Evelyn Cordova
Ms. Harper
English 1301/4001
February 20, 2016
Is junk food the better option?
For many years, Americans have talked about obesity and about how bad it is in the United States. Americans have thought of quick and easier ways to get food faster, and that is where junk food comes in. Mark Bittman, the author of many cookbooks and writer of the New York Times whose article “Is junk food really cheaper?” which came out in 2011, states that the reason Americans are so overweight is because no one wants to cook at home anymore. He makes the claim that low-income people are most likely to be overweight because they believe that junk food is cheaper by the calorie (660). Bittman says that fresh food can be cheaper than fast food, and that Americans should have more access to good healthy food no matter what their income may be or where they may be located at.
The main purpose of this article is to inform readers that healthy food can be affordable as well as a healthier choice for your body. A great majority of Americans think junk food is cheaper when in the long run, it really isn’t. In his article, Mark Bittman compares two meals: one being homemade when he states that “you can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14 (660) and the other is junk food, which is a meal of four at McDonald’s that is about $28” (660).Mark Bittman incorporates this example to provide evidence to the reader of how much of a difference there really is, but people rather overlook at the price of junk food/fast food to not feel as “guilty”. He also indicates how a homemade meal contains healthier calories than those of junk food, “a meal of real food cooked at home can easily contain more calories, most of them of the healthy variety” (661) but people are just so lazy or don’t have any spare time throughout their day because they have other priorities like work or other “important” things, but what can be more important than feeding your family?
When people eat junk food continuously, they either become overweight or obese. It has been said that junk food has become an addiction similar to drugs and alcohol. A 2009 study by the Scripps Research Institute indicates that overconsumption of fast food “triggers addition-like neuroaddictive responses” (663). Fast food restaurants have outnumbered the amount of supermarkets there is in the United States. People may be able to find McDonalds faster than they can find Walmart. There are five food restaurants for every supermarket (662). Additionally, he informs the reader that fresh produce has increased by 40 percent while the price of soda and processed food has decreased by 30 percent (662).This small difference is what gets people with low-income to buy things that harm their body instead of purchasing the product that benefits them. Mark Bittman used the appeal of logos by using statistics and percentages, this makes his article more credible because he’s using other sources as a reference and not just his opinion.
Bittman uses the appeal of pathos by making the reader feel somewhat guilty by inserting comparisons between the healthier more affordable options, to the greasy packed of harmful calories along with being expensive. He states that it is not that people do not want the healthier option, they just do not go for it, because it consumes time “if you can drive to McDonalds you can drive to Safeway. It’s cooking that the real challenge” (661). Julie Guthman who is the author of many books says, “people really are stressed out with all that they have to do, and they don’t have time to cook” (661). Therefore, he is trying to say saying that time is one of the biggest issues because the money is there but people aren’t willing to take some time out of their day to cook an affordable home cooked meal.