An article by David Zincenko titled ‘Don’t Blame the Eater’ takes an opinionated stance on the responsibility of fast-food companies in the promotion of products that target children and teenagers. These groups are especially vulnerable to the consumption of potentially dangerous or unhealthy products prevalent in fast-food industries due to the lack of sufficient warning labels and information.
Zincenko (2002) makes the argument that government involvement is essential and mandatory in order to prevent hazardous risks, by either including proper labeling or another format of information delivery that will allow for educated decisions made by customers. Though such action has merit, it is unlikely to impact the health issues spurred by diet and potentially harmful products. This is largely for a number of reasons, including the demand-driven nature of fast-food economics, the influence of non-professional sources of information, and lack of initial education concerning the topic at an early stage by the government.
The current fast-food industry is driven by the demand of customers and their preferences. There are a number of other factors that contribute to this, including location, pricing, and availability. Customers have much more access to health-conscious dietary information than ever before, yet they continue to create escalating demand for fast-food products. Special diets have a number of sources online, such as resources on vegan, clean eating, or other directions of healthy nutrition which are accessible to most. There is a variety and excess of information available on better nutrition, made available by the government, professionals, or other parties. However, the demand for the factors of fast-food products such as price, timeliness, and taste outweigh the concerns for health. As such, I mostly disagree with Zincenko’s solution.
Though the resources available, especially on the web, are limitless and incredibly diverse, the quality of the information is also questionable. Even if customers turn to non-government sources if those are not available, it is not guaranteed that they will find adequate dietary and health information. In the case of Jordan Younger, a vegan who participated and promoted a very intensive diet of raw and minimal eating, the case for independently available resources resulted in a catastrophe (Wilson, 2017).
Her excessively limited diet resulted in an eating disorder that adversely affected her health, and this diet was heavily recommended by her and others, with Younger even creating material that was for sale to encourage others to become part of what shifted from just a diet to a system belief. The health risks of such things are high, and as such, the government would not only have to promote their own dietary resources but combat misinformation. Zincenko’s argument does not address this potential risk of argument, and the case of Younger is worrying and not an adequate solution to dietary education in my opinion.
Zincenko cites children and teenagers as being the most vulnerable and misinformed concerning health risks and fast food, which can be seen in real-world statistics. However, the government-backed increase in labeling may not be sufficient. To avoid being oblivious to health risks or relying on possible misinformation from non-professionals, government intervention should begin at an early stage. To truly change the attitudes of the youth towards healthy eating, programs concerning the topic of diet should be prevalent during school years and encourage students to investigate the compositions of their meals on their own without reliance on labeling or potential misinformation. As such, I only partially agree with Zincenko’s solution as it is not sufficient in addressing the issue of diet-induced health risks.
Currently, no such programs are effective enough to curb health risks related to diet in both adults and children. However, the implementation of such campaigns is possible and needed more every year. While the market is demand-driven, it is essential to inform and create involvement in customers rather than simply satisfying those concerned with more accurate labeling.
References
Wilson, B. (2017). Why we fell for clean eating. The Guardian. Web.
Zincenko, D. (2002). Don’t blame the eater. New York Times. Web.