Introduction

Our topic is the massive health problems that have arisen in especially the United States of America as a result of the onset of the ubiquitous nature of fast food as well as cultural shifts to a sedentary lifestyle that do not mix well with the largely fatty and unhealthy foods that fast food serves. However, part of this problem is also the large amount of marketing and advertising and this has grown to the marketing of fast food to young children. This is especially a problem because once children start consuming fast food from a young age, they will most likely continue to eat fast food and with the lack of physical exercise that most children go through today this will cause serious health implications such as obesity and will lead to things like diabetes and colon problems. This becomes a social justice issue because fast food corporations are marketing specifically to children to get them hooked onto fast food when they are still young and this is a problem because children are not able to have the level of judgment to be aware of the health implications of eating too much fast food, and fast food corporations use this to their advantage to get children hooked on fast food from an early age without real regard for the health problems and implications that this may cause.

This issue interests me, Zhenyu because many have the misconception that fast food is the root of the health problems that have arisen and however ultimately it is up to the individual and his or her own discretion to eat this food. However, these lines are blurred when corporations market to children and remove that individual right to have the choice to eat it because children are not aware of the unhealthy nature of much fast food and do not realize that to enjoy fast food once in a while without serious health problems it is also necessary to exercise regularly and get good nutrition. However, this is often not the case and marketing to children is almost taking advantage of their naivety and cause them to get hooked much like the smoking industry to get teenagers to smoke by saying that it was the cool thing to do and get them addicted before they realize the health implications.

This issue interests me, Jarrett because I like to find the faults in systems that affect me. Corporate greed seems to be a major underlining theme in the research I have initially done for some problems with the fast food industry. I have noticed that it seems that the major fast food companies tend to sacrifice the integrity of their workforce and their customers for larger profit margins. This almost miss management has resulted in a lasting impact on the meat industry in the United States. Even after some of the most important and substantial food inspection laws, major meat producing companies keep their cattle in sub prime conditions and are a cesspool for diseases and bacteria we ingest. I am deeply interested in why we as a nation support this business and how we can combat some of these injustices.