Obesity By John Freedman

Fast Food Companies Can End Obesity Judging from the title of John Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” one conjures up an image of Freedman pressing hard to change the minds of scientifically based options surrounding fast food one deep fried, ketchup-doused French fry at a time. The title resonates with the Maroboro Man ads of the 60s and 70s when the company was losing support from the American population and they were making their finally attempts to forcefully coax Americans into believing that smoking is, in fact, good for your health. However even though Freedman’s title sounds extremist and reminiscent to those who were alive for Maroboro’s last major stand, Freedman’s article holds no similarity. Freedman flies in the face of …show more content…
Throughout Freedman’s article he mentions the “food deserts” that exist throughout America. According to Pollan these are areas, “where product tends to be hard to find, or poor quality, or expensive.” After all, according to Consumer Reports in 2015, “ on average, organic foods were 47% more expensive,” than conventional foods. A major portion of the general public falls victim organic foods’ expensiveness and inaccessibility. But there are “wholesome foodies” who do believe that America can overcome both of these issues. Barry Estabrook, author of “Organic Can Feed the World” posted in The Atlantic, brings to the attention of his readers that there is no evidence supporting the notion that organic food cannot feed the world. He believes with the help of “locally farmed” food and a Wholefoods-esque market scattered throughout the once “food deserts”, America can turn around its obesity issue. Estabrook argues that by localizing the production for organic foods the costs of that food will decrease.Regardless if this is true or not, the amount of money, time, and effort to takes to create this elaborate system of organic food stockpiles would be astronomical in comparison to creating healthier fast …show more content…
He believes that, “It makes a lot more sense to look for small, beneficial changes in that food than it does to hold out for big changes in what people eat that have no realistic chance of happening.” The error in Pollan’s thinking is that the “wholesome”, organic way to feed America is the best way to feed America. However, Pollan’s way involves clearing thousands of acres, erecting thousands of local, organic farms, and using millions of dollars. Through fast food, America can use less effort, money, and time to create the decrease Pollan seeks. Not only does Freedman view this situation through a realistic lens, he understands that many obese people will not want to trade in their life long habits for a new diet. Freedman’s notion to slowly create healthier fast food over time aids this issue using as little effort, time, and money as possible and therefore is a realistic approach to America’s obesity