Introduction
This blog’s main objective is not ban fast food franchises
in New Zealand but simply ban some of the famous meals in fast food restaurants
in New Zealand so that we could encourage healthier eating. McDonalds, Kentucky
Fried Chicken and Burger King are three of New Zealand’s
most famous restaurants. When you think of these franchises only three things
come to mind, the Big Mac, the KFC Chicken and the Whopper. However the
qualities of the meals are very poor and I will discuss this more in later
posts of my blog. Other arguments can argue that not everyone eats fast food or
it is an easier option then cooking a meal at home, which are very good points
to argue but the amount of diseases such as obesity and heart disease are
caused from an unhealthy diet and I will explain this in more depth in other
posts. The reason I have chosen only three restaurants and not all of the fast
food franchises in New Zealand is because I am limited to the amount of words
my blog may have.
The Big Mac
This blog is based around a video
in which Brian
Marcel explains a McDonald's review and the healthy options at McDonald's. The
video also explains how some of the most famous meals and burgers such as the
Big Mac are made. Marcel briefly mentions and explains how burger buns, soda
drinks and chips are bad and unhealthy. However the main focus about this blog
is about the Big Mac. In Brian Marcel’s video he also explains the ingredients
of a Big Mac. The Big Mac made McDonalds famous and it is highly known for its
sauce as Brian mentioned. The Big Mac is made from 33 ingredients and one
ingredient that Brian talks about is Propylene Glycol. Brian
mentions that propylene
glycol is a type of chemical that is inside the engine of a
vehicle. Some of the symptoms that
propylene glycol can cause to the human body are eye irritation, redness of eye
and eye pain. The nutritional
facts explain in more depth what consists of a Big Mac. It identifies
how much fats, cholesterol, sodium and many others contain in a Big Mac. This
is significant to my blog as it shows how poor quality the Big Mac is.
Kentucky Fried
Chicken
This video explains
what is in the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and how it is being cooked.
Although Brian Marcel mainly focuses on other food items from KFC I still used
this video as an example for the KFC Chicken. The video itself can explain this
blog for me but as Brain mentions in his video that there were two ingredients
that stood out for him and one of those ingredients were Monosodium Glutamate
(MSG). When I first watched the video I
had no clue of what MSG was because it sounded like some sort of chemical. What is MSG? A brief
description of MSG is that it is a flavor enhancer which is why they use MSG
for the KFC chicken. Symptoms of MSG are headaches, chest pain, weakness etc.
The KFC chicken is unhealthy due to the nutritional
facts of a KFC chicken and how the context of the
chicken is very poor.
Whopper burger
This post will only focus on the context of the burger. It
will not focus on other food items such as the drinks and the chips similar to
what I have done with my KFC blog and Big Mac blog. However I will make a link
between all three meals from McDonald's, KFC and Burger king. The nutritional
facts about the whopper are very similar to the Big Mac and the KFC chicken.
The whopper is very high in calories, cholesterol, fat and sodium. After
researching nutritional facts about these meals one thing that really stood out
was the amount of calories, cholesterol, fat and sodium in each meal. The
reason why these nutritional factors are important is because it can increase
the chances of having obesity and heart disease which I will explain more in
other posts.
Problem/solution
Fast food is bad for you because it can increase the risk of
having heart
disease and obesity.
The main causes of obesity and heart
disease is having an unhealthy diet or consuming unhealthy meals which are
very high in cholesterol level, fats and sugar because this may also lead to
heart disease. As mentioned earlier the meals that I have chosen and explained
are very high in cholesterol, fats and sugar.
For example heart diseases are cause because of high blood pressure and
consuming unhealthy meals that have high sugar levels and cholesterol level is
very bad for you. Fast food advertises their meals to seem friendly and healthy
but really it is bad for you.
In my opinion we need to imply healthier eating options in
New Zealand. Although there are a lot of other fast food franchises other then
McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, I have chosen these
restaurants because of its popularity. The meals that they produce and sell to
our community are not healthy in fact it can increase your chances of heart
disease and obesity. I believe we should have more restaurants that sell
healthy meals at an affordable price so it may be easier for people to maintain
a healthy diet.
