THEY SAY / I SAY : INTO DARKNESS (The Second Assignment)

Happy Birthday to Benedict!

Oh, wait, wrong Benedict...

They Say / I Say Assignment 2

Part A

    In his article "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko claims that the availability and convenience of fast-food establishments is fueling today's obesity epidemic, aided by the unintentional negligence of working parents. Due to the expanding pattern of both parents leaving the home for the workplace, Zinczenko explains, children are drawn to the most convenient source of food, fast-food restaurants. Drawing from his own experiences as a child, Zinczenko details his lonely home life to justify his adolescent self's preference of fast-food. Zinczenko's inspirational realization of his lapse in judgement and subsequent turnabout is clearly meant to provide contrast to those who are not as enlightened as he, in an attempt to trace their problems back the fast-food industry itself, blaming the companies for the rise of obesity and its effect on society,

    In my view, however, it is us, not the food chains, that have encouraged this plight. While it is true that fast-food is inexpensive and widely available to the public, the recent  obesity awareness campaigns launched by various health organizations have outlined healthier meal options for all demographics, and fast-food companies such as McDonald's have been pressured into providing nutritional labels on the packaging of their products. Out of necessity, many children have been taught to cook their own nutritional meals by their working parents and are perfectly capable of differentiating between healthy and unhealthy meal choices, although their motivation for such remains questionable. Reheating and preservation technologies have allowed for the marketing of healthy frozen dinners and the retainment of leftover food for later consumption. In addition, even fast-food companies are offering more wholesome meal options to appeal to the health-conscious crowd, such as salads or vegetable wraps. Some may protest that the added cost of buying healthier foods makes those options less appealing than the cheaper fast-food options. Yet I would argue that the extra cost of the more wholesome options is offset by the saved money that would later go towards medical costs stemming from the resulting weight problems. Overall, then, I would conclude that the fault lies in our own inherent laziness and misplaced frugality  rather than the marketing ploys of the fast-food industry.

Part B 

    In his article "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko blames fast-food companies for facilitating the rise of obesity by misleading their customers about the nutritional values of their products. Using his own less-that-ideal adolescent experiences with fast-food as a background, Zinczenko proceeds to renounce the marketing ploys of the fast-food industry, accusing them of encouraging the spreading obesity epidemic in an attempt to stir up social dissent. The negative cultural stereotypes surrounding obesity serve as the reasons behind Zinczenko's argument, likely stemming from lingering resentment from his social isolation following the onset of adolescent weight problems. Zinczenko's hope is that such lawsuits will lead the public to condemn the fast food industry's intentional endorsement of obesity, a horrible blight on society.

    In my view, however, Zinczenko fails to recognize that while obesity carries many damaging social stereotypes, it is also a serious medical condition, and the chemicals and saturated fat contained in many fast-food products have many other harmful effects on the human body, not just an increase production of body fat. While it is true that fast-food products contain a high amount of calories, they also contain large amounts of trans fat, sugars, and carbohydrates. Consumption of trans fats has been linked to coronary heart disease, certain mental illnesses, depression, and infertility in women. Excess consumption of added sugars can lead to cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction. Such substances also contribute to the development of obesity. Although Zinczenko is correct in that obesity does, in some cases, lead to diabetes, he contributes its negative effects as mostly social. Yet I believe that it is both a harmful cultural stereotype and a legitimate medical condition. Overall, I would conclude that Zinczenko's childhood obesity and lack of lasting health problems shaped his bias towards the superficial aspects of fast-food consumption-an important point to make given that he barely acknowledges the medical aspect of the condition.   

Part C

Well, they definitely are different.