Category: Food

Introduction

Healthy eating is the biggest contributing factor to an individuals well being and it is associated with an increased quality of life as well as longer life expectancy. For children and adolescents, schools play a major role in molding their eating habits.

Research revealed that in 2004, more than half of school-aged children received either breakfast or lunch in school (Terrence et al. 501). With this in mind, greater consideration should be placed on the foods that are being served to our youth in the school system.

This is in because dietary habits and preferences are acquired during childhood and they become habitual over time (Terrence et al. 501). Over the past decade, the nutritional quality of school meals has been called to question with unhealthy eating among school-aged children being prevalent.

This is a troubling phenomenon since unhealthy eating has many adverse effects to the individual. This paper shall set out to outline the foods that are served to our nations youth in the public school system so as to demonstrate that majority of American children have poor diets. The negative impact that poor food and dietary choices result in among children and adolescents shall then be articulated. The actions that are being undertaken to rectify the issue shall then be highlighted and further insight offered on how to end the issue of poor dietary habits among school aged children.

Food Served in Public Schools

Schools offer a wide array of foods at the various food outlets. Fruits and raw vegetables are some of the healthy foods that are offered. Some of these products are offered through the Farm-to-School programs which link local farmers providing locally grown produce to school cafeteria (Story, Nanney and Schwartz 81).

Bread and rolls made from whole grains also constitute the healthy meals offered by schools. However, Gordon et al notes that only 5% of breads and rolls eaten in schools were made from whole grains due to the higher cost of whole grain (34). It should be noted that even in instances where schools offer healthy meals; children opt for unhealthier foods which are not only tastier but also cost relatively cheaper.

The consumption of added sugars has in the recent past increased dramatically in the US. Frary et al reveal that teenagers are the age group which consumers most added sugars with added sugars contributing 20% of total energy intake for teenagers (56).

Added sugars are defined as sugars and sweeteners and syrups that are eaten separately or used as ingredients in processed and prepared foods (57). For the children aged between 6 and 17 in the US, the major sources of added sugars in their diets are: nondiet soft drinks, fruitade drinks and sweetened dairy products. These products are available through vending machines which are located all over schools (Lawrence). Added sugars increase the risk of a child becoming obese or getting type 2 diabetes.

Fast foods are the biggest culprits in promoting unhealthy eating habits among youths. Fast food, by definition, is designed for ready availability, use, or consumption with little consideration given to quality or significance (Freeman 2225). According to the CDC, 20% of schools in the USA offer brand-name fast foods such as McDonalds to the children during the school day.

The major fast foods consumed by children and adolescents in schools include: hamburgers, French fries and pizza. In most cases, the attraction with these fast foods is that they take very little time to prepare which greatly appeals to the schools which are in most cases hard pressed for time. Additionally, junk food is relatively low priced compared to healthier meals which not only take longer to prepare but also cost more (Assuras).

However, the fast foods consumed contain trans fats which have been linked to increased risk of heart diseases and have also been grossly implicated other health conditions including obesity and diabetes (Burniat 142). In addition to this, fast foods contain excessive amounts of fats, sugars and cholesterol; all which are associated with obesity and heart problems. Fast foods are also known to be prepared from saturated oils that are mostly reused over a period of days thus making them vulnerable to bacteria.

The overconsumption of soft drinks has also increased markedly thus further contributing to the unhealthy eating habits of high school students. This is because high consumption of soft drinks has a dilutional effect on childrens essential micronutrient intake.

Soft drinks are widely accessible to school children with many school districts having contracts with soft drink companies to promote the sale of soft drinks in schools. Research conducted by the CDC found that 33% of elementary schools, 71% of middle schools and 89% of high schools had a vending machine or canteen where students could purchase foods and beverages (Story, Nanney & Schwartz 73).

Staveren and Dale assert that this phenomenon is mostly as a result of under funded schools making contracts with big companies to sell their brand of products to the school (21). As such, schools have a vested interest in the promotion of the sale of these products (mostly beverages) as they receive a percentage of sales. Most schools therefore spot vending machines which are a principal source of extra money for the school.

Negative results of Poor Eating Habits

A major consequence of poor dietary habits has been the increase of childhood obesity in the US. Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant observe that childhood obesity has reached catastrophic levels with 11% of children being classified as obese (2). Considering the fact that 70% of obese adolescents grow into obese adults, this rise in childhood obesity is cause for alarm.

Research further indicates that the prevalence rate of obesity has risen over the past couple of years and statistics by the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDCb) show that according to the 2007 national youth risk behavior survey, 23% of US high school students were overweight.