Conclusion
In conclusion banning the meals from McDonalds, KFC and
Burger King is my opinion. This is what I feel should be done to imply
healthier eating in New Zealand. Many may disagree with me which is fine
however I have shown the effects of a unhealthy diet and how famous restaurants
like McDonalds, KFC and Burger King have meals that are unhealthy for the human
body. If I was able to write more on this topic I would have covered every fast
food restaurant with unhealthy meals in New Zealand I would have but that will
have to wait for another project.
Brian Marcel. (2011, May 13). Can You Eat Healthy At McDonald’s?(Food Review). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3SVu6gjxgk
Brian Marcel. (2011, Sep 21). Can You Eat Healthy At KFC?(KFC Food Review). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ZlI6ScJvU
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. (2013, July 13). Nutrition and healthy eating. Retrieved
from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/monosodium-glutamate/AN01251
Mckay, T. (2009, March 1). The Truth and Fiction about Propylene Glycol. Retrieved from http://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/content.php?pid=72586&sid=1370962
Ministry of Health. Statistics.
Retrieved September 29, 2013 from http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/know-the-facts/statistics
Ministry of Health. (2011, December 6). Obesity. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/obesity
Ministry of Health. Risks
and causes. Retrieved September 29, 2013 from http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/know-the-facts/risks-and-causes
Nutritional Facts. KFC
chicken: Original Recipe, thigh. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-kfc/6500/2
Nutritional Facts.
BURGER KING, WHOPPER, no cheese. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9280/2
Nutritional Facts. McDonald’s
Sandwich: Big Mac. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-mcdonalds/6220/2
Here are my ten hyperlinks
1. video
4. video
5. MSG
9.
obesity
10.
heart
disease
As an argument you could say that banning something is not a good idea. Look at prohibition. This experiment at banning something which is arguably more of a plague to society failed miserably. It drove an underground culture of substandard dangerous product.
ReplyDeleteSurely it is an individual’s choice to have a healthy option or a fast food one. Fast food is not meant as a diet replacement. It is the people who are consuming exceeding amounts and feeding it to their children with it who are the real ones at fault.
Fast food has its place; Parties, celebrations, times where the cook needs a day off from making home cooked meals.
Hi Lavu,
ReplyDeleteYour topic is actually an interesting one to develop an argument as we all see, fast food nowadays is over consumed by some people and it's obviously not good for people's health, especially children. However, like Peter has said above, not everybody consume exceeding amount of fast food n feed their children with it. Only the people who choose that lifestyle do so. Fast food still has its convenience and usefulness. Therefore, banning fastfood is not an easy argument to deal with. You probably need really sharp supporting ideas to persuade readers to believe that banning fastfood is necessary
Please start posting more material on your blog.
ReplyDeleteCould you look at the positive effects of fast-food? Maybe a positive could be providing for the NZ economy:
ReplyDelete2011 – McDonald’s NZ spends $150 million with local suppliers (mcdonalds.co.nz)
New Zealand could definitely do with less fast food. If we didn't see McDonalds everywhere we went it'd be so much easier to eat somewhere healthier without being tempted. At the same time, because fast food joints are so popular (and successful) I don't think that will ever happen. If there was a big enough movement I believe companies could be pressured into making healthier food, with better ingredients and less preservatives. Hopefully one day! Good job though.
ReplyDeleteFast food will realistically never be banned simply because it makes too much money and the large corporations would never allow such a thing to jeopardize their profits. However, as Stacey mentioned, pressuring them into making healthier food is an option, though if you look closely at some of the new 'healthy' menus many fast food joints so proudly advertise, they are still nowhere near as healthy as a homemade sandwich or salad or wrap, where you know exactly what has gone into it. The lack of grease is made up for by copious amounts of sauces and dressings, no doubt full of sugar and preservatives. So, perhaps something you could've argued could be the 'fat tax' or something similar where fast food is made more expensive and therefore less desirable as it is no longer 'cheap and easy', also bringing down the price of fruit and vegetables at the same time would help people make healthier decisions without 'banning' anything enjoyable from their lives.
ReplyDelete