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Justine Spies

Professor Knauss

English 101

8 October 2013

Is Fast Food the New Tobacco?

In today’s society most everyone is on the go, constantly busy with no time for a proper meal in between activities. The media continuously pressures young and older people into eating fast food. The question is who gets the blame? While everyone is repeatedly blaming the government, the fast food companies, and each other, we all need to start looking at the issue as a whole and realize that it’s no one person’s fault. It’s our culture we have at fault for this “epidemic”.

In David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” he claims that the food industries are to blame for our problems. In many communities all kids can afford for lunch is a cheeseburger from McDonalds or Burger King and the fast food industries are taking advantage of this by advertising based upon the younger generations. It’s potentially dangerous for kid’s health at such a young age with health issues such as diabetes. “As with the tobacco industry, it may be only a matter of time before state governments begin to see a direct line between the $1 billion that McDonald’s and Burger King spend each year on advertising and their own swelling health care costs.”(393) It’s a shame that in grocery stores, you’ll find that a gallon of milk is more expensive then two liters of soda. For families who are on a tight budget they tend to have no choice when making the decision between the two beverages. Zinckenko also states that the industries fall to warn us of these hazardous products without labels. “Without such warnings, we’ll see more sick, obese children, and more angry, litigious parents.” (393) With obesity being linked to obesity, we could effectively lower the amount of money spent on treating diabetes if we lower our obesity rates, hence lowering our diabetes rates as well. As Zinckenko argues, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that diabetes accounted for $2.6 billion in health...