Argumentative Essay
Brynlee Faulkner
English 101
How We Eat
December 15, 2017
Ignorance is NOT Bliss
Author Alan Greene, a parent and former president of the Organic Center, explains, “Each day at school, millions of children are faced with a lunch that works against them. Unhealthy versions of French fries, chips, hot dogs, burgers, and pizza fill school cafeterias; high-fat, over-sweetened snacks fill lunch bags brought from home” (par. 1-2). American schoolchildren willingly and unknowingly consume school food without questioning the contents of the products. Preservatives and other food additives have hindered school lunches as well as the American food market by making foods unsafe for consumption, yet the United States government allows these harmful substances to remain in American foods. Adolescent Americans grew up with these harmful preservatives in all their food, and those chemicals come with repercussions; the American food market legally includes food additives like food dyes, refined sugars, and chemical preservatives that affect adolescents’ health and behaviors.
Food dyes prevail in American foods, but they have shown to be hazardous to children. Artificial dyes are by-products of petroleum, an ingredient used in producing fuel (Stevens par. 9). By ingesting artificial dyes, children consume an ingredient of lighter fluid into their bodies daily with little thought of the consequences. However, not all Americans can watch ignorant adolescents ingest these harmful substances. In fact, the fight against artificial food colorings originated in the 1970s when Dr. Benjamin Feingold, a pediatric allergist, successfully treated adolescent hyperactivity symptoms by prescribing a diet sans artificial dyes (Harris par. 3). Due to Dr. Feingold’s discovery, artificial dyes have raised concerns about the dyes’ effects on children (Stevens par. 9). Americans have battled with the childhood effects of artificial food coloring since the 1970s, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrongfully allows them to remain legal.
Unlike the natural dye advocacy groups, proponents of artificial food coloring believe the dyes are not an issue for children. These advocates argue that, while food dyes increase hyperactivity in children with preexisting ADHD, most children will remain unaffected; therefore, food companies do not need to create warning labels for their products (Harris par. 1-2; "Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 8, 10-11). These advocates explain that if most children are not affected, then the government can risk childhood behavioral issues; the government essentially discriminates against the minority. Purdue University conducted an experiment to see at what dosage children start having effects to the dyes. The study showed that small doses (26 milligrams or less) of the coloring showed no damaging effects on adolescents but larger amounts (50 milligrams or more) did ("Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 14; Stevens par. 10). These claims are misleading to the public concerning the safety of adolescents. Firstly, the fact that children have proven to be affected by these unnatural products should warrant cause for special warning labels. Secondly, the same Purdue study explains that modern diet techniques allow children to easily consume over 100 milligrams of artificial food dyes in one day, so they enter the “damaging level of food dyes daily (Stevens par. 11). Other countries have noticed the effects of these preservatives as well. For instance, most European countries are in the process of replacing artificial food colorings with natural alternatives, and Norway and Austria have completely banned artificial dyes (Stevens par. 7). Other countries around the world comprehend the effects of these dyes while the United States has remained steadfast in allowing these harmful dyes to permeate the food.
Artificial food dyes are used to color food, while refined sugars sweeten food; however, refined sugars can become equally as dangerous as dyes to children. Nearly all foods contain refined sugars except for raw fruits and vegetables (Wexler par. 90). This fact means that refined sugars saturate food in America, and the sugars are proving to be problematic for children. Laura J. Stevens, a nutrition research assistant at Purdue University, writes, “In putting together our articles for Clinical Pediatrics about the amounts of food dyes found in servings of common beverages and foods eaten by children, we were struck by how much sugar was in these products and how few important nutrients” (par. 22). Refined sugars pose a threat to adolescent health due to its addictive nature. Further proving the threat of refined sugars, the average amount of sugar consumed by an individual annually was 12 pounds in the 1800s. In the 1970s, the food industry was “revolutionized” by refined food, and the average annual sugar intake drastically increased to 118 pounds annually, and the number continues to rise today (Greene par. 34). Refined sugars allow insulin and energy to spike temporarily, but these “sugar highs” cause sugar crashes that leave adolescents fatigued, which only propels them to continue to eat sugar-ridden foods. Sugar-based foods consume the American food market, so adolescents have constant access to them. Francine Prose, the writer of “The Wages of Sin,” summarizes a CBS news clip concerning the alarming childhood obesity statistics: “A recent item on CBS worriedly considered the alarming…number of overweight and obese young people…14 percent of American children…Overweight [is] soon expected to overtake cigarette smoking as the major preventable cause of death” (182). Obesity has become a serious issue propelled by the constant intake of refined sugars; cutting out these sugars would benefit children not only by aiding in the decrease of obesity but also in the decrease of behavioral issues.
