In his article, "What You Eat is Your Business,"" Radley Balko discusses the right and wrong ways of fighting obesity. He explains that politicians are spending millions in anti-obesity measures by trying to ban snacks and soda from public school vending machines, raising funds for bike trails and sidewalks, and sometimes going as far as suggesting putting a "fat tax " on unhealthy foods. Balko writes, "In other words, bringing government between you and your waistline." He explains that this is not the way that America should be educating and fighting obesity," Balko states. "Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being. But we're doing just the opposite. ". In saying this, Balko means that instead of tricking society into eating healthy, American government should be educating the public on how to be active, eat right, and how to promote a healthy lifestyle. The author goes on to explain that instead of personal responsibility, a person's health condition has become a matter of public concern. He also writes about the cost of premiums in private health insurers for overweight and obese people. "We're becoming less responsible for our own health, and more responsible for everyone else's. Your heart attack drives up the cost of my premiums and office visits. And if the government is paying for my anti-cholesterol medication, what incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger? " . By this, Balko means that since all premiums are equal, there is very little initiative to eat healthy because there are no higher premiums for overweight and obese people. The initiative is lost because there is no strive to be healthy since in the end, the same price is paid. "The best way to alleviate the obesity ˜public health' crisis is to remove obesity from the realm of public health.
On one hand, Radley Balko, author of "What You Eat Is Your Business," argues that the government shouldn't have any say so on what people choose to eat no matter how fattening it is to the people. ... My own view is that the government shouldn't decide on what should and should not eat; it should be your own personal business on what you decide to eat whether if it's healthy or not. ... Some authors believe that it is the fast food corporations fault, some believe that it is your own fault and you have to decide whether you want to eat more healthy or not, and others a...
Dear Editor, After analyzing Radley Balko's article, "What You Eat Is Your Business," I would like to give my explanation of why this article should be posted in the next edition of "The Shorthorn." ... "What You Eat Is Your Business" provides sufficient reasons and evidence to support the argument that Balko states in his article. ... The article "What You Eat Is Your Business" begins by giving short background information about Balko informing that Radley Balko is a policy analyst with the Cato Institute. ... Balko further continues and uses the appeal of logos to explain his audience ...
For example, he states that you can drive down a street and find more fast-food restaurants than you can find a place that sales a simple grapefruit. ... In contrast, in "What You Eat is Your Business" by Radley Balko, he doesn't necessarily disagree that portion sizes are larger today or that fast-food is highly available, but he does not however, agree that obesity is caused by the fast-food industry. ... He believes that everyone knows exactly what they are eating and can make their own decision on whether or not it is wise for them to eat whatever it is that they want to eat...
Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer! Submit My Question In today’s society a huge issue is that we constantly hear about the food industry in America. We often hear in the news that obesity rates have increased, or that Americans have many diseases that contribute to being obese. “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko expresses that people are at fault for making such unhealthy food choices. Others argue that the food industry is to blame for being so unhealthy. According to David Zinczenko in “Don’t Blame the Eater” he blames the fast food industry as well as the consumer. Zinczenko asks “shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast food restaurant’s?” (392). So, who is to blame for American’s eating so much unhealthy food? Should it be the consumers’ burden or the fast food companies? On one hand, as consumers we continue to purchase foods that we know are making us overweight. On the other hand, fast food companies continue to offer high in calories foods. Author Radley Balko writes “What You Eat is Your Business” suggesting that as consumers we should take some responsibility for what we eat, and disagrees that the government should have any type of involvement. Balko writes “Politicians have already climbed aboard” (396). Basically, he’s saying that the government wants to take control of what we eat. He goes on to express that he feels that the government isn’t the issue and it will not solve the problem. “The Cato Institute’s” Policy analyst, Radley Balko, in his article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” talks about the idea of obesity and whose fault it is. Balko’s purpose is to convey the idea that obesity is the individual’s responsibility, not the government’s or anyone else’s for that matter. Ultimately, Balko’s “What You Eat Is Your Business” has a strong hold on ethos, pathos, and logos, making for a successful and persuasive article. Responsibility for Food Choices Belongs to the Consumer Alone By: Bailey Cassidy In his article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Reason magazine editor Radley Balko emphasizes the necessity for personal responsibility when it comes to what food people choose to consume and insists that the government should not interfere with consumers’ choices. Balko explains that anti-obesity initiatives, such as removing junk food from vending machines in schools and requiring more detailed food labels, are taking off and are gaining federal support. With individual Americans’ well-being becoming a matter of “public health” instead of simply a matter of individual responsibility, Balko argues that America’s health care system is moving towards socialism and that people are becoming less responsible for their own health and more responsible for that of others. For example, laws have been passed that require some people to pay for others’ medicine. Balko argues that a collective ownership of private health may eventually lead to more federal restrictions on consumer choice and civil liberties. He advocates that obesity should be removed from the realm of “public health” because what one chooses to eat should not be anyone else’s concern, and obesity only becomes a public matter when the public is forced to pay for the consequences of