Persuasive – Why fast food cultureis problematic and has to be changed? IntroductionThesis: Fast food culture isproblematic and has to be changed; because it is unhealthy for the human body,its production harms the environment, as well as the local food culture. Body 1: UnhealthyWhenkids grow to adore this kind of food, their taste buds tend to abhor natural,organic, and slow-cooked foods, which results in the ingestion of more fats andsugars than protein and greens. According to the study on the American population, Cardia states that highfast food consumption over 15 years is associated with gaining weight and riskof insulin resistance.
“Individuals who had meals at fast food restaurants morethan two times a week gained 4.5 kg more weight and had a 104% greater increasein insulin resistance. (Cardia).” There are several important features of fastfood that could explain why it is fattening and unhealthy; large portion sizes,high-energy density and industrially produced trans fat content.
It is a wellknown fact that the bigger the portion size, the more we consume. “Portionsizes of burgers, fried potatoes, pizzas, and soft drinks at fast-foodrestaurants have all increased 2–5-fold over the last 50 years. (Cardia)” Inaddition to that, the energy density of an entire fast food menu is typicallymore than twice the energy density of recommended healthy diets. Humans have aweak innate ability to down-regulate the bulk eaten to meet energy requirementsappropriately. French fries and fried meat from fast-food outlets contain highamounts of industrially produced trans-fatty acids. Trans fats are fats inmargarines, spreads, and frying oils, produced by industrial hardening ofvegetable or marine oils, to make the product more stable and robust forhandling and storage. These findings contribute to explaining why high intakesof trans fats increase the risk of weight gain and type 2 diabetes. Amid growing concern about rising rates of childhoodobesity in the West, already some school systems have responded by switching tolocal, fresh ingredients.
Stender, S., Dyerberg, J., & Astrup, A. (2007).
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Fast food:unfriendly and unhealthy. International Journal of Obesity, 31(6),887-890. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803616 Body 2: Environmental and ethical concernsFast food has a negative impact not only onpeople’s health, but also on the environment and the ethics of society.Eric Schlosser, writer known for his book FastFood Nation, believes that manufacturing fast food is changing the Americanculture for the worse, by creating a society that wants everything now andwants it fast.
Fast food chains targetchildren when advertising. McDonalds, for instance, not only awards childrenwith a toy for eating their Happy Meal, but also hypnotizes them to believethat the clown’s food tastes better than their mother’s home-cooked food. Thegoal of advertisement is to convince them to do something. This contributes tothe growing culture of wanting things fast and cheap.
Kids can be experts atdemanding things immediately, and their parents usually please them. However,parents are no different, since they are always looking for ways to feed thewhole family with what requires the less effort: fast food. With fast foodrestaurants at hand, families start to believe that it is faster, easier,cheaper, and better to feed themselves on these establishments rather than tocook at home. The fast food industry also denigrates the localeconomy. They have reached a point where they are no longer part of the serviceindustry; they are now part of the manufacturing industry. There is asystematic line of production, both in the factory and in the restaurant, thatis still run by human beings; yet, the need to speed up the production processeven more and get the cheapest labor available to make the most profit may soonbe replacing those human beings with machines. Food is better for the environment if it doesn’t degrade soil and water withpesticides and fertilizer and avoids the overuse of antibiotics in animals.
Going local and organic will banish hunger for manylow-income families by making food far more affordable and frequently just ashealthy as food raised to be environmentally sustainable. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/fast-foods-impact-health-economy-ethical-values Body 3: Disappearance of local tastes andregional cuisinesFood isno longer natural or local; on the contrary, it is manmade and global.Industrializedagriculture and the fast-food industry for environmental degradation and theloss of biodiversity as well as the waning of good, healthy eating. To give an example; compared to turkeys bredup until the 1920s, the Broad-breasted White, as the breed is officially known,has such an ample breast that it cannot be relied on to mate naturally.
Itslegs are so short it can barely run or fly. To prevent diseases in the crowded,confined spaces where commercial turkeys are raised, they’re routinely fedantibiotics, contributing to concerns about the rise of antibiotic-resistantbacteria. But most crucial for theperson about to enjoy one of the most festive meals of the year, today’s”industrial” turkeys have lost the complex taste and texture of earliervarieties, say Slow Food chefs, farmers and consumers in the growing nichemarket for so-called heritage turkeys.Slow Food movement at USis gaining adherents at a time when fast food is coming under increasingcriticism and Americans are discovering the joys of ethnic and gourmet cookingand eating. Salsa has surpassed ketchup in popularity, and balsamic vinegar — onceobtainable only by traveling to Italy — is now a staple in supermarkets acrossthe country.Glazer,S. (2007, January 26). Slow food movement.
CQ Researcher, 17,73-96. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/ ConclusionThereforefamilies need to provide an example of good food choices and educate childrenabout the local food culture and encourage them to get involved in foodpreparation; school canteens should include mostly traditional foods;shopkeepers/restaurant owners should consider the flavours, appearance andpresentation of traditional foods to make them more appealing. Seubsman,S.
, Kelly, M., Yuthapornpinit, P., & Sleigh, A. (2009). Cultural resistanceto fast-food consumption? A study of youth in North Eastern Thailand. InternationalJournal of Consumer Studies, 33(6), 669–675.http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00795.x
