Proposal:
I LOVE to eat! What’s my options?
I would like to write an argumentative research
paper about “What’s there to eat?”.
Although, I will tell you now, I don’t like to argue. So, I will say argue but I know in my heart
it means, discuss passionately my point.
My mother owns a little ole health food
store, in a small town, nestled in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Now, this does not
mean we always eat healthy. We adore
some ice cream and sharp cheddar cheese!
I would like to choose this topic to argue
(discuss passionately) my point of why most people do not eat very healthy and
what we can do to help turn that around.
I like the story from
I will certainly read and speak to two of
the links you have suggested:
·
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/cornering-the-market/386327/
I hope you will kindly accept my proposal.
I’ll be eating some chips till I hear back from you….
Rough Draft with Peer Review:
Junk Food: Costlier in the End
In many
areas of the US, food is all around. How
much it costs and how good it is for us affects humans in many ways. Junk food
is typically cheaper than healthier foods.
You can also find it in any gas station, convenience store and honestly,
a health food store. Why is it cheaper? Why do we reach for it faster? Why do
teenagers want it so much? How do we feed the teenagers growing, developing and
starving brains while staying within a budget? How much will it cost in the end
if we don’t eat right?
Sharon
Oosthoek writes about “You are what you eat” in Warning! Junk foods can harm a
teen’s brain. I have heard that saying
many times in my life but now that I am raising a teenager, it means even more.
If I don’t take the time to think about what I am preparing, keeping in the
pantry and dining out on, it could cost her more down the road.
The teenage
years are important. The adolescent
brains are not fully formed. What they are putting into their bodies affects
stress levels, assessing risk, controlling their actions and how they are
influenced by their environment.
In the
article, “Why Don’t Convenience Stores Sell Better Foods?”, Olga Khazan
discusses trying to get healthier foods in low income areas. One of the big problems for smaller stores is
getting healthier items for a reasonable price. Larger stores like Wal-Mart can
buy in bulk. They purchase so many items
at once that they get a discount.
Smaller stores like your neighborhood markets, “Mom and Pop” stores and
little health food stores cannot usually afford to buy so much in bulk. If they
did buy in bulk though, the items might go bad before it is purchased. This
causes the store to take a loss that it already cannot afford. Thomas & Sons in the article was able to
work with a nonprofit and their Healthy Corners program. They got a refrigerator from them and the
deal was that the nonprofit would replace any item that went rotten before it
was sold. That would be great if all the
stores had that. Sadly, they do not. The
nonprofit is trying to make a difference though by bringing a healthy option to
the small stores so at least the customers have a choice.
You have to
be careful though, some items seem like a healthier choice but come to find
out, they are not. Just because it is in
a fancy “green/save the planet” cup or costs more, does not prove healthy. It might have tons of sugar. David H.
Freedman writes, in “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” about a yummy sounding
Vegan Cheesy Salad Booster. The package
talks about all the fancy, healthy, raw and non-processed food in it. He mentions, what it is not telling is that
it contains 3X the fat, per ounce of a McDonald’s beef patty and 4 more times
the sodium of the McDonald’s Big Mac.
You have to watch the Nutrition Fact labels. You will get fooled into thinking you are
purchasing items super healthy and automatically think it is lower in
calories. David went to many different
“healthy” stores and found the same story, over and over. Usually by the counter. If it has more fat, it is junk food?
Teenagers
are in such a hurry that they are not watching the labels. Well, maybe 1 out of 10 are. Maybe. It is our job as the adult in their life to
watch them and teach them to look at the label, even if they act like they are
not paying attention. Obesity is a growing problem among teenagers and younger
children. They must be taught on what to
watch for and be a part of the “How to eat better” conversation.
Freedman
writes that restaurants like McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr have made small changes to
their menus and not really advertised it so they don’t scare off the customers
thinking it is now too healthy. They want to wait and let them try it, see if
they like it then maybe mention it down the road that it might be a little
healthier. Restaurants have started
listing the calorie count on their menus and some report that people buy the
low calorie meals less because they think that it won’t taste as good.