When taken out of a hyperactive adolescent’s diet, sugar, like food dyes, has shown to decrease their hyperactive tendencies (Wexler par. 90). The decreased use of refined sugars allows hyperactive children to reduce their hyperactive tendencies, which would allow them to live a more stable childhood, but hyperactive children are not the only adolescents who would benefit from reducing refined sugars. Both parents and teachers believe that sugar affects students’ behavior, attention, and activity levels. On the opposition, physicians, when testing controlled studies, found no blood anomalies (like hypoglycemia) after adolescents consumed abnormally large amounts of sugar (Greene par. 36). Opposing this statistic, Alan Greene, author of “The Quality of Children's Diets Affects Their Brains and Bodies,” explains that children exhibit hypoglycemia symptoms outside the normal parameters of the condition:
The Journal of Pediatrics reported that there is a more pronounced response to a glucose load in children than in adults. In children, hypoglycemia-like symptoms (including shakiness, sweating, and altered thinking and behavior) may occur at a blood sugar level that would not be considered hypoglycemic. The author's reason that the problem is not sugar, per se, but highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, which enter the bloodstream quickly and produce more rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels. (Greene par. 37)
Children’s blood sugar levels may appear normal, but that does not mean the levels should not cause concern. Refined sugars used in food and cause numerous problems, yet sugar content remains unregulated by the FDA, similar to their allowance of preservatives in foods.
Food preservation has existed since the inception of human civilization, but preservation methods have evolved in a harmful manner, especially for adolescents. A Maine chemistry teacher named Roger Bennati used a Twinkie to explain food preservatives the severity of food preservatives. He kept the “delicacy” in his classroom until his retirement; now in its 40-year mark, the Twinkie remains identical to when he bought the pastry ("Twinkie is a Little Dusty…” par. 1). Food is an organic substance that is designed to decompose after a finite period, but the FDA intends to maximize the shelf life of foods; however, in doing so, the FDA has warped foods into dangerous substances for children. The danger comes from preservatives like nitrites. Nitrites cause symptoms of asthma, nausea, vomiting, and headaches; sodium nitrite, for example, can convert to nitrous acid which has caused high cancer rates and yet is still legal in the US (Ibrahim par. 9-10). Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) is also legal, even though the US Department of Health and Human Services has determined that it is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" (qtd. in Palmer par. 9). United States government agencies have determined preservatives viewed as “generally recognized as safe” are carcinogens and cancerous to humans. (qtd. in Palmer par. 6). These preservatives have shown to have harmful chemicals to humans, but they remain legal in the United States food market. The University of Southampton experimented with sodium benzoate. They gave over 1,800 three-year-olds fruit drinks with no artificial dyes or preservatives that resulted in an improved behavior. In the consecutive weeks, the researchers gave the children either a fruit drink with sodium benzoate and artificial dyes or with a preservative-free, naturally-dyed drink as a placebo. The results found that ADHD-prone adolescents had sensitivities to the drink with sodium benzoate and artificial dyes (Greene par. 31-32; "Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 4, 7-14). Pro-preservative consumers argue that the results concluded only 10 percent of the test subjects had a behavioral reaction to the unnatural fruit drink and that the study tested both artificial dyes and preservatives, so researchers could not effectively determine which chemical affected the adolescents’ behavior ("Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity." par. 1, 3, 6, 8, 11; Greene par. 31-33). Although they are correct, proponents fail to see the exact reason more testing should go into these two substances; there is no clear marker as to which substantially affected the test subjects, but the FDA allows them both into food. The United States freely puts these preservatives into food without proper analysis of the effects they have on adolescents.
Author Alan Greene, in his essay “The Quality of Children's Diets Affects Their Brains and Bodies,” creates an image of the corrupted foods given to adolescents almost daily corrupted with food additives. By allowing these substances into the schools and the United States food market, the FDA is allowing children to have unnecessary issues. Specifically, children should not be exposed to artificial food colors, unnatural sugars, and chemical preservatives because they are harmful to their safety and psychological behaviors.
