What should we eat?
Food for Whom?
Food and eating are closely related to human lives. In the late 1970s, the Finns were over consuming massive amounts of sodium, eating on average more than two teaspoons of salt a day. Consequently, the country had developed significant issues with hypertension, and men of Finland had the highest rate of fatal heart disease in the world (Moss). Consuming sodium and over-consumption of both fats and sugar are fatal to a human. The Big food companies, however, continue to serve fatty, sugary and salty foods. The food industry, therefore, puts its customers in the obesity crisis. It affects both our environment and our bodies in a significantly negative way.
The food companies provide fat, sugar and salt additives to their products, thus causing or at least heavily contributing to the obesity crisis. They earn their income through the use of these methods which cause other people to suffer. First, too much sugary foods lead to diabetes. According to Michael Moss, “The Extraordinary Science of Addict Junk Food,” he expresses that one in three adults in many occasions is clinically overweight. He continues the express that one in five kids and 24 million Americans currently have type 2 diabetes, with another 79 million people having pre-diabetes.” And eating salty food or consuming taking more than a recommended amount of salt per day, you can get high blood pleasure. A large number of organizations in the food industry have their products being associated to high content of calories and thus revealing their contribution in causing obesity.
The two major causes of obesity include consumption of too many salts and too much fat. If we reduce the amount of salt we eat, we can prevent this disease. In Moss’s article, Heikki Karppanen said, Finland’s per capita consumption of salt had dropped by a third, and this shift was attended by a 75 percent to 80 percent decline in the number of deaths heart disease. The above example shows the effect of a small amount of salt intake. The aspect of fatty foods and their negative impact on the body is explained in Freedman’s article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” The author of this article explains that many of big food’s most popular products are loaded with terrible quantities of fat and the plentitude of these components, aggravated by large portion sizes, has clearly helped stimulate the obesity crisis.
As explained earlier, the majority of food companies provide foods that are usually salty, sugary and fattening. There is a significant need to reduce these three ingredients in any food content. The companies earn their income by making and selling the devoid nutrients snacks, instant food, junk food and processed foods. In Freedman’s article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” Freedman insists the food companies have recognized for periods that sugary, salty, fatty foods are not good for consumers in the quantities that customers eat them. He expresses that most food products on sale by food companies contain more than three times the fat content per ounce as the beef patty in a Big Mac (more than two-thirds of the calories come from fat), and four times the sodium. This is largely true of the Big Mac as well as almost any instant food. This content has a significant ability to cause obesity to an individual over time.
Not only that, companies offering higher-calorie food provide us with access to affordable food wherever possible. In Freedman’s article “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” David H. Freedman could get delicious blueberry-pomegranate smoothie anywhere, and it cost $3 and took only seconds to make. He said, “At least that’s what the most-prominent voices in our food culture today would have you believe.” In his article, some researchers show that people who eat wholesomely tend to be healthier than those who survive on fast food and processed foods. Like Freedman, we are accustomed to getting instant foods anywhere. Taking this advice and avoiding junk foods or those that have high calories is one strategy that could help individuals prevent themselves from obtaining obesity.
Not only can we get food easily in many places, but we can also obtain at low prices. In the Karen Auge’s article “Spoiled System: Eating Healthier Comes with a Price for Families,” the Revisha Martinez insists eating healthy food has turned to eat expensive foods. And she said that the cost of one peach per family was equal to 18 servings of the cost of macaroni and cheese. Other consumers like her also buy less expensive and sensational junk food than fresh fruits and vegetables. Referring to Bonnie Azab Powell, “Infoporn: Ground Zero of the Obesity Epidemic? The Center of Your Grocery Storen,” in the most chain supermarkets are preparation products. Processed foods are in the middle (they are located in places that are easy to find), and they are high in energy density. In contrast, the wholesome foods are high priced than processed foods. In Powell’s chart, the chart is showing the price and the calories offered by the production. High-calorie snacks, cereal, and pasta show that they are selling at low prices. Although the two articles affect the food industry selling high-calorie food to consumers at low prices. From this information, an individual can be able to compare the content of the food that he or she eats daily and calculate the calorie content of that food. With this information, it is easy to trace a number of fats, sugar, and salt that a person consumes on a daily basis and regulate them to avoid obesity.
However, these stimulating and low-cost processing foods do clog not only our bodies, but also harm our environment. In the article “What's wrong with what we eat?” TED TALK, according to the Bittman, we need to cut down on meat and instant consumption. After energy production, livestock is the second biggest contributor to air pollution. 1/5 of global warming gases are produced in livestock production. The author said that this is more than the traffic comes from. Livestock is also one of the biggest culprits in causing soil contamination, air pollution, water pollution, water shortages and the diversity of biodiversity. Western culture of diet and life causes diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The demand for meat, dairy products, and carbohydrates in the United States consumes lots of calories. He said, “Overconsumption of animals, and of course, junk food, is the problem, along with our paltry consumption of plants.” He also insisted if we increase the intake of plants instead of eating meat, our bodies will become healthier and the environment will become more pleasant. He argued that we should stop raising livestock for everyone's interests. It will not only help us reduce the calories we eat, but also reduce our carbon footprint.
If we reduce the amount of junk food or processed foods, including salt, sugar, and fat we eat, there will be something surprising about us. We should eat less meat and junk foods (including processed foods and instant foods) and consume more plants (it's not the beta-carotene, it's the carrot) for our environment. In Moss’s article “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food,” Michael Moss insists the food companies have recognized for periods that sugary, salty, fatty foods are not good for consumers in the quantities that customers eat them. With the understanding of these aspects, therefore, it is wise for people to mind the foods that they consume and ensure that they only consume what is healthy and beneficial to their bodies. Reducing consumption of the three ingredients, fats, sugar and salt can help solve the obesity crisis completely.
Work Cited
Augé, Karen. “Spoiled system: Eating healthier comes with a price for families.” The Denver Post, 5 May 2016, www.denverpost.com/2010/09/04/spoiled-syst/.
Bittman, Mark. “What's wrong with what we eat".” TED Talk, Dec 2007, www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat/.
Freedman, David H. “How Junk Food Can End Obesity.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19 Feb 2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/.
Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times, 23 Feb 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food/.
Pollan Michael, “Our National Eating Disorder.” The New York Times Magazine, 17 Oct 2004, www. Michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/our-national-eating-disorder/.
Powell, Bonnie Azab. “Infoporn: Ground Zero of the Obesity Epidemic? The Center of Your Grocery Store.” Wired, Conde Nast, 12 Dec 2007, www.wired.com/2007/12/infoporn-ground-zero-obesity-epidemic-center-grocery-store/