Friday, December 7, 2012

Victims of the American Food Industry


Most Americans are very food oriented; it’s just the way that our society is. Food is always around us or available whenever we want to eat. The food industry produces food for our society that has hardly any nutritional value and is full of sugars and preservatives. This unhealthy food that is being put on our supermarket shelves and being sold in our restaurants is hurting our country’s health. The food industry is to blame for obesity in America because they have created unhealthy food that can be addictive.

A Bloomberg article says that, “Sugars and fats, of course, have always been present in the human diet and our bodies are programmed to crave them. What has changed is modern processing that creates food with concentrated levels of sugars, unhealthy fats and refined flour, without redeeming levels of fiber or nutrients, obesity experts said. (Langreth, 2011)” The food industry filling our foods with fats and sugars and because of this, our society’s health is being affected. The result of eating lots of foods with fats and sugars will eventually lead to obesity either at a young age or old age, depending on the individual.

            According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our country’s obesity rates per state range from twenty-five percent to less than thirty-five percent. In 2011, twelve U.S. states had thirty to thirty-five percent of their populations were obese individuals (CDC, 2012). Anyone who is obese is at risk for diabetes, cancer, stroke, and multiple other health problems. Obesity is killing our nation, and the food industry is to blame for this epidemic. The food industry is to blame because they are feeding our society food that is A Washington post article states that, “The problem is the food industry, which provides us with the calories we consume but washes its hands of responsibility for causing the worldwide obesity epidemic. (Cohen, 2007)”
The food industry is expanding their wallets while our waistlines are expanding and our health is plummeting. The food industry is using fonts and colors on their packaging that will lure consumers into buying their products. In her Washington Post article Deborah Cohen says that, “Food marketers test whether the color, the font size of words and the images used to market food will grab our attention by studies of eye movement. They conduct focus groups to come up with catchy names and symbols that recall positive memories and thoughts to condition a response that may lead us to purchase their products. And food marketers work to increase the frequency with which we see their products and their presence in stores, wanting to make their products always available. (Cohen, 2007)”
The food industry is also flooding televisions with their commercials that are made to attract buyers. These food advertisements are very well strategized and some of the ways that companies can make these ads is by using delicious pictures of their food, advertising a good deal such as a dollar menu, by using a funny scenario that makes their product seem desired, or by using a celebrity who talks about how much they love the restaurant or company.





Not only is the food industry luring buyers with commercials, and appealing photos and fonts on their packages. The food industry is manipulating consumers with their prices as well. Instead of buying fresh fruits and vegetables, a lot of people will buy fast food or processed foods because they’re cheaper. A double cheeseburger, a large sweet tea, and an ice cream cone can be bought at McDonalds for a dollar each while apples at a local grocery store are two dollars and forty-nine cents a pound. Although the apples are more expensive, buying foods that are going to give someone the needed vitamins and antioxidants that are essential to a healthy life should be more important than money. Instead of buying three candy bars, a pound of apples can be bought for the same amount of money and those apples will contribute to good health.
The food industry has also changed the serving sizes that are sold in restaurants. The industry has dramatically increased Americans serving sizes. An article by May Clinic compares food sized then and now saying, “Then: The average burger sandwich was 3.9 ounces. Now: A burger sandwich is 12 ounces. (I'm not even going to comment on the toppings and sauces.) Then: The size for fries was 2.4 ounces. Now: The size is 6.7 ounces. Then: Soda came in a 7-ounce cup. Now: The average soda is 42 ounces. (If this is a sugar-sweetened cola, calories have gone from about 90 to 530!). (Nelson & Zeratsky, 2012)”



America is consuming so much processed foods because Americans are addicted to this food. In his Bloomberg article about food addiction, Robert Langreth says “The idea that food may be addictive was barely on scientists’ radar a decade ago. Now the field is heating up. Lab studies have found sugary drinks and fatty foods can produce addictive behavior in animals. Brain scans of obese people and compulsive eaters, meanwhile, reveal disturbances in brain reward circuits similar to those experienced by drug abusers. (Langreth, 2011)” These fatty and sugary foods are foods that people crave and because these foods are all around the U.S. society, people are regularly consuming them and becoming addicted. According to Livestrong.com, Addictive ingredients in food are sugar, fat, salt, casein, and MSG (Tyson, 2011). Since Americans have become addicted to processed foods, the food industry needs to fix this problem and change the way that they make food and what they put into food.
“Processed, packaged foods have almost completely taken over the diet of Americans. (Reader’s Digest, Web)” What the food industry is doing to Americans is immoral. The industry is making a profit off of food addicted, unhealthy Americans and is still trying to find more ways to get Americans to buy their products. The food industry needs to instead rid itself of and America of the fat and sugar based foods that are filling our grocery stores and restaurants. Americans need to have healthier options in front of them if their health is going to change and their food addiction is going to break. The food industry needs to try and improve the health of America.


