A Nation Facing a Huge Number of Problems

The nation faces a vast number of problems. For as advanced as it is, the issues that are faced may have some simple solutions. One big problem the United States has been facing for many years is food safety. America has a problem with harmful chemicals and pathogens being put in the food. This is not good for the animals and the people who have to consume it. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for keeping the food safe and advancing public health.

Another problem is portions and obesity. Compared to other countries something needs to be done about the portions because the United States has much necessarily larger sizes. There is also a need to change what is fed to citizens in the school lunches. A lot of people can only afford school lunches, so it is important to that they are healthy.

All of these problems can be fixed, the solution may not be easy but it is safer that an attempt is made, so the future can be better for everyone.

There is an outstanding solution to these conflicts that maybe better than the others, and it maybe more cost effective and plausible. There are many problems involved with food safety in the United States. One of the biggest problems is the chemical contaminants within the food. The Food and Drug Administration allows these toxic chemicals in our food, in fact “chemicals used in the United States food supply that are so noxious that other countries have outright banned them”.

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This is a problem because around 50 million Americans eat food with microbial pathogens that can make them sick, so it is very dangerous. This also kills thousands and thousands of people each year. There seems to be a huge communication problem between the people and the FDA.

“Animals consume 80 percent of antibiotics in the United States mostly in low doses interlude to increase the quantity and speed of of meat production. Despite maintaining scientific evidence that routine use of antibiotics results in dangerous, drug- resistant strains of bacteria, the government has been slow to act. The FDA finally acknowledged that giving antibiotics to healthy animals poses a threat to human health”. They are giving healthy animals all of these hormones and packing the full of drugs to make them grow quicker and taste better. People are what they eat so, giving them this is dangerous. What is fed to the animals and injected, needs to be watched more closely. For example, “in new Orleans, shrimp fishers still facing from the effects, of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and were not permitted to fish or sell their products for weeks. At one point, the FDA came in and pronounced it safe to eat. How did the FDA determine safety is by nose. The agency trained forty inspectors to sniff out traces of oil on the shrimp”. They only care about the money and getting the product out to the consumer. All of this can lead up to obesity in people. There has beena change in school lunches over the years.

They made an effort but a, 2015 study by the Centers for Disease control and Prevention , though, found no change in obesity prevalence in company the years before the new standards took effect with this after.” There are many ways to fix these problems in the United States. One of the ways to fix the problem of the contamination in the foods is through proper evaluations. “Processors of all types of foods will now be required to evaluate the hazards in their operations, implement and monitor effective measures to prevent contamination and have a plan in place to take any corrective actions that are necessary. Also the FDA will have much more effective enforcement tools for ensuring these plants are adequate and properly implemented”. Having stricter rules will make sure more care will be put into the products and process making it. Another way would be having multiple agencies to assess risks and monitor food production they should use smarter alternatives that specialize in those functions, so that way they know they are doing their best work.

For Example, to take care of all inspections, the food safety Inspection service can take care of all inspections. The Food and Drug Administration can focus on asserting risks of food pathogens. This will help keep the focus a lot narrower and more specific, so problems can be looked at more closely. It may also help the job be done quicker because it is more specialized and orderly. There is a lot of organizing that needs to be done to get this process done effectively and correctly. Another thing that can be done to fix the obesity rate is to lower the food portions. What is considered a small ice cream is about the same size as a large French ice cream in the United States. In fact, “Part of the reason America serves large portion sizes is because the consumer expects it. Most restaurants and fast food establishments offer larger portions because they have too, to keep up with competition. Our perception of what is a normal size has grown larger because of what we get accustomed to and has developed into this new American food culture of bigger portions”.

This is also a big reason behind why food has harmful chemicals in it. With American food portions being so large, farmers need to produce large amounts of crops and meat at a quick rate, so they inject them with growth hormones. That is what people are eating in large portions. “When it comes to foods we eat everyday, the United States is arguably at the bottom of the pile in terms of food quality and safety”. The United States should adapt what works for other countries at this point. How foods are processed and put out to the public eye, could be done a lot better and done in a way that put health first instead of money and taste. It is overall detrimental to health and is very expensive for the country. How food are labeled is a problem because people do not know what is actually in it. If it is labeled organic, a lot of people assume it is very pure, but really it could be genetically modified. The FDA need to let the public know that is not the case in a better way. They could put it on the package so there is more awareness of it. These problems are all interconnected in a way, and coming up with the proper solutions can help everyone with obesity and food caused illnesses.

Many of the problems mentioned can be fixed just simply by changing portion sizes. The process of making food is driven by people wanting to eat it. If those consumers are willing to buy a large amount of food for a cheap price, then the producer is going to give them what they want. This is usually seen with fast food chain like “McDonald’s,” were the food is very unhealthy and convenient. This is a problem for obese people and the obesity rate, for instance, ”Historical increases in the portion sizes of commercially available food products are known to cause ‘passive’ overeating and have been linked to the emergence of the worldwide obesity crisis. One idea that public health bodies are currently promoting is that the food industry needs to reduce the portion sizes of the products they are selling”. The Food and Drug Administration could do more to decrease these unnecessary sizes. The more food someone gets, the more that person is going to eat. If less unhealthy food is given through the portion sizes, then the less some is going to eat.

This is a lot more beneficial to everyone’s health and overall helping the obesity rate. This will also help farmers not give their animals growth hormones since not as much is being sold at a time. The process can be a lot healthier and less rushed. If that ends up being a problem then increase the price of the food. Increased price of goodwill result in a decrease in demand. This will improve weight outcomes. Obesity is also a big problem in the world of health insurance, “Though few studies have considered it, another potential economic cost of obesity is a health insurance market externality. Several studies have estimated the portion of health care expenditure on obesity that is paid for by public insurance”. This is an excessive amount of extra medical costs, which could have been avoided by simply taking care of The United States’s food portions and food safety. Obesity can also lead to so many other health problems like heart disease and diabetes.

This can be very expensive to treat all of the medical problems resulting from being overweight. This all has happened overtime, “The current obesity epidemic didn’t just happen overnight. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the generally persistent upward trend of Americans’ weight began just after World War II. In the 1950s less than 10% of Americans were overweight or obese. As fast- food restaurants and processed foods took control of our diets, the numbers jumped”. This has been a long process of years and years of not watching what is being put in people’s mouths. It has taken control of the country and has led to major issues regarding health, safety, and money. If it is cheap and quick to grab then tons of people will enjoy it but do not realize how much it affects them and everyone else. The solution to changing the obesity rate and health risks involved with food is to change the food portions at fast food chains in The United States.

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for keeping the food safe and adaving public health. Another problem is portions and obesity. Compared to other countries something needs to be done about the portions because the United States has much necessarily larger sizes. There is also a need to change what is fed to citizens in the school lunches. A lot of people can only afford school lunches, so it is important to that they are healthy. All of these problems can be fixed, the solution may not be easy but it is safer that an attempt is made, so the future can be better for everyone. The outstanding solution of changing food portions should change most of the problems already mentioned. The hope with is is to help The United States of America with this food epidemic since it is becoming a large problem, financially and in the medical department. The future depends on what is done now, so hopefully there can be change.

Works Cited

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8. Robinson, Dr. Eric. “Study with Liverpool.” News, 30 Apr. 2018, news.liverpool.ac.uk/2018/04/30/research-supports-reduction-in-food-product-portion-sizes/.