Many people
seem to want a ban on junk food or to put a higher tax on it. What is that going to do for the lower income
populations? Can they afford to eat more expensive food just because that is
the only thing available. I think not.
If it costs more by taxing it, that sure isn’t going to help. Typically,
when something gets banned, people find a way to get to it. If they want it, they will find a way. They will cross borders if they have to.
Small
changes can help a lot. Ask your smaller stores to carry healthier items and
support them when they do. Be kind and
let them know why you would like these healthier items. Ask them what is their reason for not
normally carrying these items. The
answers may surprise you. Don’t be
discouraged if one store doesn’t change.
Talk to another store about it. Buy less processed foods. Take extra time to read your labels. Don’t
just look for the “Whole Foods” and similar stores to offer healthy foods. When you notice someone that is obese is
making a healthy change in their eating habits, encourage them to keep it up.
When you notice ANYONE is making a healthy change, encourage that. Be a good example.
It is all
about balance. Most people are not going
to cut out junk food completely. You
have to find the balance of eating decent and maintaining a health budget.
Eating junk food, that we know is junk food and the fancy foods that are
“sneaky” junk food are going to cost us big time in the end. This is not a
problem that just started overnight, so it will not be made better
overnight. One teenager, one small store
and one small research paper at a time can help improve the situation. It is
going to cost us more in the end if we do not do something soon. It starts with you and me…and you over there
too!
I
think you have a good argument. My main review point would be that I think you
need more quotes from the articles instead of just summarizing them, and
include more evidence and data. Like the prices of junk food and healthy food,
more proof that product packages don’t tell everything, and prove that “Obesity
is a growing problem” with evidence.
Also the two short paragraphs at the beginning about Teenagers brains, I understand including that, but I think they could be put somewhere else. Having them right there kind of throws off what the argument is about. Because it goes from talking about teenagers' brains to talking about why convenience stores sell more junk food. I think it would be better to include the part about teenagers' brains when you bring up teenagers reading nutrition facts labels and obesity.
Works Cited
Freedman,
David H. “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” The Atlantic July/August 2013
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/
Khazan, Olga. "Why Don't Convenience Stores
Sell Better Food?" The Atlantic.
2 March 2015.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/cornering-the-market/386327/
Oosthoek, Sharon. “Warning! Junk
foods can harm a teen’s brain” Science News for Students.19 November 2020.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/junk-foods-can-harm-teen-brains
Junk Food: Costly in the End
In many areas of the US, food is all
around. How much it costs and how good
it is for us affects humans in many ways. Junk food is typically cheaper than healthier
foods. You can also find it in any gas
station, convenience store and honestly, a health food store. It is cheaper. We
reach for it faster. Teenagers want to eat junk food most of the time. We must
feed the teenagers' growing, developing and starving brains while staying
within a budget. How much will it cost in the end if we don’t eat right?
In the article, “Why Don’t
Convenience Stores Sell Better Foods?” Olga Khazan discusses trying to get
healthier foods in low income areas. One
of the big problems for smaller stores is getting healthier items for a
reasonable price. Larger stores like Wal-Mart and Safeway can buy in bulk. “Many food distributors require a minimum
order—say 250 apples—for a delivery. That's easy for places like Safeway or Giant,
but it's harder for small shops that sell maybe two dozen apples each week.”
says Olga. They purchase so many items at once that they get a discount. Smaller stores like your neighborhood
markets, “Mom and Pop” stores and little health food stores cannot usually
afford to buy so much in bulk. If they did buy in bulk though, the item might
go bad before it is purchased. This causes the store to take a loss that it
already cannot afford. Thomas & Sons
in the article was able to work with a nonprofit and their Healthy Corners
program. They got a refrigerator from
them and the deal was that the nonprofit would replace any item that went
rotten before it was sold. Olga refers
to store owner Jae Chung’s comment that before the program “He had to buy his
fresh produce stock at Costco and pick it up himself. After he added in his
markup, a tomato at Thomas & Sons would sell for about $2.50. Now, it’s
more like $1 to $1.50.” That would be great if all the stores had that. Sadly,
they do not. The nonprofit is trying to
make a difference though by bringing a healthy option to the small stores so at
least the customers have a choice.
