Dunlavy

Tyler Dunlavy
English 250
Section CE
Assignment #2
Samantha Futhey
9/8/15
The Price of Saturated Fats
As members of the community sit in line at the local McDonalds or Taco Bell drive-thru,
reinforcing the fast food carnival that has a stranglehold on America. Mark Bittman argues in his
New York Times article, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper, if the money spent on fast food can be
saved using healthy options and offers deep concern over United States citizens and the way the
country values processed foods due to their ease of access and pleasure gained neurologically.
Throughout the article, Bittman strikes convincing emotional truths into his audiences minds
regarding the readers families well-being, uses a staggering amount of facts and statistics in
order to inform the public over the topic of fast food and risk that is involved with it, and
expressing common sense and reasoning to persuade families and readers to start to make a
change to their lives for the healthier and better.
In his article, Bittman uses cues of emotion and reality in order to reach his audience with
their familys healthy habits. The paragraph opens, a 2009 study by the Scripps Research
Institute indicates that overconsumption of fast food triggers addiction-like neuro-addictive
responses in the brain, making it harder to trigger the release of dopamine (Bittman 662).
Bittman provides medical information to persuade his audience about their health and the
medical problems involved with eating too much of these types of foods. Bittman invests in his
statement in order to send the needed emotional impact into the hearts of the families reading this
article. With addictive behavior being incorporated, he continues his arguments over the food
carnival with his acknowledgements about the health and safety for the children (663).

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Children after all, are born without bad habits (Bittman 663). Bittman utilizes the emotions of
the parents reading the article through his emotional appeal that convinces his audience to
change their habits in order to help the later generations. Bittmans use of emotional cues in his
writing begins to persuade his readers over the health risk of eating fast food and that the parents
must be the ones to begin to tear down the food carnival (663).
Instead of relying simply on the audiences health in his piece, the author presents
statistics from colleagues in the food studies area to convince to his audience the concern junk
food brings to the community. Bittman begins with, a typical order for a family of four is about
28 dollars you can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk
for about 14 substitute meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions
and costs around 9 dollars (660). Bittman also incorporates the help of Dr. Kessler, a former
commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, from a statistic over the design of fast food
meals, create food that was energy dense, highly stimulating, and went down easily (663).
Bittman utilizes Dr. Kessler again with the former commissioners quote, Once I look at what
Im eating and realize its not food, and I ask what am I doing here, thats the start (663).
Finally, Bittman utilizes a major quote in his article, In 2010 the average American, watched no
less than an hour and a half of television per day (661). Bittmans use of statistics and facts has
a positive affect in persuading families about the Fast Food Corporations thoughts over their own
food. As well as facts and statistics, Bittman introduces Dr. Kessler. He mentions Dr. Kesslers
history as a commissioner to reinforce the credibility of his opinions in order to convince his
readers about his own knowledge about the food topic. Finally, Bittmans statistic expressing the
use of television a day enforcing his claim that the time is there and strongly convinces his

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audience over the use of their time (661). Once families begin to question the materials being
used to create these food items they are on the start to create healthier habits.
Besides remarks over statistics about the views of colleagues, Bittman uses common
sense reasoning and analysis of arguments in order to educate the audience over the flaws
revealed to the media. He examines the calorie content argument that states, junk food is
cheaper when measured by the calorie, but given that half the people in this country consume too
many calories rather than too few (Bittman 660). Bittman utilizes the common sense of the
statement to persuade his readers over the realization of calories in the United States. Since the
recent decades, the price of fresh produce has increased 40 percent, while the price of soda and
processed foods decreased by 30 percent (Bittman 662). Bittman adds another reasoning for his
audience, reinforcing that cheaper does not mean better for you, which can be easily seen in
the quote above. Bittmans work with common sense and reasoning gives a strong affect on his
pursuit to convince families to make the trade to real food (661).
Through his common sense of logic and reasoning, Bittman persuades his readers using
pictures from his article. Bittman starts with a photo taken showing hundreds of Chicken
Mcnuggets being sorted on a conveyor belt, and another photo of the contents of three meals;
McDonalds, a chicken dinner, and a rice and bean meal. The use of humor in the first picture
helps persuade families over the sanitary use of fast food items. Bittman illustration in the second
picture provides hard evidence of the comparison of meals that gives a finally striking point to
fully convince his audience over the unhealthiness of fast food.
Mark Bittman uses his power of education to sway readers from the ease and
practical luxuries that fast food empires endorse by speaking to the reality of what eating fast
food and processed food can do to your health and families well-being. Bittman utilizes his

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career as a food journalist to emphasize the facts and statistics in order to persuade his audience
to make the change to healthy eating habits. Finally, Bittman uses common sense and reasoning
that can be revealed to the media in order to convince families and consumers to see the
problems involved with fast food companies. Bittman breaks away from his serious side to end
his article with some humor. Mark uses his humor to finish his article with a quick stab at his
antagonists (Fast Food Corporations), whats easier is to cook at every opportunity, to
demonstrate to family that the real way is the best way (664). After all, the health of the Nation
can only be solved by its people, we need a massive social shift to convince people to consider
healthier options (Bittman 663).

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Work Cited
Bittman, Mark. Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? Everythings an Argument.
Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 6th ed. Boston:
Bedford, 2013, 108-10. Print. Rpt. Of Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?
New York Times 24 September 2011.