In his article, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko (2002) talks about the practices of fast food companies that are harmful for the consumers. The thesis of the article is that fast food companies should be responsible with their customers, informing them about the caloric content of the products that served, but also about other substances that might be harmful for their health.
An important point that the author makes is that consumers, especially teenagers, should not be blamed for eating at fast food restaurants, because they do not have many alternatives for replacing fast food. The evidence that Zinczenko (2002) brings is that one can find many more McDonald’s restaurants than a vegetable kiosk. Another important idea in the article is that customers get fat, or even develop diabetes or other health problems, because they do not know what they eat. The evidence that the author brings is that fast food companies use deceitful practices for hiding the actual caloric content, or “there are no calorie information charts on fast-food packaging” (Zinczenko, 2002, p. 154). Furthermore, the author also indicates that because of the rapid spread of fast food chains is a matter of national concern, as the cost of treating diabetes has reached $100 billion a year from $2.6 billion a year in 1969 (Zinczenko, 2002).
I believe that Zinczenko (2002) is persuasive in blaming the fast-food companies for not informing clients on the caloric intake of their foods, which can read to obesity. Nevertheless, I do not believe that customers are really lacking alternatives for fast-food. There are recently many healthy restaurants that serve organic food. In addition, the home – cooked meals remain the best alternative to fast food products, and sometimes it takes even a shorter time to cook a healthy salad at home with fresh ingredients, than wait in line at McDonald’s for a Happy Meal whose caloric intake and ingredients are unknown.
Works Cited
Zinczenko, David. Don’t Blame the Eater. New York Times. 2002.