This was a notable rise from the 5% level in the 1980s. Childhood obesity results in a decline in child health since children who are obese are at increased risk of physical as well as psychosocial health consequences (Jelalian and Steele 52).

The CDC reports that there is a threat on the rise of Diabetes among school aged children and teenagers in the U.S. Particularly, type 2 diabetes has shown significant prevalence among children and adolescents. Type 2 diabetes was traditionally associated with adults aged above 40 years.

The prevalence of this diabetes in children has been blamed on the dietary practices adopted. A CDC report reveals that the obesity epidemic as well as decreased physical activities among the youth is responsible for the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Fast foods are prepared mostly through deep-frying which leads to high cholesterol rates and heart attacks.

Poor dietary practices results in under nutrition which may have far reaching consequences. Under nutrition especially during childhood may have adverse long term consequences on the physical health and development of children.

Terrence et al reveals that under nutrition can impact negatively on a childs cognitive development and school performance (502). This impact is long term in nature and irreversible hence highlighting the dangers that under nutrition poses. The overall dietary quality of children and adolescents who rely on fast foods is poorer than for those who take in healthy meals.

French et al further asserts that eating habits established in adolescence including preference for and reliance on fast food may place them at future risk for higher fat and energy intake as they move into young adulthood (1832). This predisposes them to increased sedentary behavior and excess weight gain which will impact negatively on their quality of life.

Addressing the Issue

Having highlighted the adverse effects that poor dietary habits may result in, it is obvious that a feasible solution is not only desirable but is the only way in which we can restore the health of the children. It has been extensively documented that the quality of food available in schools is of low nutritional value and unhealthy as it is mostly made up of snacks, fast foods and sodas.

Key to solving the obesity problem is an overhaul of the school nutrition program. For this plan to work, the support of the parents, policy makers and especially the staff at school would be most crucial. This is because the funding of healthy eating programs is both expensive and would incur some resistance from supporters of vending machines and fast foods. A significant approach would be for the school to participate in the Federal Meal program.

These programs adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) thus providing students with nutritious meals (U.S. DHHS). These meals are reimbursable by the state thus greatly decreasing the price per meal making them much more affordable.

There is a general lack of educational programs on balanced diet in the school curriculum. School based programs can play an important role in promoting healthy eating lifestyle. Nutrition education is also fundamental to the success of any healthy dietary promotion efforts.

Terrence et al. states that the school environment should be consistent with the value of healthy food choices that children are taught in the classroom (502). Having vending machines and snack bars in the school environment sends mixed messages to children and therefore derides the healthy food choice culture that is being inculcated in the children. Schools should come up with policies that outline the provision of comprehensive, standards-based nutrition education that is integrated throughout the school curriculum (Pekruhnk 32).

The rationale behind this move is that even if students are obliged to take up health food choices in the school setting due to the programs in place, it will be of little help if they are not equipped to make health food choices outside of the school environment.

Teachers should therefore posses the necessary knowledge and comprehension of health education so as to teach the same to the students. This can be achieved by the use of seminars or certification courses on health education to enable the teachers to integrate this important information in their lessons. The CDC highlights the need for provision of nutritional education guidelines to school-age youths so as to ensure that health lifestyles are adopted early in life and perpetrated all through adulthood.

The overreliance to corporate sponsors by schools also poses a significant threat to the success of the health food since most students will be inclined to go for the junk foods and sodas which are more attractive to the youth.

Schools are in most cases forced to rely on the revenue they get from the large corporate sponsors due to poor funding by the federal government. The profit from selling fast food items in high school cafeteria helps to fund extracurricular programs and athletics.

This places school administrators in a dilemma. However, the health of the students must take precedence over this money making schemes. As such, sale of unhealthy foods in school must be all together stopped or else provisions must be put in place to set nutritional standards for these products.

Research by Frary et al indicated that the number of fruit and vegetable intakes by children decreased as intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages increased (61). It can therefore be inferred that decrease in junk foods and sodas will result in an increase in healthier food intake.

With regard to the issue of financial benefits from unhealthy foods, a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that while doing away with soft drink contract would result in lost revenue, the same could be recovered through increased participation in the school lunch program.

Discussion and Conclusion

While schools alone cannot solve the problems that poor diets cause, it is unlikely that childhood complications arising from poor diets can be reversed without strong school-based policies and programs to support healthy eating (Story, Nanney and Schwartz 72).

This is because the school environment has the potential to hugely impact on childrens diets because they consume up to 50% of their daily calories in school. Schools cannot achieve their primary objective of education if students are unhealthy and unfit.

