Is Fast Food Responsible for a Crisis in Public Health?

The two articles that I read from chapter eight were, “Bare Bones” by Emily Wierenga, and “Fast Food Isn’t to Blame” by R.A. Ames. These two articles explore the causes and effects of obesity and poor health due to obesity in our present world. Both essays pointed the finger of fault, but each to different things. They each gave valid reasons and points as to why more than ever, Americans health is failing due to obesity.
In “Bare Bones,” Wierenga talks about how the media is to blame for the craze in weight and appearance. She talks about how the access to magazines and T.V. shows where girls are portrayed as skinny and beautiful is affecting our image and perceptions of ourselves. We think that we need to be stick thin in order to be accepted. She believes that if the media were to show people how they truly are, there will not be as much of an issue with weight and obesity. In “Fast Food Isn’t to Blame,” Ames has a different perception. Instead of blaming the media, Ames blames the overweight and obese people themselves saying that they know what they are putting into their bodies therefore they are responsible for the way they look. It is not the fast food industries fault that people are dying due to illnesses caused by obesity, it is the obese persons own fault. If you are overweight, you have no one to blame but yourself.
I agree with both articles although the first article has a very convincing argument. As a young female adult I find it very hard to feel comfortable in my body. Everywhere I look I seem to see magazines and T.V. shows with celebrities and models that are all very thin. I do believe that the media is portraying the average girl or boy as a perfectly sculpted and skinny person, but that is not always the case. Not everyone is perfect but the media only shows us those few people who are. I believe that the media should ease up on glamorizing being perfect and just portray normal average people.

Can religion and science coexist?

The two articles that I read from this chapter were “Say it ain’t so…” by Karl Giberson and “Remove Stickers, Open Minds” by Kenneth Miller. I found Miller’s argument more persuasive because he was the one who actually wrote the original textbook that was altered and he clearly states in the textbook that evolution is a theory. He also expresses how evolutionists have more evidence to support their theory. Although I agree with Giberson’s statements regarding how not everyone can accept that we have come from lower beings, I do believe that the pro-evolution theories have much stronger support and evidence than that of those who believe that we are all created individually by God. I believe that we as students should be taught both evolutionist theory and creationist theory and use our own minds and beliefs to decide what we believe are right.