"4 Most Harmful Ingredients in Packaged Foods." Reader's Digest. Reader's Digest, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
Cohen, Deborah. "A Desired Epidemic: Obesity and the Food Industry." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
Langreth, Robert. "Fatty Foods Addictive as Cocaine in Growing Body of Science." Bloomberg. Bloomberg, 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 9 Nov. 2011.
Nelson, Jennifer, and Katherine Zeratsky. "The New (Ab)Normal - Are Bigger Portions the Norm?" Mayo Cliinic. Mayo Clinic, 30 May 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.
"Overweight and Obesity." Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.
Tyson, Ashley. "Addictive Ingredients in Fast Food." Livestrong. Livestrong, 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving

I hope that you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! My family went over to my grandmother's house this year, it was so nice to be with almost all of my relatives. Although almost all of my aunts and uncles live in town, it's rare that the whole family is together. My uncle who lives out of town came with his wife for the day, which was really nice because we don't get to see them very often.

My mom and grandmother made a delicious Thanksgiving meal, with help from my aunt and I. I also made a pecan pie that came from the Pioneer Woman's website. It was so good! 

Monday, November 19, 2012

My Favorite Movies...

This is a list of some of my favorite movies. Some of these movies are more recent favorites, while others have been on this list for years.

                                                    1.) Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995)




2.) Bringing Up Baby


3.) Thor


4.) My Big Fat Greek Wedding


5.) The Help


6.) The Original Star Wars Trilogy


7.) Singin' in the Rain


8.) To Kill A Mockingbird


9.) October Baby


10.) The Blind Side
















Thursday, November 15, 2012

Some of my favorite books...

One of my favorite things to do is to sit down and read a good book. There are a few books that pop into my mind when thinking of my favorites. Some of those titles are:

                                                 1.) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom


2.) Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot


3.) To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


4.) The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul


5.) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen



  














Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tae-Kwon-Do Demonstration Team

My 13 year-old brother and 11 year-old sister are both green stripe belts in Tae-Kwon-Do who recently participated in auditions for their Tae-Kwon-Do school's Demonstration Team.

The Demonstration Team performs Tae-Kwon-Do in churches, in schools, and at various events. The team consists of kids who are very talented in Tae-Kwon-Do because the team is representing their school.

My brother and sister just found out last night that they made it onto the team and are very excited about representing their school. They both work very hard at Tae-Kwon-Do and are really talented in the sport. My family and I are very proud of them.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Saturday night dinner...

Last night, my mom and I decided to try some new recipes for dinner. My mom and I both love the Pioneer Woman's food so we got some recipes from her cookbook and blog. The Pioneer Woman's real name is actually Ree Drummond. Ree is a mother of 4 who lives on a ranch and has taught herself how to cook cowboy food for her husband.  She has her own Food Network show because her food (and the food that has been passed down to her by her grandmother, mother in-law, etc..) is so delicious.

Here's the link to her website: http://thepioneerwoman.com

So, my mom made dinner and I made dessert. My mom made the Pioneer Woman's Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta dish. It was one of the best chicken pasta dishes that I have ever had.


Then I made the Ree's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce. It was heavenly, especially with the Maple Cream Sauce. I'm definetly making this dessert around Christmastime. 





Thursday, October 25, 2012

Tim Hawkins Comedy Show

This past Sunday I went up to Lynchburg with some friends to see Tim Hawkins perform live. Tim Hawkins is one of my favorite stand-up comedians ever. He is a christian comedian who is absolutely hysterical! I could not stop laughing, he was so great. I've been watching Tim Hawkins videos on YouTube with my family for at least 4 years, so it was a really cool to be able to see him live and hear some of his new jokes and songs.

Here are some of his YouTube videos: