For The Love of Junk Food
Everybody have an uncontrollable weakness to a certain type of junk food. That desirable craving you have to satisfy right then and there. Being able to binge once you see a platter or buffet table with all the junk food in the world, we just don’t like the idea of eating increments at a time. We as a society like the idea of a quick cheap fix whenever hunger comes over us. Instead of either taking leftovers from last night’s dinner, or getting up extra early before work or school to fix a proper breakfast, or pack a proper lunch, we rather go to the local corner store to pick up two Twix bars and a sprite to hold us over.
We love taking the easy way out of things. In the article, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? , the author Mark Bittman targets the difficult topic of how people make excuses that eating healthier is way more expensive than just taking a family of four plus people to a local fast food restaurant. Bittman made his target audience families that are somewhat busy with extra-curricular things. For Bittman to help his targeted audience he went out to local stores and did price comparisons and he also did survey’s on why parents would rather choose a twenty piece nugget from Mc Donald’s over a hot healthy home-cooked meal.
Bittman, the Brooklyn, New York native, is a NY Times Opinion columnist. ( Bittman’s Minimalist column was in the dining section of NY Times for over thirteen plus years. He holds the title of being the lead columnist for the Times Dining section and also the lead food writer for The Times Magazine. Bittman graduated from Clark University with a bachelor degree in psychology. Bittman is the author of fifteen cookbooks. He is married with two adult daughters. Not only is Bittman a writer but he is also a chef.
Since Bittman has had experience with feeding a family of four in the past he can understand why some families would rather eat out than fix a meal, but he still feels that there should not be an excuse to cook dinner at least once or twice a week. Bittman explains how our society not only make prices an excuse for eating unhealthy but he also explains how we as people say that cooking is too time consuming after a long day of work. In this article, Bittman seem to approach the issue with anger because of the many excuses given for not making a proper meal for the family.
He threw in facts and opinions of everyday people that deal with these kinds of decisions. Being a chef and a father of two, Bittman understands the importance of cooking a healthy meal and sitting it on the table. Bittman stated that “the core problem is that cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch. (Bittman)” That sentence alone explains why most parents do not come home and cook for the family. They feel as if it’s another job. Bittman argued in the article that though it may seem as if buying processed and junk food is cheaper, it’s really not!
He gave an example of having a family of four and going to Mc Donald’s buying each person a meal. The total of the meal came out to be approximately thirty dollars. If the parents were to go to the local grocery store and buy a roast and broccoli, the total will only end up being fourteen dollars. Bittman also brings attention to how over the years the inflation price of fresh produce has gone up while for fast-food restaurants it has decreased. This brings more attention towards spending money on unhealthy food.
Bittman stated in the article “that overconsumption of fast food “triggers addiction-like neuroaddictive responses” in the brain, making it harder to trigger the release of dopamine. In other words the more fast food we eat, the more we need to give us pleasure; thus the report suggests that the same mechanisms underlie drug addiction and obesity. (Bittman)” Bittman grasp the audience attention by letting them know that eventually their bad habits of taking the easy way out will catch up to them and harm them.
Putting themselves in grave danger of potentially, let’s say, having a stroke or even dead maybe. It’s noticeable in the article that Bittman is fed up with the excuses. Bittman’s article is very relatable because he is basing it on average households around the world. Bittman wrote this article to target families that take the easy way out. Though this article is intended for families, single people, and couples should also take heed to the information given. Eating healthier is how you keep yourself looking and feeling young.
Bittman’s purpose of this article is to inform everyone that eating take out every night is unhealthy and that there should be no excuse as to why a person cannot come home and cook a decent meal. Bittman encourage families across the nation to challenge themselves into cooking more than usual. Bittman wan this readers to understand that cooking once a week is better than not cooking at all, he also want them to see that cooking can be enjoyable. He doesn’t want his reader’s to think that cooking is a hassle and a burden to get accomplished.
Mark Bittman’s article, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper, made such a bold entrance and informative ending that it came and conquered the message. Bittman put enough facts into this article that it should definitely make a person think twice about feeding their family take-out food two nights in a row. The details of the articles flowed with bold points along with opinions from Bittman and others. It was like Bittman came to the podium and laid it all on the table. Bittman gave several examples on how eating out is more expensive than cooking a meal throughout this article.
Since Bittman is a family man he knew what components to insert in this article to grasp the attention of his targeted audience. This article was straight forward and to the point. Though Bittman went in about the topic from the very beginning he never lost his focus on what he was coming to execute. If Bittman’s article, Is Junk Food Really Cheap, can grasp hold of my attention as a college student he can very well grasp the attention of a parent that wants to keep their family live and healthy.
