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American Diet Downfall

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What do you know about the American diet? The modern American diet is a fascinating topic which can vary between each individual or the product they are consuming. Many Americans consume a variety of food each day, however many Americans do not analyze what they are consuming. This can be devastating to the consumer’s health and wellbeing. Many of the products that Americans digest contain chemicals that the average citizen cannot pronounce or even take a guess as to what the substance is. It is truly terrifying once you realize that the FDA allows these sorts of chemicals to be put in products and then allow producers to falsely advertise their products. The Food and Drug Administration is slowly destroying the American diet by allowing the …show more content…

According to Michael Pollan, New York Times Magazine writer, “the FDA, under tremendous pressure from the industry, has made it easier for food companies to make increasingly doubtful health clams” (Pollan 15). What do you do when you are in a grocery store and see a label on the product that states it is “fat free” or “low in sodium”? Consumers may make assumptions that it is healthy for the body since it is on the label. Americans simply ignore the nutrition information and eat without question; however, they are not aware that the FDA allows producers to include false claims on their products. Due to this the general population is then tricked into thinking that they are being healthy. This is a vicious cycle where the producers make their profits while the American people are left dumbfounded. Pollan depicts the weakness of the FDA under corporate America within her article, this brings up several very interesting aspects. Does the FDA usually listen to the large corporations and if so what else are the American consumers fooled by? The fact that inaccurate health claims are being made makes on really question what is really going into the American diet. Inaccurate claims/labeling can lead to may complications, such as consumers who need to closely monitor their health. Such as a consumer who is purchasing a product expecting it to be “heart healthy” while in all reality they are maintaining the same type of damaging diet that is harmful to their body. The FDA has betrayed the American consumer by allowing biased lies on the labels on products. This is yet another one of the major factors contributing to the downfall of the American

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Consumers barley read whats in the stuff they are taking in. Not to add, they can not know what they're taking in if it is never writing on the bottle. It is unethical to target these consumers. It could hurt the consumer causing a lawsuit or furthermore shutting down the company. FDA should regulate this kind of stuff so it never happens.

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In recent decade, the United States has seen supermarkets continuously get filled with packages labeled with things like “Low sodium” or “No Trans Fats.” Companies stick these labels on their food to match the current fads of what is good for you and what is not. In his essay Unhappy Meals, Michael Pollan advocates a return to natural and basic foods, and deplores nutritionism. Pollan argues that nutritionism does not actually tell people what is healthy or not, and that the only way to be sure you are eating healthy is to eat natural, fresh food.

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The Critique Essay of the “Escape from the Western Diet” In his work Escape from the Western Diet Michael Pollan focused on American negative food habits, their place in different spheres of the society and general possible ways to improve the food behavior. “The Western Diet is known for its lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and its strong reliance on fast-food, high sugar beverages, high-fat dairy, refined carbohydrates and red meat” (“Western Diet”). While many experts focus on its content, Pollan suggested to turn the attention to the effect the diet has on social, industrial and medical spheres. The author highlighted they unlikely will completely abandon the Western diet as it promote their development.

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(424). These powerful words of insight from the author emphasize just how far the consumers of the western diet have distanced themselves from natural food their ancestors used to once indulge on. For example, going back sixty to seventy years ago families had to prepare their meals with more nutritious foods as they did not have nearly the same accessibility to the amount of processed and fast-foods that Americans do

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498 Words | 2 Pages

After learning the truth about our country’s food systems, I have become more skeptical of mass produced foods and the processes the animals go through to become the food we eat today. Good and healthy food is very important to myself and to my family. Food means a lot in my family. A meal is an essential part of each day. While sipping my delicious soup, that my grandparents would make for my me

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953 Words | 4 Pages

The labels we see in our foods at grocery stores are not honest. The big companies put information that will make customers buy their product. In the essay “Don’t Blame the Eater”, written by David Zinczenko focuses on how bad customers are being informed about the food they consume. Zinczenko states “They would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products. Without such warnings we’ll see more sick, obese children and more angry, litigious parents,” (464).

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1173 Words | 5 Pages

But why? Pollan suggests that how we eat is just as important as what we eat. And that is the other thing that Americans don’t think about. Claims about being healthy aren’t the only way that food marketers draw our attention. There’s another one- convenience.

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549 Words | 3 Pages

People can’t believe everything that they see and hear on the labels because not everything is true on what they write on the labels of food. In addition people can’t always believe everything that they read they should do some self-taught research. For example people don’t know the pesticide policy in which farmers would lie about the use of

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639 Words | 3 Pages

Almost all the packed food products that I see today at the grocery stores have some claims mentioned on their labels such as “no trans fat”, “less sugar”, “more fiber”, “antioxidant rich” etc. Some of them also claim for the product being good for heart and immune system. I had always blindly trusted these words on the food labels and bought them thinking that whatever it says on the label is 100% true and the packet contains exactly what it claims for. But the article “10 Mega trends in the Supermarket” by Bonnie Liebman has totally surprised me by revealing the true meaning of some of these food trends in the food industry. I had always fallen for products which says “0 trans fat” because these fats are not good for heart.

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The Food and Drug Administration is constantly conflicted between what consumers and industries want. All foods, drugs, and cosmetics in the US are regulated by the FDA and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure that the three categories previously stated are safe for consumption (“Pure Food and Drug Laws”). Food labels are also included in these rules so that consumers can make their choices while being in “the know.” False or misleading labels are forbidden, as said in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but there are many terms such as “functional foods,” which are foods that could improve one’s health, that are not defined (Ross). Since the regulations for claims are very loose, companies have a lot of freedom and can

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The FDA and USDA work to try and make sure food is as safe as possible but their approach needs to be reevaluated. Splitting the control of regulations between multiple agencies causes confusion that can prevent proper precautions from being taken. The FDA regulates the majority of the food available to Americans but due to ineffective testing and lack of precaution taken more work needs to be done. It is important that food safety is taken seriously because of how much of an impact food has on people's lives. In order to keep the American public healthy, food regulations need to be up to

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As a result of producing “low in fat” products, companies are able to falsify nutrition labels, entrapping consumers to believe that particular food item is healthy when it is really just more sugary. The misleading information advertised on food products shouldn’t be the consumer’s fault, but the company who manufactured it. According to the article, “An Equal Shot: Big Fat America”, food that is manipulated chemically is done so to up the taste of quality.” (Malello). Even while making conscious food choices, consumers are manipulated by the industry with falsified labels and replacement substances that constitute a large portion of the food.

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What Food Inc. tries to demonstrate is the fact that despite all of our attempts to eat healthy, the industry seems determined to ensure otherwise. They hide

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Detrimental health issues or health problems such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes etc.… are prevented with the proper diet and nutrients. The American standard diet includes fast foods, large portions, and high-fat foods. When it comes to cravings, burgers, fries, pizza, sweets, and soft drinks are American’s weakness especially for busy parents, busy adults, and late nights. However the American diet wasn’t always dominated by burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, soft drinks and sweets (Liebman, 2010). With these detrimental health issues being preventable we have to start changing now for a better futures.

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1750 Words | 7 Pages

This source has helped my research a lot because the survey they put on this source states how many people want to live a healthier lifestyle but cannot because they have trouble understanding what foods are healthy and what aren 't because they don 't understand what is being said on the nutrition labels. This source also states that these confusing nutrition labels don 't just make it hard for people who are dieting but it also hard for people who have allergies or sensitivity to some types of foods. The nutrition labels don 't state clear enough of what is actually being processed into the food. I also chose this source because it says that ingredients are a major part in how consumers pick their foods. On most food labels the ingredients are so small that most people cannot see what it says.

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