English 101
How We Eat
December 15, 2017
Ignorance is NOT Bliss
Author Alan Greene, a parent and former president of the Organic Center, explains, “Each day at school, millions of children are faced with a lunch that works against them. Unhealthy versions of French fries, chips, hot dogs, burgers, and pizza fill school cafeterias; high-fat, over-sweetened snacks fill lunch bags brought from home” (par. 1-2). American schoolchildren willingly and unknowingly consume school food without questioning the contents of the products. Preservatives and other food additives have hindered school lunches as well as the American food market by making foods unsafe for consumption, yet the United States government allows these harmful substances to remain in American foods. Adolescent Americans grew up with these harmful preservatives in all their food, and those chemicals come with repercussions; the American food market legally includes food additives like food dyes, refined sugars, and chemical preservatives that affect adolescents’ health and behaviors.
Food dyes prevail in American foods, but they have shown to be hazardous to children. Artificial dyes are by-products of petroleum, an ingredient used in producing fuel (Stevens par. 9). By ingesting artificial dyes, children consume an ingredient of lighter fluid into their bodies daily with little thought of the consequences. However, not all Americans can watch ignorant adolescents ingest these harmful substances. In fact, the fight against artificial food colorings originated in the 1970s when Dr. Benjamin Feingold, a pediatric allergist, successfully treated adolescent hyperactivity symptoms by prescribing a diet sans artificial dyes (Harris par. 3). Due to Dr. Feingold’s discovery, artificial dyes have raised concerns about the dyes’ effects on children (Stevens par. 9). Americans have battled with the childhood effects of artificial food coloring since the 1970s, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrongfully allows them to remain legal.
Unlike the natural dye advocacy groups, proponents of artificial food coloring believe the dyes are not an issue for children. These advocates argue that, while food dyes increase hyperactivity in children with preexisting ADHD, most children will remain unaffected; therefore, food companies do not need to create warning labels for their products (Harris par. 1-2; "Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 8, 10-11). These advocates explain that if most children are not affected, then the government can risk childhood behavioral issues; the government essentially discriminates against the minority. Purdue University conducted an experiment to see at what dosage children start having effects to the dyes. The study showed that small doses (26 milligrams or less) of the coloring showed no damaging effects on adolescents but larger amounts (50 milligrams or more) did ("Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 14; Stevens par. 10). These claims are misleading to the public concerning the safety of adolescents. Firstly, the fact that children have proven to be affected by these unnatural products should warrant cause for special warning labels. Secondly, the same Purdue study explains that modern diet techniques allow children to easily consume over 100 milligrams of artificial food dyes in one day, so they enter the “damaging level of food dyes daily (Stevens par. 11). Other countries have noticed the effects of these preservatives as well. For instance, most European countries are in the process of replacing artificial food colorings with natural alternatives, and Norway and Austria have completely banned artificial dyes (Stevens par. 7). Other countries around the world comprehend the effects of these dyes while the United States has remained steadfast in allowing these harmful dyes to permeate the food.
Artificial food dyes are used to color food, while refined sugars sweeten food; however, refined sugars can become equally as dangerous as dyes to children. Nearly all foods contain refined sugars except for raw fruits and vegetables (Wexler par. 90). This fact means that refined sugars saturate food in America, and the sugars are proving to be problematic for children. Laura J. Stevens, a nutrition research assistant at Purdue University, writes, “In putting together our articles for Clinical Pediatrics about the amounts of food dyes found in servings of common beverages and foods eaten by children, we were struck by how much sugar was in these products and how few important nutrients” (par. 22). Refined sugars pose a threat to adolescent health due to its addictive nature. Further proving the threat of refined sugars, the average amount of sugar consumed by an individual annually was 12 pounds in the 1800s. In the 1970s, the food industry was “revolutionized” by refined food, and the average annual sugar intake drastically increased to 118 pounds annually, and the number continues to rise today (Greene par. 34). Refined sugars allow insulin and energy to spike temporarily, but these “sugar highs” cause sugar crashes that leave adolescents fatigued, which only propels them to continue to eat sugar-ridden foods. Sugar-based foods consume the American food market, so adolescents have constant access to them. Francine Prose, the writer of “The Wages of Sin,” summarizes a CBS news clip concerning the alarming childhood obesity statistics: “A recent item on CBS worriedly considered the alarming…number of overweight and obese young people…14 percent of American children…Overweight [is] soon expected to overtake cigarette smoking as the major preventable cause of death” (182). Obesity has become a serious issue propelled by the constant intake of refined sugars; cutting out these sugars would benefit children not only by aiding in the decrease of obesity but also in the decrease of behavioral issues.
