Works Cited

Works Cited

2005, OECD Health Data. "Obesity Statistics - Countries Compared." NationMaster.com. NationMaster, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity>.

"Addictive Ingredients in Fast Food." LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/369937-addictive-ingredients-in-fast-food/>.

"Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality." Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm>.

Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 03 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/monosodium-glutamate/AN01251>.

"Pixiq." The Dirty Tricks of Food Photographers. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pixiq.com/article/food-photo-tricks>.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY: Perennial, 2002. Print.

Project Web Essay

Sabrina Klivansky

Mrs. Shannon

English 115

26 October 2012

                                                 Why Fast Food is Appealing

            Most Americans have tried fast food, and fallen in love with it. However, fast food goes beyond just a delicious meal. There are obvious reasons as to why fast food is appealing, but it goes much deeper. There are secrets that fast food companies hold to make customers keep coming back for more, and these companies are really good at hiding them. If more Americans were educated as to how these fast food companies function and realize that they are being tricked, then perhaps they would stop relying on fast food so much. American people need to become self-aware of their food choices and realize what these fast food companies are doing. Even though fast food is very convenient, tasty, and usually easy to access, fast food companies are using many addictive ingredients and chemicals in their foods, false advertisements, and visual tricks to get consumer attention.                                                                                        
            Fast food companies couldn’t care less about the health of their customers. They just want their food to taste good, so that customers will come back and buy their product again and again. These foods are loaded with many addictive ingredients that encourage customers to eat more than they should, and make customers want to eat the same foods again. These ingredients are very harmful to the human body. People need to become aware of what exactly it is they are putting into their bodies. Monosodium Glutamate,  for example, is a flavor enhancing food additive that can cause you to feel hungry even after you’ve ate a big meal. Sometimes, when our bodies crave something salty, fattening, or sweet, it might just be a way for our bodies to communicate with us and tell us they need some nutrients. One may think they want something salty, like French fries, but really, they could just be lacking some essential vitamins.       
                       Fast food companies are very smart with their advertisements, as they know what consumers like (cheap prices, tasty food) and they know how to make it well-seen by a large amount of people. When looking at advertisements on billboards, there is usually a perfectly combined meal that looks very appetizing. This creates unrealistic expectations for customers. Someone may see that advertisement on a billboard, and see that the fast food place is coming up around the corner, and want to stop and try what they saw advertised because of how “delicious” and “perfect” it looked. Most avid fast food customers have become used to the fact that food just doesn’t level up to how it looks in the advertisements. This is because food is extremely altered in photos and commercials. This website displays many cringe-worthy materials to make food appear picture-perfect for the cameras, like glue being used instead of milk for cereal close-ups, and brown shoe polish to make meat appear freshly roasted. This is a form of false advertising, since we are not seeing what we are actually paying for. Before someone buys a hamburger from McDonalds, the employees don’t hold the burger in front of them and ask, “Is this okay? Would you like a prettier burger?” People get excited when they see advertisements because they want their food to look a certain way, and become disappointed when they find that their food is not as good-looking as the commercialized product. Americans need to realize that the images of food they may see are being edited and perfected by professionals, and should not expect their food to live up to the standards of the advertisement. It’s a trick by fast food companies to lure you in and attract you to their product. Unfortunately, their tricks are working, considering 30.6% of the United States is overweight.                                                                            
                          Purchasing fast food is now easier than ever before. Fast food is now served just about anywhere where there are large groups of people, like high schools, college campuses, some elementary schools, zoos, airports, gas stations, sports stadiums, airplanes, trains, grocery stores, and many other places. Since 1947, there have been drive-thru fast food restaurants, which make it even easier for Americans to get their unhealthy food fix. Fast food used to be a once in a while type of thing, but for many people it has become a common routine. Unfortunately, for most young adults, eating fast food is not a rare treat but instead a common routine, a habit. It is no longer a treat going to the local McDonalds and paying ten cents for a small pack of French fries once in a while. The prices have gone up tremendously within the last few decades, but still remain fairly cheap for today’s economic standards. According to this introduction to Fast Food Nation, only $6 billion was spent on fast food in the 1970's. By the 2000’s, over $110 billion was spent on fast food. Unfortunately, this shows that America has become much more reliable on fast food restaurants as their source of caloric intake than ever before. America is also more overweight than ever before, and it definitely ties in with the convenience of fast food and how addicting it can be. American people need to realize how much money they are spending on fast food each year, and spend that money on grocery shopping to do healthier home-cooking instead. 
                         It is two thousand twelve and media attention and having a certain beautiful body image is becoming more popular. Having a slim, healthy body type and preventing diseases is becoming part of our pop-culture. Our generation dramatizes the importance of looks more than ever before, with magazines, movies, televisions, commercials, newspapers, and just about everything else. Because the importance of body image is rising, more and more people will start trying their best to look a certain way, which hopefully means avoiding fast food. When one is accustomed to eating fast food, it is not easy to stop due to its addictive qualities. Eating it less often gradually over time can help make a change, instead of quitting “cold turkey”, since some fast foods can almost be as addicting as drugs. Replacing foods that someone is accustomed to with healthier foods is also a good way to fulfill cravings and fast food addictions. Fast food is not completely horrible if eaten once in a while, but it can seriously be detrimental to one’s health due to all the harmful ingredients. It’s extremely addictive, and bad habits can easily be formed. If one sees through all the tricks of fast food companies, and is aware of their brain-washing techniques, then they have won the battle between the addicting fried fatty foods and their own bodies. Sometimes, fast food smells or looks a certain way, and triggers a brain signal that tells you to eat it. Naturally, human beings love to eat food that smells or looks good. If one can overcome this temptation, and can develop a will power strong enough to not eat certain fast food even if it’s calling their name, then one can truly win the battle between themselves and the fast food industries.

