Freedom. What does that mean to you?

Well hello. So i haven't written anything on here since 2014. A lot of stuff as happened since then. i got a new job! I now work for Gloria Dei Lutheran School! Im FINALLY working somewhere that what im learning in school is being used to my benefit! it feels amazing! I am finally taking care of myself! so with that im LOOSING weight! yay! I have as of now lost 109 pounds since 2015! crazy! i cannot believe in 2014 i was pushing 400. i cannot let that happen anymore. ive seen too many of my family members struggle with their weight and then leave me due to conditions because of their weight. not me! i am in the national honor society of leadership and success. i know! and this December i will be done with college! so with that, this spring semester i am taking English 112. and our first essay assignment was to write a persuasive essay about what we should eat and should we let government get involved with what we eat or should that we our own choice. well here's my essay. The people that i reference in my essay are people from the They say I say book for English. Hppe you guys like it! ill write again soon! Muah! 

Freedom Consumption

            What should we eat? That’s a very good question considering we spend much of our time in our car driving to god knows where. We spend more time in our car than at the dinner table. American drivers spend an average of more than 17,600 minutes behind the wheel, per a new survey from the AA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAA). I believe Americans should have complete freedom to choose what they consume because it’s a personal & private manner.

            Balko states, “It’s difficult to think of anything more private and less public concern than what we choose to put into our bodies” (468). That statement speaks volumes to me because honestly, he’s right. Why are we so concerned about what other people are doing or even eating? As children aren’t we taught to mind our business when we tell on another child for doing something they aren’t supposed to do? So why do we feel as adults that doesn’t apply to us anymore? We as Americans are so worried about others that we are losing focus on ourselves and what we are doing and what we are eating. Yet we are so quick to point fingers at someone else even if what we are eating is unhealthy too.

           

Eating healthy doesn’t require a million dollars or a Manuel on eating healthy for dummies. It does require a little time, patience, and common sense. Sounds easy, right? Well it is. Prepping our lunch or snacks on the weekends for the next week is a great way to stay focused on eating healthy. Sometimes when the food is already prepared for us, we tend to eat better as opposed to not having food prepared and choosing fast food or junk food. But being in America, we have that personal right because of our founding fathers that fought for our freedom and what our men and woman continue to do day in and day out. So, if we want our cake and eat it too, we can do that and no one should tell us otherwise. It’s our private & personal right.

            Zinczenko claims, “Complicating the lack of alternatives is the lack of information about what, exactly, we’re consuming” (463). I disagree with this statement. There are plenty of alternatives to eat instead of eating fast food of if we have no other choice there are healthier choices at most fast food restaurants. Such as water instead of soda. If you feel like you don’t want to pay for water, we can bring our own. There are salads, wraps, whole wheat buns instead of white, and grilled instead of fried. We also have the choice to pack our own breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Instead of buying processed fast food we can make our own food. Furthermore, there are plenty of Nutritional facts on fast food containers. Consumers must take the time to look and read those labels. That’s easier said than done because people don’t read anymore unless it’s on a laptop, phone, tablet, or television.

            I believe the Government should not intervene in what we eat any more than they already do. Myplate.gov tells us and shows us what and how much we should be eating. Have we been listening eating per those guidelines? No, we have not. Why? Well because we as Americans don’t like to be told what to do. So why do we feel that the Government getting more involved is going to change or make it better? That question will never be answered because we don’t know the logic behind how some of us Americans “think.” We don’t need anyone telling us what we are eating is wrong or bad for us. Like Mary Maxfield emphasizes, “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs” (446). That formula we should live by because we are the person that knows what we can or can’t eat. How much we should eat or shouldn’t eat. We adults and Americans know our own body. No one else does.

            So, in conclusion, what we eat is our business. If we eat fast food instead of eating healthy then we shouldn’t blame others or the business we ate at. They didn’t make us eat there. We are the blame for what we eat. Americans should have that freedom to choose because it’s a personal & private manner. Letting the government get more involved isn’t going to make us eat any better because we want to eat what we want. Having them tell us what to eat or what to buy will cause our country to become a Dictatorship rather than a Democracy. That’s why American is called, “Land of the free” for a reason. We are free. And that’s how it should be.

Work Cited

AAA Newsroom. AAA Foundation. 2015. Online. 31 January 2017.

Graff Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. They say I say with readings. 2017. Print.