“Poor” Nutrition Is poverty across America disabling the poor from buying the necessities that they need? According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, “a low-income family would have to devote 43 to 70 percent of its food budget to fruits and vegetables” (Williams). The effect poverty has on some people is just heartbreaking. Often, low-income children have to rely on school foods, what money is available to afford healthy foods, or restaurants that advertise unhealthy but promising meal deals. Sometimes, when low-income families struggle to provide a quality meal that’s sufficient in quantity, the children have to rely on what the school provides. Schools, by law, are required to serve meals that meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements. Schools providing meals that meet that standard is awesome; however, that doesn’t mean that’s what the kids eat. Nearly 100 percent of schools in America have vending machines (Harkin). As we all may know, these tempting machines are filled with rubbish. They consist of junk food that kids may not receive at home! So, instead of eating their celery sticks at lunch, they instead choose a grubby snack from the vending machine. We should strongly support substituting healthier options to choose from! Since fresh produce doesn’t last as long as other foods such as canned foods, the prices are higher, and you can’t buy these foods in bulk (Williams). So, many families don’t have the money to buy fruit and vegetables that won’t last long. Also, educational issues exist; the majority of our population doesn’t know how to properly incorporate the appropriate amount of fruits and veggies. Even if prices were lowered on fresh produce, we the people have to hold the ... ... middle of paper ... ...s Be Harmful? Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Fat Acceptance: When Kindness Is Activism." Feministe.us/blog 12 Sept. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. Twenefour, Douglas. "Celebrities and Public Figures Promote Obesity." Celebrity Culture. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Health Alert: Obesity, Whose Fault Could It Be Anyway?" Ghanian Journal. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Williams, Carla. "Eating Healthy Foods May Be Too Expensive for the Poor." Fast Food. Ed. Tracy Brown Collins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "Eating Healthy Might Prove Too Expensive for the Poor: Fruits, Vegetables May Break a Low-Income Family's Budget." abcnews.go.com. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Bittman, Mark. “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables.” New York Times. 23 July 20ll. Print.
In the argument “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman, it talks about taxing unhealthy food and promoting vegetables. With the use of different strategies like emotions, credible research, solutions to problems, and much more he effectively assures that a diet change is what Americans need and will benefit from.
Poverty in America is a very complex issue that can be looked at from many directions. There are a plethora of statistics and theories about poverty in America that can be confusing and at times contradicting. It is important to objectively view statistics to gain a better understanding of poverty and to wade through the stereotypes and the haze of cultural views that can misrepresent the situation.The official poverty line in America begins with a person making at or below $12,060. To calculate the poverty line for a family, an additional $4,180 is added to the base of $12,060 for each additional member(“Federal Poverty Level Guidelines”). According to the last U.S. census, over 45 million or 14.5% of Americans are at or below the poverty line(Worstall). At this level, the U.S. poverty level has not changed much from the 1970s when the government began a “War on Poverty.” However,
In Nancy Hall's "Obesity Lawsuits" (2004) essay, Hall is determined to address the problem constantly growing and silently taking lives in America every day, obesity. The author goes on to argue that people should not be suing "fast food companies" (Hall, 2004, p. 113), but rather look at themselves to blame for becoming obese. Americans need to think about their own decisions routinely, exercise to keep the extra weight off and choose meals that are healthier (Hall, 2004). The authors thesis states: "Listening to the subtle nuance emerging from legal debate, we can hear a discernable message that clearly spells out the desperate need for further study, public awareness, and education on obesity in America" (Hall, 2004, p.114). Even though Nancy Hall is not educated on obesity nor holds a degree in Health Sciences, the article is still persuasive because of the emotion placed into words pursued by direct and solid facts laid out on paper (Hall, 2004).
What comes to your mind when you hear someone is overweight. In most american’s eyes, it is someone who anyone who is not a model. This creates a huge predicadment counting that America is known to be fat. In the past few decades, lifestyle has changed our habits, but we did not think about the consequences. If we eat more then we must be doing some kind of exercise to counteract what we put inside of us. In the article “America’s War on the Overnight” by Kate Dailey and Abby Ellin, they successfully persuade the reader to tackle obesity, we need to focus more on the subject of obesity and not attack the obese using the rhetorical triangle.
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). 10 tips for affordable vegetables and fruits. Retrieved , from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet9SmartShopping.pdf
Eating nutritious food may seem simple enough, but to those that hardly get by financially, affording healthy foods can be a major hindrance. This is proven by Dr. Jim Levine, a researcher with a concentration of the link between poverty and obesity. He is quoted stating, “In many poverty-dense regions, people are… unable to access affordable healthy food, even when funds avail.” (Sifferlin 1) For example, further studies show that the average cost of salad is $1.50 more than the average cost of a hamburger. Getting vitamins and minerals from the food we eat is substantial to survive in everyday life. Annually, it costs five hundred and fifty dollars more to eat healthier. Five hundred and fifty dollars may not seem like much, but to those that have low income, it is a crucial amount. While achieving a healthy diet proves to be necessary to maintain a healthy weight, it is almost inaccessible for those with low income. Low-income individuals confront the barrier of the cost of healthier choices in their everyday
Interest in the social aspects of obesity is nothing new. Jeffrey Sobal has written extensively about the social and psychological consequences of obesity , including the stigmatisation and discrimination of obese and even overweight individuals (Sobal 2004).
Through the manufacturing and industrialization of foods many foods are made into frozen meals which are a lot easier to prepare. Pre-packaged frozen food that interviewee would eat she thought was semi healthy because it included a vegetable and meat or pasta. The price of the frozen food is something that she mentioned as well, these are a lot cheaper than buying fresh fruits and vegetables. The main ingredients that she found she used seemed to be a lot less healthy than what her mother would make her family for dinner. A lot of the main ingredients in meals prepared by her are pre-cooked or frozen foods such as vegetables and fruits which seem to lose their nutritional value (Scrinis, 2008). With living in a farming community, she tries to eat vegetables and fruits that are grown locally which helps to add some nutritional content to her food. One thing that the interviewee talked about during the interview was about the amount of packaging that is used today to help protect food to last longer on grocery store shelves. With grocery stores being so accessible and convenient it pushes a lot of people away from unpackaged and local foods. Interviewee believes that with grocery stores being so convenient and needing to provide food for multiple people the quality has decreased drastically. With having so much low quality food that is easily accessible it is pushing people’s health down which can be visibly seen according to the
In “Hooked on ‘Caramel-Colored Gold,” Melody Nelson claims “Despite the increased awareness of the benefits of good nutrition, we are a nation hooked on junk food, and many school administrators are taking advantage of the situation ” (par. 3). Nelson propose a ban on vending machines in schools because junk food is unhealthy for children, and they risk future health problems. I agree with Melody Nelson and believe that vending machines should be banned from school campuses, because they sell unhealthy food, they cause more money to schools for hiring extra custodians, and they are affecting children learning abilities.
Fresh foods grown from the ground, lean meat and fish are not as promptly accessible at low cost. It is important to discuss the factors of this lifestyle within the African-American community. The presenter of such information might need to discuss methods for acquiring quality food despite monetary deficit, for example, developing little gardens in the community; shopping at roadside garden markets; shopping at supermarkets instead of convenient stores; developing financial budgeting organization and food co-ops; and participating in food bank programs (Belle,
Milway, J., Chan, K., Stapleton, J., & Cook, B. (2010). The poor still pay more: Challenges low income families face in consuming a nutritious diet. Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, pp. 5-18.
Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., Frongillo, E. A., & Briefel, R. R. (2001). Food insufficiency, family income, and
Poverty is an undeniable problem in America. In 2014, 14.8 percent of the United States was in poverty (“Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet”). There are more people in the United States than it seems that do not have their basic necessities. In an