The book Salt Sugar Fat is a critical account of food and diet in the United States named for the three ingredients most widespread in the packaged treats that have taken over grocery stores and plates. The Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss from the New York Times discusses the rise of the processed food industry. He discusses how the industry used these three have been used to addict us. The book is a journey into the secretive world of processed food giants and how they deployed these three essential ingredients to dominate the American diet.
This book addresses the public health topic of big food in the US. Salt, sugar fat found in processed foods and excess calories are major contributors to the obesity epidemic in the US. Currently,
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Similarly, the author holds that the Food and Drug Administration’s complicity in Americans’ waning health goes beyond safety to a broader lack of concern for our consumption patterns, but without compelling evidence that top-down protection measures work—like the recently invalidated New York City soda ban—his call-to-action stalls. The strongest takeaway from Salt Sugar Fat is that CEOs of major food companies don’t eat their products, so why should you? Indeed, of the authors best examples of behavior change come from some of his former product leads, including a former president of Coca-Cola now pitching baby carrots as the next great junk food. But company CEOs alone can’t fix the public-health issues the author isolates as if they were
Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Moss, talked about how food industries are spending trillions of dollars on processed food which essentially caused an increase of obesity over the past couple centuries. His #1 New York best-selling investigative report, Salt, Sugar, Fat, discusses a time when he visited the Kellogg’s company headquartered at Battle Creek, Michigan. After talking to representatives from this company about their food and how there is so much salt in their branded products. The company invited Moss to test their food products that did not incorporate any salt in the ingredients and as expected, the taste was bland. From this taste test, the company showed Moss why salt was so important in their products. Salt gives
American health, specifically our obesity epidemic, has grown into a trending media topic. A quick Google search will bring up thousands of results containing a multitude of opinions and suggested solutions to our nation’s weight gain, authored by anyone ranging from expert food scientists to common, concerned citizens. Amongst the sea of public opinion on obesity, you can find two articles: Escape from the Western Diet by Michael Pollan and The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food by Michael Moss. Each article presents a different view on where the blame lies in this public health crisis and what we should do to amend the issue. Pollan’s attempt to provide an explanation pales in comparison to Moss’s reasonable discussion and viable
Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Kushner, Jason, ed. "Fast Food and Obesity Epidemic."Nutra Legacy. Nutralegacy.com , 12 Nov 2008. Web. 16 Jan 2014. .
The food that we as a nation consumes reflects the health and well being of the American people. We have become so accustomed to fast food and easy, unhealthy, diet choices that diseases like diabetes has become very prevalent and on the rise. One in every three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In the film “Food Inc.” takes a look into a typical grocery store and reveals the illusion of variety. Most of the food in the industry leads back to corn. High fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, is found in many of the foods and beverages that we consume. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Corn has become very affordable and abundant and big food
By accepting misguided information about the food that is being purchased from the marketers, consumers are letting the food industry shape buying patterns, even when it is not to their benefit. Pollan supports this claim when he writes, “With all the variety and constant stream of messages from the food industry and media, how can we make up our minds” (86). Pollan’s quote elaborates on how the the constant stream of messages affects what Americans put into their bodies.
Common sense seems to dictate that fast food is bad for you, however, many Americans consume fast food on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. In “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that fast-food companies and the food industry are to blame for America’s obesity epidemic, essentially that it is not the individuals fault for becoming obese, and that in essence, fast-food companies ought to take responsibility for the health issues induced by consuming the food. He explains how bombarded you are with unhealthy, greasy, and fattening food everywhere you look; whereas it is much more difficult to access healthy alternatives. He describes the vicious cycle of purchasing cheap ailing meals, rather
Richard Balko and Mary Maxfield discuss personal responsibility, and choices in one’s health in their essays “What You Eat Is Your Business,” and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” respectively. Balko feels the government should not intervene in people’s food intake because it is an individual preference. Instead, Balko asserts that the government should foster a program to assist the American people to take on personal responsibility and ownership of their own health. Similarly, Maxfield paints the same picture that our culture now finds it immoral to eat what our body needs, therefore believing in the idea of eating less is healthier. Maxfield points out the multi-billion dollar campaign of corporations into advertising false hope into consumers by buying into eradication of fatness. Why has food have suddenly become a risky subject at the dinner table? And who is to blame? Is it everyone else or do we blame ourselves?
Throughout the past years and more here recently obesity has become a fast growing problem in the United States and around the world. Since this has become such a problem certain authors are starting to take a stand in how they think the solution should be fixed. The solutions are discussed in the following articles: How Junk Food Can End Obesity by David H. Freedman and What You Eat Is Your Business by Radley Balko. Both articles have clear and distinct arguments, but the argument by Balko entices his readers and has a clear purpose and tone that allowed his article to be more effective.
The essay Junking Junk Food written by Judith Warner, brings to the audiences attention the wicked problem of how there has been a decline in Americans health. Warner’s information speaks loudly about being forced into a healthy lifestyle by the Obama administration. The Obama administration tried to enforce a healthy lifestyle among the citizens by focusing on the youth and taking away sugar options for them. Warner, puts her voice into this by mentioning the system during the world war when the soldiers had to eat overseas so there was less food consumption in America, which helped stop over consumption of food. Back then food was also much healthier thought, with less hormones, chemicals and less options of fast food. Again making it easier
In addition, the fast food industry’s main goal is to produce profit, and advertisements for unhealthy nutrition options flood schools, television, billboards, and multitudes of other outputs, all places where young children can view endorsements for fast food. Drawing a parallel between fast food and tobacco, Fed Up claims that soda resembles the cigarettes of the 21st century and that both of these toxins present many future health implications. While continuing to discuss long term effects of unhealthy food and eating habits, various scientific researchers and individuals share that up to “40% of non-obese people have metabolic diseases” (Fed Up). While not everyone may appear overweight or obese, they may have diabetes, heart related problems, high blood pressure, and/or numerous other health concerns. Overall, Stephanie Soechtig’s Fed Up discusses the issues of obesity and how private provide and special interests place themselves above public
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.
We make personal choices about what and where to eat. The government is not going to eliminate the unhealthy food because we think it is the cause of obesity. Ultimately, we must decide to either stay away from unhealthy food or eat them in moderation. Despite all the efforts of education, media and guidance it doesn’t prevent us from grabbing that cheeseburger with fries on the way to work. In his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that society should take full responsi...
By putting the label in place, there was an 80 per cent decline in the numbers of death from strokes and heart disease. Despite the fact that the governments around the world and other health experts had advised consumer to decrease their salt intake that they are using, the public is still consuming to much salt. The public need to be educated more about how much is too much salt in their daily diet. (The cost of America‘s Obesity epidemic extends far beyond emotional pain and low self-esteem. Obesity is now second only to smoking as a cause of mortality in the United States. The CDC estimates that about 280, 000 Americans die every year as a direct result of being overweight. (Salt, Sugar, Fats) (241) (The Obesity epidemic that began in the United States during the late 1970s is now spreading to the rest of the world, with fast food as one of its vectors. Schlosser, Eric
Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy foods, more and more Americans are developing health diseases and disorders. We should be getting the correct daily nutrition amount, but because of our fast paced lifestyles we sometimes do not have enough time. Fast food restaurants make it possible to grab a meal and go. We often do not pay attention to the nutrition amount, but are simply looking for a quick bite to eat that will fulfill our hunger. Fast food is assisting in the increase of obesity in America (“Phrase” par.2).