Saturday, February 6, 2010

Don't Blame the Eater

Don’t Blame the Eater
David Zinczenko
“Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder. Today, according to the National Institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30% of all new childhood obesity cases.” Zinczenko’s statement according to the National Health Institute is pretty flabbergasting. His voice in this story states that not only are we as individuals responsibly for what we put into our bodies, i.e.; fast food; but the companies as well. More often than not a family that has had a long day will choose a drive through over going home and pre-paring a home cooked meal. This to Zinczenko is the reason America is over weight and unhealthy.
Paul Campos, author of the article titled "Being Fat is OK" states that,” According to the U.S. Government, your health in terms of weight is measured by using the Body Mass Index (BMI) tool. This tool uses your height and weight to determine whether you are normal, overweight or obese.” I think that this article was not as supported as Zinczenko’s. In the terms that Campos has little facts to back up the government reasoning, as well as over all aspects of using the BMI for dieting.
Many fast food companies have made great strides in converting children to their side of thinking. Take McDonald’s for instance; in 1997 they introduced the Beanie Baby as part of their free toy with a Happy Meal. McDonald’s averaged 10 million Happy Meals sold in an average week. After the introduction of the Beanie Baby their sales skyrocketed to 100 million sales in just a week. Many of those children wanted those Beanie Baby’s as we all remember how fascinating they were. Everyone wanted a Beanie Baby, thus they were going to eat at McDonald’s to get one. There was a huge influx of new people eating at McDonald’s just to get their hands on that Beanie Baby. Society as a whole has made the decision to consume the bad for you food that McDonald’s hands out with all their special toys.
While it is your own choice as a teen or adult to place a fast food burger in your mouth, sometimes as college students you have no other alternative. McDonald’s dollar menu says; “eat this, its cheap, fast and simple.” Whiling driving to class count how many McDonalds will you pass, now count how many fruit and veggie spots you passed. The fast food industry is sucking us in with every commercial, billboard, and radio ad. You find a very small amount of healthy choices at these fast food joints; therefore we are left with terribly fattening choices that will kill us in the end.
In conclusion, the government, fast food gurus and American culture are responsible for our children becoming obese. In the end, we as a society can only do so much to limit our intake of fatty foods, while still keeping up with the hustle and bustle of every day life.




Works Cited

Schlosser, Eric. “Your Trusted Friends” Comp. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say with Readings. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 182

Campos, Paul. “Being Fat Is OK” Comp. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say with Readings. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 206

Zinczenko, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater” Comp. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say with Readings. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 153

11 comments:

  1. I think you did a nice job summarizing the beliefs captured in David Zinczenko's article. When you talked about Paul Campos' article, it seemed as though you were saying what Paul believed, but I think you could have added more detail as to why you didn't agree with it. You could pick out specific issues and then say why he's wrong, vs. just listing his thoughts. Also, you cited Eric Schlosser's article below your posting, but I didn't see any reference to him in your actual posting.

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  2. Also, make sure your citations are alphabetized by last name.

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  3. I think the writer’s argument was well supported. The marketing approaches were well covered and seem to be strong facts that support your argument. The marketing to children is especially strong since you kind of feel the kids are a little less knowledgeable about their food consumption. The points about having no other alternative fit well also since everyone has needed a quick and easy meal at some point in time. This is something that is relatable and that in my opinion helps an argument a lot.

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  4. Even if you never used the other passages to enforce why you thought this one was superior, I would have been convinced! Although, for the sake of this assignment, you probably could use a little more detail on WHY the other views were inferior. I completely agree with what you use to back up Zinczenko. Fast food is freakishly convenient. Even when they put "healthy items" on the menu, it is nearly impossible to resist an Angus burger next to some apple wedges.

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  5. You stated well what Zinczenko was trying to get across. Clearly stated that he believes people are responsible for their choices. It's up to the individual and what they decide to have as a meal. I liked the way you summarized the end of your work, but would have liked to see a a few more ending sentences. Interesting to read. Thanks.

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  6. I think your group did an excellent job of summarizing the argument that David Zinczenko makes. I think the ideas and opinions of the post are well stated and nicely organized. I do agree with Rachel that more could have been explained as to why the arguments of Schlosser and Campos are inferior to those of Zinczenko. Also the entire third paragraph uses arguments presented by Schlosser however you do not cite him at all. Overall I think the argument that Zinczenko makes is clearly explained although more could be said as to why his opinion is superior to those of the other authors.

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  7. You are so right! There are fast food places everywhere! Within literally three blocks of my house there is a Wendy’s, White Castle, McDonalds, KFC, A&W, Sonic, and Taco Bell and three of them are on the same block! It is completely ridiculous and no wonder obesity is such a problem in America. Your group did a very nice job; the only thing I would say would be that is was a little hard to find your argument, or what the “other side” had to say about the issue. Maybe you could add a sentence or two about that, and you’d be perfect.

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  8. You have a great argument going in this passage. I really liked how you attacked the argument that its everyone's responsibility to eat healthy with the argument that you can't find healthy quickly. It's a really big problem. I would also agree that explaining some parts more in depth would help. However, your most convincing part for me was how you brought it home with the long day scenario, or the cheap dollar menu. I think you're off to a great start. Maybe try incorporating a little more on how his argument is superior.

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  9. It is so convenient to just stop at a drive through on your way home from work. We all live busy lives and fast food establishments make it so easy to eat on the run. Of course, they also make it easy to consume 2000 calories in a sitting. Your paper was very clear to me. I think the only thing I would add is how his article is far superior to the other ones, although they all emphasize similar things. It is well organized and I think you did a great job of keeping the reader interested.

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  10. I think that your explanation of Zinczenko in the first paragraph is good but once you start to compare him to Campos you did not really get very detailed about what he specifically said that did not add up to Zinczenko's theory. The writing is done well though and you really get the fact that obesity is both fast food and the customers themselves that are to blame for obesity.

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  11. I think you did a really good job with relaying Zinczenko's argument. I liked that you used facts that grabbed your attention, were informative, and can toy with emotions (in the case of the diabetic children). The only thing I think could be stronger was your argument against Campos. You mentioned that his argument is weak in places but you didn't say how or prove it. I thought that overall it was really well written, informative, and persuasive. Good job!

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