The article ‘Chinese Restaurant Food’ educates the general public about the hidden dangers and harm of eating too much Chinese food. Hurley and Liebman (2009) explain that the notion of Chinese food being healthy could be contrary to the fact. While Chinese cooking does actually “deserve credit for keeping a lid on saturated and trans fat” with “no cheese” and plenty of vegetables and healthy seafood, the fact that Chinese food is “loaded with salt” is cause for alarm (Hurley and Liebman, 2009). In the article, the authors also educate the reader that contrary to popular belief, Chinese cooking may not entirely be free of fat since dishes that are required to be deep-fried in oil contain loads of calories. The article also informs readers that Chinese food may not be as healthy as apparent due to the high sodium content and the huge number of calories that may be present in the popular deep-fried dishes.
I do not think that the article is convincing enough to make the restaurant industry change. However, I do feel that the article will prove extremely beneficial in educating the general public about the ingredients present in their favorite Chinese food. The article explores the myth that Chinese food is healthy and is devoid of any harmful ingredients. One of the most harmful ingredients, monosodium glutamate is found in abundance in Chinese cooking and can prove to be potentially harmful to health. Had the article provided some scientific facts and data to back its claims of the possible dangers of MSG to human health, the restaurant industry would then have taken notice and possibly made some changes in the use of ingredients that could be harmful to the human body.
The article is short and crisp and provides recipes of popular Chinese foods and the number of calories each of them contains. I do believe that the issues raised by the CSPI are justified because people have a right to know and be educated about what they are eating and how it would impact their health. Statistics confirm the steady rise in the rates of obesity with 34 percent of Americans being obese (Jacobson, 2009). Obesity is an epidemic that needs to be tackled jointly by citizens and government bodies and the efforts by the CSPI is a responsible step towards tackling several health issues which the nation faces.
The restaurant industry should make a conscious effort to change and the CSPI should continue with its initiative of informing the general public of the perils and risks they face by eating the foods which are commonly served to them in restaurants and fast food joints.
The initiative taken by the CSPI is indeed worthwhile because health is a matter of serious concern and people need to realize that what they eat has a direct impact on their health. Obesity has also become a serious matter and the intake of foods and drinks will have a negative impact on the overall health of the nation. As such, organizations like the CSPI should be applauded for taking the initiative of informing the general public of the exact content of the food they eat so that they can make wise decisions and healthy choices about the food for which they pay to eat in restaurants.
References
Hurley Jayne & Liebman Bonnie (2009). Chinese Restaurant Food, Nutrition Action, Health Letter.
Michael F. Jacobson (2009). Soft Drinks: Time to Tax. Nutrition Action, Health Letter. Volume 36 Number 2