other consumers’ poor choices. Balko concludes by asserting that individual citizens would make healthier food choices if someone else was not paying for the consequences of those choices (Balko, qtd. in Birkenstein, Durst and Graff 395-398). I agree with Balko’s stance that food choice should be nobody’s responsibility except the individual consumer’s. I remember being in seventh grade and arriving at school on my first day to discover that all the candy, chips and sodas had been removed from the vending machine in the hallway at my junior high school. Naturally, this upset me very much. Not only was I upset that my favorite snacks were no longer there, but also, even at age twelve, I felt that it was an injustice to myself and the other students that our freedom to choose to eat junk food if we wanted to spend our money on it was disabled. Being a free country where citizens can make their own choices is something that America prides itself on, and that fact had been rammed down my throat in all of my history classes. Thus, it made no sense to me that my fellow students and I were being stripped of a choice that we used to have in the halls of our very own junior high school (the place where we were regularly lectured on the importance of freedom of choice). As Balko states, a “collective ownership of private health paves the way for even more federal restrictions on consumer choice and civil liberties” (Balko, qtd. in Birkenstein, Durst and Graff 397). I agree that not allowing consumers to have total free choice with regards to what they are eating, or a sense of personal responsibility for the consequences of poor food choices, strips consumers of freedom of choice, which is an essential civil liberty that is at the foundation of our country. When I got home from school after my first day of seventh grade and my mother asked me how my day went, I regaled her with tales of teachers, friends, homework and the “improvements” that had been made to my beloved vending machine over the summer. She said she understood how disappointing this must be and how it may seem like a violation of civil rights. However, she supposed my school found it necessary to decrease the availability of junk food for the sake of students who do not make responsible food choices because child obesity was on the rise. She then proceeded to tell me that she would pack dessert or another treat in my school lunch every Friday, because the previous year, she had given me a dollar to spend at the vending machine every Friday. The snack offerings previously provided by my school’s vending machine were by no means healthy, but my mother thought it was okay to treat myself to a cookie, some chips or a soda once a week as a reward for working hard in school and dance classes. This illustrates an important point; parents who foster a sense of responsible food choices in children can make all the difference when it comes to a child’s health. By not providing me with the means to purchase junk food on a daily basis, my mother effectively made sure I did not eat too much junk food. However, students who buy vending machine snacks or fast food every day may become obese as result of this behavior. I was fortunate that my parents provided me with healthy meals, the occasional treat, and lots of exercise opportunities (I took dance classes for at least four hours a week all through elementary school, junior high and high school). While I understand that it is difficult for some families to provide their children with healthy meals and exercise opportunities, I feel that parents are responsible for having healthy food around the house or providing their children with dining options other than fast food, as well as encouraging regular exercise. It is certainly not up to the federal government to make sure that all the children in America remain healthy and fit; parents need to take some responsibility. In a counterargument to Balko’s article, David Zinczenko, author of health related books and editor of Men’s Health magazine, asserts that obesity is not the consumer’s fault, but the fault of the fast food industry for providing so many unhealthy yet affordable dining options (Zinczenko, qtd. in Birkenstein, Durst and Graff 391-393). While I understand that fast food is convenient and affordable, it is not the industry’s fault that Americans are becoming increasingly obese. Fast food chains are just trying to make money by selling products in a capitalist society, just like every other business in America. I do not hear many people blaming clothing stores or car dealerships for the fact that many Americans are poor, so why should we blame the fast food industry for the fact that many Americans are obese? It is the same principle. Companies attempt to sell products to consumers, but the consumer must choose whether or not to purchase the products. If more consumers were to choose to purchase fresh fruit instead of a Big Mac, some of the obesity problems in America would be ameliorated. I agree with Balko’s stance that the government should foster a sense of personal responsibility for food choices in its consumers. Trying to manipulate consumers or trying to control what they eat is only doing them a disservice. If consumers are manipulated to not eat junk food, when an opportunity to choose an unhealthy option presents itself, they are likely to choose the unhealthy option because they have been deprived of it. When children are young, it should be up to their parents to foster a sense of healthy eating habits, and when the children grow up, it should be up to the individual to decide what to eat. My parents have instilled healthy eating habits in me. Therefore, even though I am now living on my own and there is so much unhealthy food available that I could buy if I wanted to, I try my best to avoid junk food and remain healthy. But when I am craving a Pop-Tart from the vending machine in my residence hall, I am grateful that the government is not taking it away from me, and I know that if I continue to eat Pop-Tarts, I will need to exercise more frequently in order to avoid gaining the Freshman 15. All consumers should have the freedom to choose what food to eat and the opportunity to develop a mentality that encourages healthy food choices. To have that taken away by the government is to have an essential freedom and a good learning experience taken away. Works Cited Qtd in: Birkenstein, Cathy; Durst, Russel and Graff, Gerald. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Balko, Radley.“What You Eat Is Your Business.” Cato.org. 23 May 2004. Qtd in: Birkenstein, Cathy; Durst, Russel and Graff, Gerald. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Zinczenko, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater.” The New York Times. 23 November 2004. |
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