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Shyanne Butler

Professor Kim Strickland

English 1010

18 July 2017

Michael Moss The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

We are all familiar with the word Junk Food, and though we know it is unhealthy we

consume it daily. Junk food is popular, convenient, it tastes good and its affordable. The truth is

that junk food has no nutritional value but the food industry is still producing and marketing

these unhealthy foods. In The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food Author Michael

Moss uses interviews and research to make his readers believe in his credibility. These appeals to

ethos, combined with pathos and logos, creates an effective argument that the food industry

should be held accountable for their part in the obesity epidemic.

The Article The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food was published in The

New York Times Magazine on February 20, 2013. The author Michael Moss, is an investigation

reporter for The Times, he won a Pulitzer prize in 2010 for his reporting on the meat industry, he

also is a New York Times best seller of Salt, Sugar, Fat and was a reporter of the Wall Street

Journal. Mosss main purpose of the article is to give consumers insight about the food industrys

role in Americas health crisis and the science that goes into making the foods we consume every

day. Moss uses the rhetorical tools ethos, pathos and logos in his article to persuade the audience.

Michael Moss begins his article by describing a private meeting that was held April 8,

1999. Those who attended the meeting were some of Americas largest food corporations. The

purpose of this meeting was to discuss the rising obesity epidemic and what the food industry

could do to help. The article also focuses on the science behind processed food, the food
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industries attitude towards the effect of those foods have on consumers, and who should be held

responsible. Throughout the article the Moss interviews many credible sources. He interviews

past and present leaders in the food industry as well as scientist who are responsible for why

Junk Food taste so good.

Moss draws emotion from the audience when he states that even CEOs of the food

industry were concerned with obesity. During an interview with Michael Mudd., the Vice

President of Kraft recalls what he said in the meeting of 1999,

Let me say right at the start, this is not an easy subject. There are no easy answers

for what the public health community must do to bring this problem under control

or for what the industry should do as others seek to hold it accountable for what

has happened. But this much is clear: For those of us whove looked hard at this

issue, whether theyre public health professionals or staff specialists in your own

companies, we feel sure that the one thing we shouldnt do is nothing. (Mudd)

Moss also gives the audience something that they can relate to, by describing the

reactions to certain junk foods and why it ends up being addicting. He describes in an interview

with Steven Witherly, how he brought in 2 bags of a variety of chips, Steven instantly pointed

out Cheeto puffs. The author quotes him saying This (Witherly) he said is one of the most

marvelously constructed foods on the planet, in terms of pure pleasure. (Witherly) He quotes

him describing why If something melts down quickly, your brain thinks that theres no calories

in it . . . you can just keep eating it forever. (Witherly) There is a lot to be said about the food

industry when there are feelings of guilt from insiders.

Moss appeals to the audience using logical reasoning, by writing about how the food

industry plays a major role in the obesity epidemic. His interviews consist of facts on how the
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food industry uses science to get their products to the bliss point (Moskowitz)-when

consumers like products the most. He uses statics on obesity and how as the food industries

creates new and addicting foods that contributes to the public wanting more of the processed

food being created. Most leaders in the food industry do not care about the health of the general

public for them it is all about making more money and expanding their power in the industry.

Moss uses his 4 years of research which include memos from within the food industry that shows

what the food industry doesnt want you to know. They take food that consumers are already

addicted to and labeling it so that it is more appealing to the healthier consumer. Labeling a

product reduced fat, reduces the guilt of the consumer however, less guilt means more

consumption of that food. More consumption equals obesity.

Moss also interviews the creator of lunchable, Bob Dane. In the interview Dane gives

details on the process that went into making Lunchables. How they were to appeal to the busy

working mom and then later marketed to appeal to children. Dane also shares what a lunchable

consist of even down to the container and how the company did everything they could to make

production cost lower even if that meant even more processed products. In the article Moss tells

how during his reporting he met up with Monica Drane the daughter of Bob Dane, creator of the

Lunchable he recalls her saying, I dont think my kids have ever eaten a lunchable(Drane) he

also quotes her saying, They know they exist and that Grandpa Bob invented them but we eat

very healthfully.(Drane) Moss writes, how Bob Drane, created a prcis of the food industry that

is used in discussions with medical students on how he finds the entire food industry

accountable for the obesity epidemic, Moss points out however, Bob Dane does not mention his

creation of the Lunchable.


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In conclusion, the article fairly solidifies that the food industry should be accountable for

their part in the obesity epidemic. It is disturbing that so many companies in the food industry

knowingly continues to market and create unhealthy products to consumers. I believe that the

article is a successful piece of writing. Before reading the article, I felt that the consumer should

hold all the responsibility when it came to obesity. However, I now believe that though

consumers need to take responsibility for their consumption, the food industry needs to admit the

role they play in the publics health.


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Work Cited

Moss, Michael. The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk food. The New York Time

Magazine, 20 February 2103.

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