What You Eat Is Your Business Radley Balko Summary

In his essay, “What You Eat is Your Business” Radley Balko asserts that it is not the government’s responsibility what you put into your body. He calls for no regulation on the fast food industry, declaring it a personal responsibility issue. Balko claims that the best method of reducing the obesity problem is removing it from the public sector, and making it a personal problem. However, I believe that he is oversimplifying an issue which he does not fully understand. I also believe that he is mistaking regulation of industry and informing consumers of what they are eating for socialized medicine. The major issue with Balko’s argument of what you eat as a personal issue is the fact that fast food contains some of the most addictive chemicals …show more content…
I highly doubt that Balko would make the same argument for heroin addiction as a personal responsibility issue, and claim that we should shut down rehabilitation clinics and stop forcing all of us to pay for their poor choices. And in my opinion, a large amount of those addicted to fast food bear even less responsibility for their condition than those who are addicted to heroin or other drugs. I’ve come to this conclusion for a number of reasons. To begin, fast food is incredibly readily available. I can think of at least six fast food restaurants just within a mile of my home, and all of them will sell these products, which have been proven to be addictive and damaging to the body, to anyone with the money to buy them. Consider also the issue that David Zinczenko brings up in his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater.” As a child, his options for nutrition were very limited. He was raised by a single mother who worked long hours just to make ends meet. This caused him to often have to find his own lunch and dinner, and the only options present were fast