Don't Blame The Eater

They've crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity, and the problem isn't theirs it is all of ours” , is a quote found in David Zinczenko's New York Times Essay called Don't Blame the Eater. In the essay David includes some very specific details about the fast food industry ,and the impact it had on his childhood. The impact that the fast food industry had on him as a child is still the same in our society today. He sympathises with the children of today because many do not have to motivation to change their lives around like he did. David Zincenko expresses sympathy towards today's children's relationship with the fast food industry by using personal perspective, rhetorical questions , and vivid imagery in his article.

In any sort of writing the use of personal perspective gives the reader reassurance about the facts that the author decides to encorporate. David uses personal perspective to provide his own point of view about the fast food industry in his childhood and how it has not changed today. “ Lunch and dinner for me was a daily choice between Mcdonalds,Taco Bell,Kentucky Fried Chicken,or Pizza Hut.” is a quote that stands out in his essay. His parents were divorced and his mother had to work long hours pay the monthly bills and supply food to eat. While his mother worked the long hours he explains how there was not much time to cook ,so fast food was the quickest and cheapest way to have a meal. Many children today have either experienced being in a divorced family or have very busy schedules during the week. While running around with school,work ,and extracurricular activities the drive to mcdonalds is a faster way to eat a meal in a short amount of time. He sympathises with the children of today because he explains how he used to be one of them and knows what they are going through. He sympathises with the children because he knows that many fast food restaurants do not include the calorie amount in there food unless requested. Even if they do receive the amount of calories in the food it is not written in a way many children will understand which to him is considered unfair.

Many writers use different forms of questions to keep a reader interested and to make them agree with what they are trying to prove throughout the article. In the text David does the complete opposite with the types of questions that he includes. He incorporates rhetorical questions to make you not want to feel sympathy towards the the fast food industry. He makes them feel like the bad guys. “Shouldn't we know better than to eat two fast food meals per day.’’These questions seem a little bit unfair because how are children know what is good for them.Many children base their food decisions on how much the food costs. He uses the example of where are children today supposed to find a quick affordable meal on the go. He also includes on how children do not have much money to spend on healthy food. A salad today at mc donalds is far more expensive than a burger and a medium fry and drink. Many children would prefer the burger and fries because it simply tastes better than the soggy lettuce used in the salad.

Imagining what you are reading makes the reader feel more involved with the reading even if they had never experienced something like that before.By creating vivid pictures the reader fully understands ,agrees or disagrees with the author. David uses vivid imagery to make you feel like as if you were the children's parents. He makes the fast food industry seem like they have corrupted their children and the parents have no say in what there child is consuming. “Without such warning we will see more sick obese children , and more angry ligations parents.’’ It is a fact that if the consumption of fast food is a daily routine many children will become obese and the parents will not know why. The parent will blame the fast food company before reevaluating their decisions of feeding their child fast food every day.

Even though our world may be evolving throughout the years ,there are little things that have not and will not be changed unless something is done. As a child there was not much David Zinczenko could do to get a healthy meal at a quick and affordable price. As he has grown older he has noticed that there are still children today having to go through what he did. The use of personal perspective gives the reader a better understanding of what are the real reasons for the drive through rush on a Wednesday evening. The use of rhetorical question makes the essay different because the questions used are against what the author is trying to prove. Vivid imagery makes the reader imagine the situations as if they were the parents and what they would do in those late night situations.

Link to Article : http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/23/opinion/don-t-blame-the-eater.html