Monday, February 8, 2010
Marco Palacios
Radley Balko
Composition 1022-14
Brian Lewis
I strongly agree with with Mr. Balko's opinion that what you eat and the choices you make regarding your health are yours to make. Mr Balko also makes it very clear that with the freedom of these choices comes personal responsibility. If you choose to make unhealthy choices you alone should pay the consequences. Everyone else is not responsible for your choices and should not pay for your choices. The best point Balko makes is that instead of trying to tell us what we should eat the government should be fostering a sense of responsibility for our own health. He argues that this in the long run will provide better results and will keep health care costs down. This can be done by allowing insurance companies to penalize people who make unhealthy choices by charging them more (since they cost more) and charging people who make healthy choices less (they cost less). This attitude is very different than that of Zinczenko who appears to believe the food companies are basically getting people hooked as kids and give us basically no alternative to a fast food lifestyle.
Engler also tries, but fails, to place the blame on food companies and not peoples bad choices. Engler seems to think were are brainwashed by advertising and are not even consider our choices. Not true. Some just make bad choices and should learn a lesson by paying the consequences.
Katrina Fye, Sam Guerin, Kayla Donahue TSIS
Our group agrees that obesity is a huge issue in the U.S. and there is not much being done about it. John Banzhaf makes a legitimate argument concerning the food that fast-food restaurants are advertizing. We support the points he makes when he suggests several proposals to Congress in order to control this issue. If fast food restaurants start displaying information on the menus about the calories and other facts describing the food that is being served, then people would be more aware of the risks of becoming obese. This way, people would be familiar with the unhealthy factors of what they are ordering. Also, if fast-food restaurants make it clear that there are dangers involved with eating fast-food too often, then the company will be warning people of the risks and should not be held responsible for the choices that costumers make. Lastly, we agree that fast-food restaurants should consider changing a few things when it comes to cooking their food, such as trying new alternative choices for people who do not want to eat the fatty foods. If alternative foods are provided for costumers, this may be a good way to start decreasing the rate of obesity in the U.S.
Blako states that it is not the restaurant’s fault that people are eating their food and getting fat. However, this statement does not measure up to our standpoint because there are things that the restaurants can do to help people prevent themselves from getting fat. On the other hand, Engler brings up the point that restaurants are being blamed for the actions of the corporation, since it was the corporation who made the rules for serving these types of foods and portion sizes. Nevertheless, we believe that there are things that the corporation as a whole can change in order to prevent obesity.
Matt S. PA7 TSIS
When you first glance a the writing by Susie Orbach “Fat as a Feminist Issue” it might take awhile to figure out what she is really trying to say. But after reading the whole article it’s apparent that she is proving some excellent points that women are being shown as having perfect body figures in magazines and television commercials, to try convince women into thinking they should look like them. Women who try to form their selves into these “molds” are not as satisfied and happy as those who just live like they want to and don’t pay attention to the ads. Women that are over weight from compulsive eating isn’t a problem that they don’t know how to change it’s a fact that they do it on purpose to basically rebel against the multi billion dollar fashion industry that show them as being thin women and also society is taking it as a matter of not being able to control themselves. If you look back to the different time periods when different “fads” have come and when, the women in those eras have changed with them. They have changed because the companies have shown that by changing their bodies and forming into the molds that they will be happier and more successful. However in Eric Schlosser’s article he is stating that the food industry is purposely targeting the children, not anyone else, to try to make them life long customers. But what he isn’t saying is how that the children aren’t being shown in these commercials is little healthy kids out having fun or showing them how successful they can be by buying their product, which in Orbach article she is clearly giving fact’s that the companies try to get women to think there is an image that they have to obtain by instilling images of happy and successful thin women.
PA7 - Group 12, Eric Schlosser, “Your Trusted Friends”.