When taken out of a hyperactive adolescent’s diet, sugar, like food dyes, has shown to decrease their hyperactive tendencies (Wexler par. 90). The decreased use of refined sugars allows hyperactive children to reduce their hyperactive tendencies, which would allow them to live a more stable childhood, but hyperactive children are not the only adolescents who would benefit from reducing refined sugars. Both parents and teachers believe that sugar affects students’ behavior, attention, and activity levels. On the opposition, physicians, when testing controlled studies, found no blood anomalies (like hypoglycemia) after adolescents consumed abnormally large amounts of sugar (Greene par. 36). Opposing this statistic, Alan Greene, author of “The Quality of Children's Diets Affects Their Brains and Bodies,” explains that children exhibit hypoglycemia symptoms outside the normal parameters of the condition:
The Journal of Pediatrics reported that there is a more pronounced response to a glucose load in children than in adults. In children, hypoglycemia-like symptoms (including shakiness, sweating, and altered thinking and behavior) may occur at a blood sugar level that would not be considered hypoglycemic. The author's reason that the problem is not sugar, per se, but highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, which enter the bloodstream quickly and produce more rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels. (Greene par. 37)
Children’s blood sugar levels may appear normal, but that does not mean the levels should not cause concern. Refined sugars used in food and cause numerous problems, yet sugar content remains unregulated by the FDA, similar to their allowance of preservatives in foods.
Food preservation has existed since the inception of human civilization, but preservation methods have evolved in a harmful manner, especially for adolescents. A Maine chemistry teacher named Roger Bennati used a Twinkie to explain food preservatives the severity of food preservatives. He kept the “delicacy” in his classroom until his retirement; now in its 40-year mark, the Twinkie remains identical to when he bought the pastry ("Twinkie is a Little Dusty…” par. 1). Food is an organic substance that is designed to decompose after a finite period, but the FDA intends to maximize the shelf life of foods; however, in doing so, the FDA has warped foods into dangerous substances for children. The danger comes from preservatives like nitrites. Nitrites cause symptoms of asthma, nausea, vomiting, and headaches; sodium nitrite, for example, can convert to nitrous acid which has caused high cancer rates and yet is still legal in the US (Ibrahim par. 9-10). Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) is also legal, even though the US Department of Health and Human Services has determined that it is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" (qtd. in Palmer par. 9). United States government agencies have determined preservatives viewed as “generally recognized as safe” are carcinogens and cancerous to humans. (qtd. in Palmer par. 6). These preservatives have shown to have harmful chemicals to humans, but they remain legal in the United States food market. The University of Southampton experimented with sodium benzoate. They gave over 1,800 three-year-olds fruit drinks with no artificial dyes or preservatives that resulted in an improved behavior. In the consecutive weeks, the researchers gave the children either a fruit drink with sodium benzoate and artificial dyes or with a preservative-free, naturally-dyed drink as a placebo. The results found that ADHD-prone adolescents had sensitivities to the drink with sodium benzoate and artificial dyes (Greene par. 31-32; "Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity" par. 4, 7-14). Pro-preservative consumers argue that the results concluded only 10 percent of the test subjects had a behavioral reaction to the unnatural fruit drink and that the study tested both artificial dyes and preservatives, so researchers could not effectively determine which chemical affected the adolescents’ behavior ("Study May Tie Food Additives to Hyperactivity." par. 1, 3, 6, 8, 11; Greene par. 31-33). Although they are correct, proponents fail to see the exact reason more testing should go into these two substances; there is no clear marker as to which substantially affected the test subjects, but the FDA allows them both into food. The United States freely puts these preservatives into food without proper analysis of the effects they have on adolescents.
Author Alan Greene, in his essay “The Quality of Children's Diets Affects Their Brains and Bodies,” creates an image of the corrupted foods given to adolescents almost daily corrupted with food additives. By allowing these substances into the schools and the United States food market, the FDA is allowing children to have unnecessary issues. Specifically, children should not be exposed to artificial food colors, unnatural sugars, and chemical preservatives because they are harmful to their safety and psychological behaviors.