Volk

Reid Volk

Sapna Lyar

Humanities

15 May 2017

The Food That Fuels Americans

Food is an important component in human life, but choosing the right kinds of food can

either be beneficial or harmful. Many factors contribute to the food you eat: convenience, time,

income, the area you shop and live in, and many more. According to Healthy Eating, You

should consume between 5 and 13 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But only about 1

in 10 americans actually eat their daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Without your daily

servings you can develop many health issues, which only becomes worse by eating junk food.

Although this has been scientifically proven and most people have the knowledge of the different

foods, they still choose to eat harmful food. Why do people eat that kind of food if they know

about the problems it can cause?

Even though most people are educated about what unhealthy food can do to you, they

still eat it and one of the main reasons why is because of income. According to EUFIC,

Population studies show there are clear differences in social classes with regard to food and

nutrient intakes. Low-income groups in particular, have a greater tendency to consume

unbalanced diets and have low intakes of fruit and vegetables. One of the major problems with

healthy food is how much is costs. Why would you buy one salad for $6 when you can buy

ramen that can last you weeks for the same price? Another problem with healthy food is access.

Healthy food goes bad and it is harder for it to end up in grocery stores, and if you live in a food
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desert that has very few grocery stores the chances of getting healthy food for a fair price is very

slim.

Without access to healthy food you consume more unhealthy food which can actually

make you addicted. According to James Clear First, there is the sensation of eating the food.

This includes what it tastes like (salty, sweet, umami, etc.), what it smells like, and how it feels

in your mouth. This last quality known as orosensation can be particularly important.

Food companies will spend millions of dollars to discover the most satisfying level of crunch in a

potato chip. These two components excite your brain making you crave the food and the

flavors that you experience. Another part of the food that is addicting is the balance of salt,

sugar, and fat that keeps you coming back for that same food over and over again.

While unhealthy food is addicting, some people don't have as much of a choice on what

they eat. An article on Sciencealert.com said they surveyed students that go to USC about their

eating habits. Most of the students responded that they eat the unhealthy food even when they

know about the health risks and how healthier food is better for you. One of the students

responded saying that the main reasons why is because of convenience and cost. Only about 10%

of the students actually achieved their daily fruit and vegetable intake. It would be beneficial if

the food served at college was healthy, easy to obtain, and eat.

As you can see, if the choice is theirs, most people will choose junk food over healthy

food. The solutions to the problem are pretty evident, and the main one is making the food cheap

enough for everyone to be able to have access if they want it. We could also be looking at other

options of growing healthy food like genetically modifying our foods to make them more

nutritious and so we can obtain our daily servings of fruits and vegetables. If we continue to eat
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this type of food we are headed down a path of overweight and unhealthy individuals and we

will start to develop more problems with our bodies. The only option from here is to eat healthy

food, which has to come to a better price and convenience to us.

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Works Cited

1. "Cheaper Health Foods Could Save Millions of Lives." Time. Time, 01 Mar. 14. Web. 09

May 2017.

http://time.com/4242944/making-healthier-foods-cheaper-could-save-millions-of-lives/

2. Coast, University Of the Sunshine. "Why Do We Choose Unhealthy Food?"

ScienceAlert. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2017. "Land Roots." Why Choose Healthy Food.

N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2017.

http://www.sciencealert.com/why-do-we-choose-unhealthy-food

3. Clear, James. "What Happens to Your Brain When You Eat Junk Food." James Clear.

N.p., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 12 May 2017.

http://jamesclear.com/junk-food-science

4. "Land Roots." Why Choose Healthy Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2017.

http://www.landroots.org.uk/why-choose-heathy-food.html

5. "Why we eat what we eat: social and economic determinants of food choice." Why we

eat what we eat: social and economic determinants of food choice: (EUFIC). N.p., n.d.

Web. 17 May 2017.

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http://www.eufic.org/en/food-today/article/why-we-eat-what-we-eat-social-and-economic

-determinants-of-food-choice

6. Writer, Leaf Group. "How Many Fruits & Veggies Should You Eat a Day?" Healthy

Eating | SF Gate. SF Gate, 07 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 May 2017.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/many-fruits-veggies-should-eat-day-3324.html