Effects Fast Food on Society - Essay Example

Fast Food Chains Four Paragraphs Cheap prices Fast food is considered to be cheap since it can be afforded by most of the people in the society. The affordability of fast food makes it popular among a diverse range of people. Students do not earn their livelihood and are dependent on their parents for money; fast food seems appealing to them since they can have tasty food in lesser amount of money. In the current times, people tend to leave their homes and come to bigger cities to earn money. Such people do not have anyone in their residents to cook for them; therefore fast food suits their budgets conveniently. It is even considered as a good choice for families who would want to have a nice and affordable dine-out. 2. Tasty Food Many fast food services offer extensive menus consisting of starters, main course and desserts. They use all kinds of tempting ingredients in their food to attract people, for example cheese is excessively used in fast foods since it is considered to be a universal favorite. Sauces are often used in the food to make it more appealing for the masses. Fast food chains keep on introducing new and tastier items in their menus to keep their customers loyal to the brand. 3. Advertising Fast food chains tend to spend hefty amounts on advertising and launching different campaigns. Advertising becomes an effective source of circulation of money in the society. Advertising may have its own adverse affects on the society but it has become a direct or indirect source of livelihood for many individuals, for example, digital display companies get more business, sports teams earn more money than before from the advertising budgets of fast food chains etc. 4. Children Fast food chains tend to launch different campaigns for the children that might be based on latest movies, super heroes etc. Toys in the kiddy meals tend to attract the children even more. They have made kiddy meals so attractive and colorful that it gets difficult for children to stay away from them. This results in addiction for fast food and resistance to home cooked meals. Finding Paragraphs 1. Quick service Source: Stewart, Hayden. Blisard, Noel. Bhuyan, Sanjib, and Nayga, Rodolfo. “The Demand for Food Away From Home Full-Service or Fast Food?” United Stated Department of Agriculture, 2004. Paragraph Households also may demand more food away from home as their manager works longer hours outside the home. In particular, fast food may come to represent a convenient meal option, if such a restaurant is reasonably accessible. Spending for fast food has been shown to increase along with the number of hours worked by a household manager in the labor force (e.g., Byrne et al., 1998). By contrast, dining at a full service restaurant can take as long as preparing, eating, and cleaning up after a meal at home. Thus, there is neither a clear theoretical nor empirical relationship between a household's demand for food at full-service restaurants and its time constraints. Paraphrasing The authors refer to a member of the house as the manager; this individual has been defined as a person who is responsible for preparing the food and other chores around the house. The increasing needs of the current times compel more people to work from one family, due to which the manager of the house may also be spending lot of time away from home. Due to the shortage of time, quick and convenient supply of food is desired by most families. Full service restaurants tend to take longer periods of time in providing food, therefore fast food chains are preferred more. Commentary This research finding is relevant for the research study since it addresses the prevailing trends of the modern life; people do not have time to prepare food at home therefore they prefer fast food. 2. Health Problems Source: Lin, Biing-Hwan, and Frazao, Elizabeth. “Away-From-Home Foods Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet”, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1999. Paragraph Earlier studies suggested that away-from-home foods have lower nutritional quality than home foods. For example, Lin and Frazao showed that away-from-home foods were higher in fat and saturated fat and lower in fiber and calcium than home foods. Similarly, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, highlighted the high fat, saturated fat, and sodium contents of many popular restaurant foods. Therefore, the increased trend toward food away from home could present a challenge for Americans to improve the nutritional quality of their diets. Research points to poor diets as a significant cause of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis related hip fractures, and neural tube birth defects in the United States. Paraphrasing Different researchers have concluded that away-from-home food does not offer the same nutrition as home cooked food. Food from different commercial sources has been found to be more fatty and lower in fiber contents. Calcium is an important nutrient of food for humans and fast food items constitute of very less amounts of it. A research by Center for Science in the Public Interest has been quoted by the authors; it also concluded that fast food items have high contents of fat and sodium. Such unhealthy food causes an increase in different diseases like cancer, diabetes, hip fractures and neural tube birth defects. It also increases the chances of strokes and heart diseases. Commentary This paragraph has been useful to identify the diseases whose chances are increased by the consumption of away-from-home food. It is useful to create awareness about the nutrients that shall be excluded from one’s diet if fast foods are chosen. 