2 for Frozen Food.

It's all over your television. You hear about how at Olive Garden you can have two entrees, sometimes even with an appetizer and dessert for only $22! What a deal! These promotions are what drive large populations into restaurants such as Chilis, Applebees, and Red Lobster. A large majority of the United States restaurant business is focused on giving people as much food as possible for the cheapest amount for both the producer and the consumer. But have you ever thought about how these companies are able to sustain them? It is all in the food. Usually when I tell people that I refuse to eat at restaurants with the 2 for $22 deal I am immediately labeled as a snob who would probably rather spend my time in Whole Foods buying overpriced kale. My reason for not eating at these restaurants is solely because I do not agree with their alternative motives. They do not care what they feed their customers, as long as it is the cheapest for them. This results in frozen mass-produced meals that are distributed to many of their chain locations all over the United States. To the average American they see a great way to feed their whole family while going out to eat. The process of making this food is so widely unknown that it is safe to say we have no idea what we are really eating. To the producer, it's all about what brings in the most profit rather than what is good considered to be wholesome food for the consumers.  For example, if we trace back an aspect of a meal, such as the meat, it's completely disgusting. The cheaper it is for meat producers to raise the cows or chicken they sell usually results in animals being treated the worst. Don't get my wrong, my opinion about these restaurants does not solely derive from animal cruelty. It is a much greater issue than that. No matter how poor the conditions are for these animals, producers are still allowed to label it as natural. In fact, when it comes to the food industry the term natural does not even have a real definition anymore. Lobbyists have won the battle against the FDA to not hold any regulations towards labeling foods as 'natural'. This is scares me! If we trace back a piece of steak and find out that the original cow spends its day sitting in its own manurer. Those feces then somehow find its way into the cow's food and therefore into our food. This same piece of steak can easily be labeled natural, just as easy as the all organic piece of steak. Without these regulations it makes it even more difficult for us to know what we are putting in our bodies. A typical consumer feels as if they can trust a restaurant to serve quality food. However I feel that what defines quality food does not just reflect how a meal tastes. It should also reflect the overall health of the food. My body is extremely important to me and I like to know what goes into it. This does not say that I only eat organic and shop at high-end groceries though. I just would rather spend my dinner out at a small hole in the wall restaurant or cooking in my own kitchen rather than buy into these mass marketing schemes that work to feed people without the concern about regulations.

Overselling and Over Consuming

As an advertising major I am extremely interested in observing the strategies and techniques  companies use sell their products to their consumers. I recently read an essay by Benjamin Barber titled Overselling Capitalism with Consumerism that really stuck out to me because the author discusses how society runs and how companies take advantage of this. 
We live in a society that is run on ‘the next best thing’.  There is even a nation wide holiday dedicated to shopping. As the essay mentioned, consumption is seen as good for the economy in producing goods and services and in turn profit for the producers. Even as young children the surrounding environment is teaching us that we constantly need more. However, I agree that we have access to too much shopping.  If you take a normal clothing store, such as Forever 21, they receive new clothing every day. With a turn over of new items in this short of a timespan, consumers are sure to feel as if they are not up to date on the fashion.

I recently watched a documentary discussing our over consumption titled, The True Cost. This documentary shows that our consumption creates a huge problem with the disposable of our consumption. With a high turnover rate of new fashion leads to a large amount of clothes sent to places such as Good Will. Out of all the clothes sent to the Good Will, only about 30% is actually donated or sold to those who need it. The majority is literally dumped in third world countries. It may not seem like our constant need to buy more things is hurting anything more than our wallet, but there is actually a lot more at risk.