You have to be careful though, some
items seem like a healthier choice but come to find out, they are not. Just because it is in a fancy “green/save the
planet” cup or costs more, does not prove healthy. It might have tons of sugar. David H.
Freedman writes, in “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” about a yummy sounding
Vegan Cheesy Salad Booster. The package
talks about all the fancy, healthy, raw and unprocessed food in it. He mentions, what it is not telling is that
it contains 3X the fat, per ounce of a McDonald’s beef patty and 4 times more
the sodium of the McDonald’s Big Mac.
You have to watch the Nutrition Fact labels. You will get fooled into thinking you are
purchasing super healthy items and automatically think it is lower in
calories. David went to many different
“healthy” stores and found the same story, over and over. Usually by the counter. If it has more fat, it is junk food?
Teenagers are in such a hurry that
they are not watching the labels. Well,
maybe 1 out of 10 are. Maybe. It is our
job as the adult in their life to watch them and teach them to look at the
label, even if they act like they are not paying attention. Obesity is a
growing problem among teenagers and younger children. They must be taught on what to watch for and
be a part of the “How to eat better” conversation.
Sharon Oosthoek writes about “You
are what you eat” in Warning! Junk foods can harm a teen’s brain. I have heard that saying many times in my
life but now that I am raising a teenager, it means even more. If I don’t take
the time to think about what I am preparing, keeping in the pantry and dining
out on, it could cost her more down the road.
The teenage years are
important. The adolescent brains are not
fully formed. What they are putting into their bodies affects stress levels,
assessing risk, controlling their actions and how they are influenced by their
environment.
Freedman writes that restaurants
like McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr have made small changes to their menus and not
really advertised it so they don’t scare off the customers thinking it is now
too healthy. They want to wait and let them try it, see if they like it then maybe
mention it down the road that it might be a little healthier. Restaurants have started listing the calorie
count on their menus and some report that people buy the low calorie meals less
because they think that it won’t taste as good.
Many people seem to want a ban on
junk food or to put a higher tax on it.
What is that going to do for the lower income populations? Can they
afford to eat more expensive food just because that is the only thing
available. I think not. If it cost more
by taxing it, that sure isn’t going to help. Typically, when something gets
banned, people find a way to get to it.
If they want it, they will find a way.
They will cross borders if they have to.
Small changes can help a lot. Ask
your smaller stores to carry healthier items and support them when they
do. Be kind and let them know why you
would like these healthier items. Ask
them what is their reason for not normally carrying these items. The answers may surprise you. Don’t be discouraged if one store doesn’t
change. Talk to another store about it.
Buy less processed foods. Take extra
time to read your labels. Don’t just look for the “Whole Foods” and similar
stores that offer healthy foods. When
you notice someone that is obese is making a healthy change in their eating
habits, encourage them to keep it up. When you notice ANYONE is making a
healthy change, encourage that. Be a
good example.
It is all about balance. Most people are not going to cut out junk
food completely. You have to find the
balance of eating decent and maintaining a healthy budget. Eating junk food,
that we know is junk food and the fancy foods that are “sneaky” junk food are
going to cost us big time in the end. This is not a problem that just started
overnight, so it will not be made better overnight. One teenager, one small store and one small
research paper at a time can help improve the situation. It is going to cost us
more in the end if we do not do something soon.
It starts with you and me…and you over there too!
Works Cited
Freedman, David H. “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” The Atlantic July/August 2013.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/
Khazan, Olga. "Why Don't Convenience Stores
Sell Better Food?" The Atlantic.
2 March 2015.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/cornering-the-market/386327/
Oosthoek, Sharon. “Warning! Junk
foods can harm a teen’s brain” Science News for Students.19 November 2020.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/junk-foods-can-harm-teen-brains
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