lancet” reading “eating more than twice per week at fast food restaurants is linked to significantly more weight gain over time than occasional visits” (Lee, 2009). Economists also calculated that “9th graders are at least 5.2 percent more likely to be obese
Material culture is the physical or tangible creations that members of a society make, use and share. (Kendall 2015). Food is a material culture that is worldwide, yet it is uniquely practiced in each culture. Food is essential to the mere existence of humans; it is the most basic commodity to our survival, yet it is so foundational to many cultures. Food is one of the most significant aspects in the Polish culture. It is necessary for everyday life, celebrations, and in times of sorrow. It is a valued family practice in Poland. It unifies families and friends, it serves as a time for socialization, and it is a symbolic in many rituals celebrated in Poland.
Why is fast food not good for the American population? Fast food refers to food that can be prepared and served within a short time period. Fast food has been really popular because they serve cheap food that taste good and also doesn't cost much money. But most often, the food contains cheaper ingredients with high cholesterol that contain a lot of fat instead of nutritious ingredients with low fat. A majority of Americans today consume fast food. According to a new study School of Medical Sciences at Australia’s University of New South Wales, junk food can alter behavior by causing lasting changes in the brain’s reward circuiting; an alteration that triggers obesity. As reported in an article by daily beast, “Every year, at least 310,000 Americans go to an early grave and many more are sickened because of largely preventable diet-related conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, strokes, and some cancers”(Warner, 2013). The American diet over the last century, has undergone unprecedented change. Most percentage of the calories Americans eat now are made from highly processed food with a lot of calories from fat. This goes to say that Americans should eliminate the continuous consumption of fast food
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. N. pag. Print.