A Response To B. R. Myers The Moral Crusade Against Foodies

In Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, the argument being made is contrary to that of the general American population. Since many people view the fast food industry and its effect on the world as positive, the author must gain his audience’s trust through establishment of ethos. Schlosser first establishes understanding and solidarity with the reader through acknowledging the other argument. For example, he describes the experience of purchasing fast food in vast detail, following with reasoning as to how “the whole experience of buying fast food has become so routine,” (Schlosser 3) Here he subtly hints to the reader that he understands the lure of fast food and how it has all become ingrained into the minds of the general public.

The author of “Dethroning the Deceitful Pork Chop” shows that, “no single food has more profoundly

Do we eat to live, or live to eat? Food is essential for our survival, but people do not pay attention to the ethics behind the food that they consume. In “Considering the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace aims to regard and think about what people consume. Similar to the idea of Alice Waters, the famous American Chef and owner of Chez Panisse, he explores that eating is a political act that is present in every single choice that people make about food matters. He attempts to criticize the actions of MLF, the Maine Lobster Festival, and open people’s eyes to the cruelty that happens to lobsters.

In the articles “Don’t Blame the Eater”, by David Zinczenko and “What You eat is Your Business”, by Radley Balko both authors discuss how the government should have restrictions on fast foods, that are readily available to the public. Each of the author’s arguments are very effective and seem to establish a balance of ethos, pathos, and logos which make it easier for the reader to believe. In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” the author David Zinczenko, writes about how some children and their parents are suing McDonalds because it is making them fat. Zinczenko uses ethos to point out that, only one family cannot say eating fast food is making them fat.

The multifaceted issue of racism has been intensely explored by many, but it is Will Allen’s The Good Food Revolution that draws a staggering connection between discrimination and the United States’ obesity epidemic, offering solutions that tackle both monstrosities at once. Allen’s belief that access to locally grown produce should be a basic right stems from years of witnessing that right being strategically denied to the urban poor. The spread of chain business and the reduction of farms has created a crisis that Allen’s company Growing Power seeks to rectify. These claims are not only supported by the evidence presented by Allen in his experience, but also by circumstances in the reader’s life that mirrors what is described. It is unnerving to realize the after how far the United States has come, inequality is still being served at the dinner table.

Food corporations look to those who have recognizable credentials. By explaining that she lacked sufficient background knowledge and is a well-informed as a common person, Miller proves that she has nothing of value that they can learn. In her article, she mentions that she “cautiously raise a subject that has concerned me of late: less than five miles away, some children don’t have enough to eat” (2). Her experience with families lacking healthy food has only recently become an issue of worry for her, and thereby is not qualified to present new solutions to the problem. Through failing to build up a credible relationship with her target audience, Miller’s argument becomes a waste and is an inefficiency.

Soul Food Junkies (2012) is a documentary written and directed by filmmaker Byron Hurt. In the film, Byron Hurt presents a popular debate: is soul food unhealthy? However, unlike others, Hurt does not only focus on the impact that soul food has on an individual's physical health but also the influence it has on the health of a society. This novel proposition forces the audience to consider how much of an influence culture has on a society and how much society, influences various cultures. There are many different factors, this film explores several including the access to healthy food in poorer neighborhoods and Southern American history.

Both Editors David Zinczenko and Radley Balko offer different perspectives on how fast food has increase obesity in the united states and who is to blame Zinczenko contents the need to provide nutritional chart in fast food restaurant (392) while Balko argues that consumers need to become personally responsible for what they are consuming (397). In Zinczenko’s writing “Don’t Blame the Eater”, and Balko “What You Eat Is Your Business” while both agreeing that something has to change to reduce obesity in the United States, but at the same time have different views on how to approach the problem. Zinczenko argues the need for fast food industries to convey calorie labels similar to grocery items, and make them simpler for the consumer to understand (392). Balko judges the

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

When I first read Chapter Ten of “After the Fact”, by James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, I was shocked at the methods meat factories use in preparing their products. I was especially shocked seeing as now; we have so many food regulations that most people don’t think twice about the food that is going in their bodies. I am now thinking, do these things still appear in our lives today? It was nice to know that Theodore Roosevelt took action in an attempt to fix these major problems. He became aware of the poor conditions of the meat industry through the book “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair.

Foods, whether homemade or fast-foods are meant to serve one major purpose; satisfying hunger. Depending on quantity, food fills the void in the stomach to meet the primary need for satisfaction of hunger to supply energy to the body. The genre of this article was health; its entire argument was to give the reader the message that cooking at home is much healthier and better for you than eating at a restaurant or eating microwavable dinners. Bestselling food writer Mark Bittman makes the case that eating at home is good for your health, good for your family—and, with the right approach, far easier than you think. In the Time magazine article “The Truth about Home Cooking”, the author uses features such as, logos, pathos, ethos and tone to support their argument.

On January 17th, 2001, Eric Schlosser presented all sides of the all- American meal in an investigative novel that examines the local and global influences of the United States fast food industry. Read the section thoroughly. Then in a well- developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Schlosser uses to convey his message. As American citizens we are all guaranteed the same rights regardless of race, religion, sex, etc.

In “The Pleasures of Eating,” Wendell Berry responds, “eat responsibly” to his students who ask what they can do as city people to help stop the decline of American

“Don’t Blame the Eater”, written by David Zinczenko, is a short article discussing how fast food is the main cause of childhood obesity. This article came about in relations to two kids filing a lawsuit against McDonalds for making them fat. He begins his piece by sympathizing with these individuals because he used to be like them. Zinczenko then informs the reader of his background and how he fell into the category of being dependent upon quick and easy meals. In an attempt to provide a valid argument, he debates on how kids raise themselves while their parents are at work and that the nutritional values are not labeled upon prepared foods.

The Politics of Food questions where responsibility lies for the mass numbers of individuals suffering from malnutrition and lack of food on a daily basis. Schanbacher brings to light unfair global trade arrangements and the failure of an unjust neoliberal theory and policy to meet the needs of developing countries. Schanbacher also addresses the issue regarding the contradiction amongst food security and food sovereignty, and how these two terms are defined based on various organizations and the conflicting parameters they have offered for what they consider to define malnutrition and hunger. Schanbacher poses questions as to how organizations address global poverty, and how poverty is perceived by these organizations. Schanbacher provides many examples as to how many developing, poorer countries have essentially been tricked by the Government to participate in different programs which seemingly aim for a positive outcome.