How Can One Change Their Lifestyle?

Being educated can help people change their life style, and that is what I intend to do with this blog. Educate people on what fast food really is; purposely addictive ingredients and chemicals, as well as false advertisement. Even though fast food is very convenient, cheap, and usually easy to access, it is very bad for the human body and can cause serious health problems. People need to be self-aware and have a strong will. People need to treat their body as a temple and feed it with the nutrition it deserves, instead of quick and easy trash.

Americans Spend Way Too Much on Fast Food

According to this introduction to the book Fast Food Nation, $6 billion was spent on fast food in the 1970's. However, in 2000, are you ready for this? More than $110 billion was spent on fast food. An increase of over $100 billion in a period of thirty years is very hard to believe. According to the same link, fast food is now being served at high schools, college campuses, elementary schools, zoos, airports, gas stations, stadiums, airplanes, trains, grocery stores, and many other places where many people go.

Drive-Thru's Make it Easy

Some people would prefer cooking to purchasing fast food, but sometimes, it is just so much more convenient to drive a block away and buy a burger, french fries, and a drink for less than five dollars. Now that there are drive-through restauraunts, purchasing fast food is more convenient than ever. The first drive-thru restaurant was created in 1947, so this has been around for quite some time.

Addictive Ingredients

Unfortunately, most fast food meals contain many addictive ingredients that cause us to keep wanting more and more. There is a lot of sugar, fat, and salt involved in order to make foods tastier. One might recognize the taste of a particular food and feel the pleasure that is associated with it, and want to feel that happy feeling again. This article shows several different addictive ingredients in fast food and demonstrates the harmful  effects these ingredients may have on people.

The Tricks of Advertisements

Fast food companies have all types of tricks up their sleeves to get consumers to buy their products. When people watch commercials, movies, or see advertisements for food, the food almost always looks very appetizing and delicious. Many people find themselves dissapointed when they go to a fast food restaurant because the food they purchase doesn't usually look as good as it does on commercials and other ads. This is because when fast food companies make advertisements, they use different props on the food to make it look a certain way under the camera.
This article explains many different tricks that are used when making food look delicious before being photographed or videotaped. The use of computer programs, like photoshop for example, as well as lighting arrangements can make food look more appetizing as well. The following video shows how a McDonalds burger can be carefully put together and edited to look beautiful under the spotlight.

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Say one goes on a road trip, has been driving for six hours, and is starving and needs food as soon as possible. This person is somewhat health concsious, and doesn't usually like to make unhealthy food choices, but at this point, this person doesn't care. He has a few hours left to drive, and needs to be back home by a certain time. He is driving on the freeway, and sees a billboard advertising McDonalds.

He is not one to usually get McDonalds because he is aware that there is hardly any "real" food involved, but at this point, he doesn't care - he sees a glorious, beautiful advertisement for McDonalds where the McChicken looks more appetizing than ever, with its lettuce nicely arranged on top of the deep-fried chicken patty. "Well, maybe just this once," he tells himself, and gets off the freeway to the nearest McDonalds. Had he not seen that advertisement, perhaps he wouldn't have craved McDonalds, and wouldn't have chosen to go spend his money there. Advertisements are very important for fast food companies. They know how to get your attention and make you want their food. When ones brain has a set idea of getting a certain food, that person may not stop thinking about fulfilling that craving. That's what fast food advertisements do - they know their food is delicious, they know how to make it look good in pictures, and they know where to put these pictures to get the most attention from consumers.