The congressional war on childhood nutrition

We all know America has a problem with obesity, specifically childhood obesity. How many different fast food restaurants can you find in our area? McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, and Taco Bell to name a few. They are cheap, no doubt about that, but they are anything but healthy. Sometimes there may be a salad or a menu item that seems like it would be healthy, but in the large scheme of things, it really isn't. The worse part about childhood obesity is that this past Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will block any future attempts to make food healthier at school lunches. What I don't get is why they would even consider blocking health improvement bills. I mean, does the House of Representatives like knowing that there are 12.5 obese American children? How about that one in five children are currently living in poverty? If I were a political leader in the United States, childhood obesity or childhood poverty would be one of my top priorities, not issues that I would be trying to block.

Mary Elizabeth Williams writes her article "The congressional war on childhood nutrition" with an appeal of pathos and logos to her audience. One of her techniques is that she recounts her own personal story about her daughter's school's loss of a Wellness in the School program. This allows the audience to emphathize with Williams and make connections to their own lifes in regards to cuts with nutrition. In my school, we no longer have a Wellness class, and while there was a lunch improvement last year and there are healthy options today, there are still those unhealthy options. Another technique that Williams uses is statistics that appeal to the audience's logic. The 12.5 million obese children, one in four children living in poverty, and one in four going hungry today were a few. These statistics help the audience get the big picture of how serious childhood nutrition is. Williams also writes about the counter point of view, of who is benefiting from the block of improving nutrition. She writes about the American Frozen Food Institute, ConAgra, and McDonald's and how all these fast food suppliers will benefit from the block. This technique gives the audience both points of view on the issue. Finally, she includes a few important political figures of today and the past that have been involved with childhood nutrition at the national level, including Ronald Regan, Michelle Obama, and George W. Bush. One particular line that really shows Williams' opinion and gets her point across is, "Our government was created to serve its people -- even those not of voting age. But while one in four American children will go hungry today, Congress seems more concerned about the companies that make fries for McDonald's," (Williams 1).

Source: Williams, Mary Elizabeth. "The congressional war on childhood nutrition." Salon.com 18 Nov. 2011: n. pag. Salon.com. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.