Kahoua Yang
Barak Zierhut
Maichao Xiong
Richard Ziegler
Eric Schlosser talks about a few types of marketing strategy from Walt Disney and McDonald’s. The first one he mentions is “synergy”. This was one way Walt Disney gained profit, by licensing agreements with his products. He then later went off to television to market to children. After that, they went on to another type of marketing strategy called “cradle-to-grave” hoping that “childhood memories of a brand will lead to a lifetime of purchases.” Mc Donald’s thought of ways to get kids to eat there by collaborating with other companies by selling their toys with happy meals or by making a mascot that would catch a child’s eye. Not just that but they even went on to create “Playlands”. Ronald and Mickey all smiles and having fun may be more appealing to the kids than the food itself at times. Kids are easier to manipulate than adults a lot of the time and don't ask questions when a commercial makes something look really cool. Also the atmosphere of the restaurant (big arches, play places, etc...) Our author clearly states that, advertisements and "fun" mascots, for companies like McDonalds and Disneyland are created to manipulate our children into thinking how fun it is to eat there or be there. Once children sees the excitement on the ads with loveable characters, they are convinced that that is what they want. Our author also mentions that, many working parents who feel guilty about spending very little time with there children are more likely to spend more money on them. This causes a problem for the children, because once they are able to get by their parents they will keep taking the same approach to get what they want. Sometimes this approach can cause children to become picky eaters and fast food will soon be all the eat. Comparing Schlosser and Zinczenko: Zinczenko states that the children should not be blamed for wanting to eat at fast food because they have no alternatives and that most of the time, the children has no idea how much calorie they are taking in. Like Schlosser, Zinczenko blames advertisements, for food doesn't carry warning labels like tobacco does. =Compared to Susie Orbachs "far out" view on feminism and weight, and radleys/johns strong on-sided argument, it seems to be the most level headed (in my opinion). Instead of blaming the corporate machine for making us "fat", or claiming that it’s "our fault" for eating fast food, he focuses on the tight knit marketing strategies Mc Donald’s uses. John H. Banzhaf argues, in his story “Lawsuits against fast-food restaurants” that "legal action could be a powerful weapon against the public health problem of obesity". See, this all comes after the fact. The real issue is that because children are taught to "love, cherish, and seek knowledge" from characters like "Mickey Mouse" and "Ronald McDonald", they develop a quick brand reference to fast food at a very early age.
Paula Nechoom
The standard way of thinking about the topic of obesity and fast-food restaurants is that the restaurants should be help responsible for how bad the food is for the body. According to the writing “What Your Eating Is Your Business” by Radley Balko, Balko argues that it is ones’ own responsibility for the weight they may gain as a result of eating out at fast food restaurants on a regular basis. Balko states, “instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our health and well-being. But we’re doing just the opposite.” He, as well as myself, believe that it is important to take personal responsibility for what they are putting into their body. There is no one else people can blame for the choices they make in their own life. David Zinczenko makes the argument that it is because of his over-worked mother that he was overweight as a child. “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Pizza Hut.” (Zinczenko p. 153) When someone is eating out every night for dinner, it should be obvious that they would gain weight from it. Fast-food restaurants do not give properly balanced meals and therefore is not as good as a home-cooked meal would be. Statistically this is shown in numerous ways, “Before 1944 diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder – only about 5 percent of childhood cases of obesity-related, or Type 2 diabetes. Today, according to the National Institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country.” (Zinszenko p. 154) This shows that something dramatic has changes over that period of time; it is that people are spending more time eating out instead of eating at home now. Time is crunched for many parents and it is just easier to get food on the go. This is notable but it is still the parents’ responsibility for the consequences they face for the choices they make on behalf of their children. Another author makes the point that “9-14 year olds who diet may actually gain weight in the long-run possibly due to metabolic changes, but more likely because they resort to binge eating.’ (Engler p. 174) This is a true statement, although it is not a diet that would necessarily benefit the children, it is eating more in-home meals with their family. It would make more sense for the parents to take responsibility in the first place and make changes before the child is overweight. People need to start taking things upon themselves and stop blaming others for the problems they face.