Food Choice Essay: Is The Choice Really Yours?

Is the Choice Really Yours?

Are the food choices we make really a choice of our own? I guess in a literal sense it is; nonetheless, technically we choose between options that are in our surroundings. We don’t choose the food places we have around us. One moment we see construction working on a new building in town and next we see it’s a McDonalds or a Wendy’s. I don’t remember voting on that. Do you? Due to fact that there are too many unhealthy food options, there has been a strike in the obesity rate in America. The government has tried to get involved by implementing healthier foods in the school system and putting the number of calories next to our food selections. I guess the next question is, are they too involved? According to Radley

I do believe that consumers should take some responsibility for their food choices, but lets’ take a moment to think, do they really expect the average person who works 9-5 every day to come home and cook a healthy well-balanced meal every night? No, that person is going to stop at one of three McDonalds they pass on the way and get a quick fast food meal. Consequently, Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko, agrees that it is not our choice what we eat, for there is a lack of healthy food selections to choose from. In Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business,” he argues that obesity is the responsibility of the individual not the government. However, what option do you choose when you’re a part of the working class and must choose between a dollar cheeseburger and a 3.99 grapefruit. I believe that the government should do their best to aid people to make the right choices by providing healthier and

Zinczenko states how two kids filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s for making them fat. He states, “I tend to sympathize with these portly, fast-food patrons, though. Maybe that’s because I use to be one of them.” He argues that there is an abundance of fast food restaurants in North America and not enough healthier alternatives. Fast food restaurants believe putting the calorie intake next to food items alleviates them from being responsible for poor food choices. Furthermore, Zinczenko perpetuates the idea that the calorie information given is unclear and often inaccurate, which causes misleading perceptions about fast food being a healthy choice. He poses the question of “where, exactly, are consumers—particularly teenagers—supposed to find alternatives?” Then he goes on to mention that if the teens would drive down the streets, it would be hard to find a place to purchase a grapefruit. Fast food is cheap, quick, and perfect for teenagers who do not have the funds nor the time to drive long distances in search of food. Students especially, would rather go to a fast food place and receive food fast over going to a grocery store to buy fresh ingredients. In the mist of studying, who has the time to cook a full meal? Zinczenko express how he also struggled with eating out as kid and he stated that “lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice