Americans today are well-known for their eating habits. With all the options the food industry gives us it makes it hard to go to the grocery store and resist picking up that bag of barbeque-flavored chips or blueberry flavored candy. Due to these processed foods obesity is a growing epidemic in our country and who is to blame for it? In an article entitled “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko, Balko argues for less government intervention. Balko believes is it our responsibility to take care of ourselves and make it a priority. I do agree that the government should stay out of personal subjects and not everyone should be punished for other people 's actions. I believe that as Americans we should put more effort into our own diet, and make our health a …show more content…
They both want what is good for consumers and they want to inform the public. However, they both fail to include important parts to their argument. Balko brings up several ideas that some would think to be ridiculous and his explanation for these ideas is too-flawed to be taken seriously. Pollan’s “mostly plant” diet sounds like a good idea but chain-grocery store vegetables and fruits have gone through just as much de-naturalization as the beef industry that he points out. Overall, I would say that Pollan’s solution to the western diet would be much more effective than Balko’s. Pollan takes much more realistic approach whereas Balko’s ideas seem to be ineffective and hard to accomplish. Pollan suggests we eat more plants and whole foods which we can do if we grow our own garden or travel to all natural farms to get our fruits and vegetables. He also suggests we cook instead of getting fast food which I agree with. The quality would be much better if we made it ourselves instead of taking shortcuts. We all need to take action towards our health and fast food companies in order to see a
Both Pollan and Hurst agree that animals should be a part of our diet, however they disagree on the amount and type of meat people should consume. Pollan believes that people should limit the amount of meat that they eat, and that it should be organic (376). Hurst, on the other hand, believes that animals are free to be eaten, and that industrial farming is the only way to satisfy the increasing population. Both authors are concerned about the welfare of animals, but have opposing beliefs on how their wellbeing should be maintained. Hurst believes that animal should be upheld by the use of industrial farming tools that benefit the animals, such as pig gestational crates.
I personally feel Pollan’s dilemma in the order he states it. The question “What should I have for dinner?” is a relevant statement in my everyday life. This essentially is the omnivore 's dilemma. Since humans are indeed omnivores, we can eat whatever we want. The dilemma surfaces when what we are consuming has repercussions.
In a letter to the future President of the United States, Michael Pollan acknowledges the troublesome in food in our society. The future President campaigned on many things, including healthcare and energy. Food is also a main topic that is campaigned. The way that the food industry is currently set up in America is more than corrupt. Their goal is to feed the nation as cheaply as possible.
This return to a traditional lifestyle of hunter gatherer resulted in weight loss, lower blood pressure, and a drastic reduction of signs of diabetes. For Pollan, this was proof positive that the modern Western diet is what is making people sick. Similar studies revealed that when native populations adopted a Western diet, multiple health issues
In David Freedman’s essay How Junk food Can End Obesity, Freedman makes the claim to policy arguing that instead of demonizing processed foods, Americans should instead support the idea and production of healthier processed and junk foods. He calls on the public to recognize that while many products on the market these days are labeled as “wholesome” and “healthy”, consumers should learn to become aware of the fat and calorie content in these products because many times they have the same- if not more- fat and calorie contents as that of a typical Big Mac or Whopper. In his essay, Freedman primarily places blame on the media and the wholesome food movement for the condemnation of the fast and processed food industries saying, “An enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, us making us sickly and overweight” (Freedman), he further expresses that this portrayal of the
Pollan’s powerful essay ends with a paragraph that reads almost as a plea to farmers to consider changing their habits and reducing their dependence on these types of fertilizers which are so
Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345).
1. Explain why Michael Pollan finds the questions “What am I eating? And where in the world did it come from?” so difficult to answer. Michael Pollan finds this question so difficult because all food is made up of other foods, mostly corn. On page 17, he states, "any food whose provenance is so complex or obscure that is requires expert help to ascertain."
In the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pollan claims we should be more knowledgeable about what we consume as omnivores. As omnivores we have a variety of food, we can choose from, however, we don’t regularly make the best decisions for ourselves. Pollan argues this by showing us where our food really comes from and how we can find many unwanted extras. Pollan shows us that we’ve evolved as humans from how we used to eat to how we eat now. Pollan argues this by introducing us to all the food chains we value today, some much more than others.
Both Pollan and Maxfield’s arguments go hand in hand with one another, even though they may not be talking about the same diet. Each argument is stating that even though people know that their diets have flaws and that they are being lied to, they are still using these diets. The people know that it is not healthy for them and that it is not the right way to become healthier, but yet
Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.
In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.
Put Down That Cheeseburger! “What incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger?” asks Radley Balko in his article "What You Eat Is Your Business." He argues that, obesity does not belong in the public health crisis. He claims that obesity is not a problem that should be dealt at the cost of public money but should be dealt at a personal level by every individual.
A well-known statistic for obesity in America surmised that at least one-third of adults, 18 and over, are obese, not just overweight, and that alone is extremely alarming. Realization did not dawn on the public until the early 2000’s when people began to sue and blame fast food companies for their health and weight issues. The companies responded by stating that it was ultimately the responsibility of the consumers; their health problems were a result of poor self-discipline and lack of restraint. Contrary to popular belief, people do not lack self-control, it is because fast food is constantly being pushed to the public and advertised as low in calories, when in fact there is so much more than calories, that more food and products are being
People need to take initiative to stop eating food that’s not healthy for them because at the end of the day it’s all up to you to stay healthy. Our country become less responsible for their own health and start to blame everyone else for their own health but look at us not eating right and wondering why they are not feeling good, you’re not doing the right thing. This world is full of