3. Medical Costs Source: Lamacraft, Brian. Is the cost of fast food more than a financial cost?, Helium, 13 May 2009, Web. 29 April 2011. Paragraph The long term costs to society are increased health care expenses, medication costs for the consumer, and even premature death. Warning labels are on cigarettes and they should be placed on fast food as well. As people consume more and more of this food, their health declines and their expenses for dealing with their health problems go up which put a burden on the health care system and society. While an occasional fast-food meal can be enjoyed, the long term over consumption of this food has more than just immediate financial costs. The consumption of this food can have health consequences due to the intake of low nutrition, high calories, and potential harmful substances for the body. A person who consumes large quantities of fast food may get sick and put a financial burden on society. Paraphrasing The effects of consuming fast food become obvious in the long run when the health care expenses increase. The authors stated that the warning signs that appear on cigarette packs should also be present on fast food since they are also very bad for one’s health. The declining health conditions put burden on the society, as well as the health care systems. The low percentage of nutrients, high portion of calories and other harmful elements accumulate and create serious problems in the long run. Commentary This paragraph is useful for the research since it notifies the people about increased health care costs that may be incurred in the long run by consuming lot of fast food items. The finding provides a good reason to avoid fast foods and adapt healthy eating habits. 4. Bad effect on children Source: Chou, Shin-Yi. Rashad, Inas, and Grossman, Michael. “Fast-Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity”, Graduate Center and National Bureau of Economic Research, 2006. Paragraph How the commercial advertising of foods contributes to the epidemic of obesity among children and adolescents is still an ongoing debate. There is widespread speculation that the exposure to food advertising may contribute to unhealthy food choices and weight gain. Despite lacking evidence showing the direct linkage between television food advertising and childhood obesity, several industrialized countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland have banned commercial sponsorship of children’s programs. Sweden also does not permit any television advertising targeting children under the age of twelve (Kaiser Family Foundation 2004). In the United States, most recently, companies such as Kraft Foods have decided to curb advertising aimed at children in an effort to encourage better eating habits (Mayer 2005). Paraphrasing Fast food advertisements attract the children towards the consumption of fast food. It is due to the common consumption of fast foods that obesity is increasing among children. Many countries, like Finland, Norway and Sweden, have taken initiated to ban fast food advertising (for children) in their countries to reduce the inclination of the children towards the respective foods. Few efforts have also been witnessed from US to stop fast food advertisements for children. Commentary This paragraph reveals the efforts that have been taken by different countries to reduce the consumption of fast food by children. The respective study highlights the contribution of fast food chains in the increasing number of obese children in the prevailing times. 5. Pollution Source: “Avoid take-out and fast food packaging”, Green Your.com, n.d., Web. 30 April, 2011. Paragraph Eating on the go generates mountains of garbage. Sixty-four percent of the waste created by fast food restaurants is paper and plastic from the packaging. Recycling paper and plastic from restaurants can have a large environmental impact. The recycling process produces less pollution and uses fewer resources than manufacturing products from virgin materials. The Green Restaurant Association recommends that restaurants not only recycle their garbage, but also carry recycled paper goods, tree-free paper products, and biodegradable dishes and flatware for take-out. Paraphrasing Fast food chains give away food in the type of packaging that is not friendly for the environment. This waste accumulates to almost 64% of the waste that includes paper and plastic. Few effective alternates have been proposed by The Green Restaurant Association; restaurants should recycle their waste, introduce recycled paper products, prefer paper that is not made from trees and use biodegradable dishes and flatware. Commentary This paragraph includes a significant fact for the research study. It highlights the issue about the enormous waste that is created by fast food chains. Alternate solutions are also proposed to help protect the environment. 6. Cheap Prices Source: Clark, Sarah. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Fast Food, Fast Food Nation, 19 December 2010, Web. 30 April 2011. Paragraph The cost can also be one of the advantages. If you live alone, it’s often cheaper to buy a meal for one at the supermarket, where they are often on special offer, or order a takeaway. Burgers and fries from a fast food restaurant are notoriously cheap. If you have a family, of course, existing on fast food could prove to be one of the disadvantages, as it would be rather more expensive to feed a whole family Paraphrasing Fast food items are very cheap and can be bought easily by the masses. Many people leave their homes to go to bigger cities to earn their livelihood; fast food outlets prove to be economical for such individuals. Fast food chains usually launch campaigns, deals and offers for their customers, due to which food can be purchased at very cheap rates. However, it might prove to be costly for people who buy food for their whole family. Commentary This paragraph provides basis for the argument regarding the popularity of fast food in the modern times. Their deals and offers make it even cheaper and become a reason to attract customers. 7. Advertising Source: “Fast food advertising”, EnglishInfo.com, 2010, Web. 30 April 2011. Paragraph Several international fast food companies have sponsored sporting events, teams and leagues. McDonald's is one of the largest sponsors, having affiliations with the NHL, Olympic Games, and the FIFA World Cup.[22] Several companies, including McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hut, have a history of sponsoring NASCAR teams. Paraphrasing Fast food chains tend to advertise at different places to mark their presence. This promotes circulation of money in the society, for example many fast food chains sponsor sports teams and tournaments. This makes the players and other people (in the industry) earn more money. Commentary This paragraph highlights another advantage of the fast food industry which is that it contributes towards the circulation of money in the society. The circulation of money is achieved from sponsorships of different events, tournaments etc. Read More