It is therefore imperative that schools undertake measures to promote childrens health by creating an environment that promotes the intake of healthy foods and the establishment of lifelong skills for healthy eating. An important consideration in early education is that children in elementary school will in most cases fail to understand the implication of abstract concepts such as nutritional content of food. Focus should therefore be put in actual experiences of increased exposure to the healthy foods.

This paper set out to describe the nutrient intake and food choices associated with children and adolescents so as to highlight that majority of youths do not consume proper diets. It has been observed that the school environment encouraged poor dietary habits amongst children and adolescents.

Considering the long term nutrition and health consequences of poor dietary choices among children and adolescents, this paper has proposed solutions to rectify the issue. The paper has reaffirmed the notion that schools are in a position to promote healthy dietary behavior by children and adolescents.

However, for schools to help ensure appropriate nutrient intake, steps have to be undertaken to offset the current poor dietary practices. By doing this, the role of schools in the prevention of obesity, diabetes and other diet related complications can be exploited to the maximum with numerous benefits both to the children and the society at large.

Works Cited

Assuras, T. Fast Food, Fat Children. 2001. Web.

Burniat, W. Child and adolescent obesity: causes and consequences, prevention and management. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

CDC. Guidelines for School health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating. 2009. Web.

CDCb. Diabetes Public Health Resource: Children and Diabetes. 2010. Web.

Dehghan, Mahshid Danesh, Noori and Merchant, Anwar. Childhood Obesity, Prevalence and Prevention. Nutrition Journal 2005, 4:24.

Frary, C. et al. Children and Adolescents Choices of Foods and Beverages High in Added Sugars Are Associated With Intakes of Key Nutrients and Food Groups. Journal of Adolescent Health 2004; 34:56-63.

Freeman, A. Fast Food: Oppression Through Poor Nutrition. California Law Review, 2007. Print.

French, S. A. et al. Fast food restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices and behavioral and psychosocial variables. International Journal of Obesity (2001) 25, 18231833.

Jelalian, E. and Steele, R. Handbook of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity. Springer, 2008. Print.

Lawrence, P. Children Who Eat Vended Foods Face Health Problems, Poor Diet. 2010. Web.

Terrence et al. Nutrition Services and Foods and Beverages Available at School: Results From the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006. Journal of School Health, October 2007, Vol. 77, No. 8.

Pekruhnk, C. Childhood Obesity: A school Health Policy Guide. National Association of State Boards of Education, 2009. Print.

Staveren, V. and Dale, D. Childhood Obesity: Are Schools Partly to Blame? Eastern Connecticut State University, 2004. Print.

Story, M., Nanney, Marilyn and Schwartz, Marlene. Schools and Obesity Prevention: Creating School Environments and Policies to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity. The Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 1, 2009 (pp. 71100).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 2010. Web.

Introduction

Although Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan, it is the poorest city in the U.S. with unemployment rate of near 50 percent and a child poverty level of 47 percent. Community food security is a condition where all members of a community have access and close proximity to enough nutritious, culturally acceptable food at all times from environmentally sustainable sources.

The food security policy of Detroit was created to ensure that all the citys citizens are hunger free and food secure at all times. The policy addresses accessibility to quality food, hunger and malnutrition, inadequate diet, civic education, economic injustice, urban agriculture, and food security in schools.

Accessibility to Quality Food

More than 500,000 residents in Detroit live in areas with limited accessibility to quality food. Detroit was among the cities that were hardest hit by the recent economic recession with an unemployment rate of 16.7%, poverty level of 20.5% and most of its residents received the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) benefits.

The available food varieties are too expensive for most of the residents. Lack of accessibility to transport infrastructure due to inadequate public transport system and minimal supply of fresh foods in the food stores available are some of the factors that contribute to inaccessibility of food to the residents (Lee, Johnson & Joyce, 2008).

Therefore, there is urgent need to increase the amount of culturally appropriate food outlets, carry out a research on the available food enterprises and ensure that the available food stores comply with the food safety codes and sanitary standards set. Due to the food problem, there was need to establish a policy that addressed the issues.

The public transport system needs to be reviewed to ensure that public transport is accessible especially to local farmers.

Local production of food needs to be encouraged and this is already being experienced as Detroit has become a model for urban agriculture initiatives with most of its residents now undertaking urban agricultural practices. Lastly, a ban needs to be set up for all Genetically Modified food supplies in the city (Pothukuchi, 2011).

Hunger and Malnutrition

Through a study carried out by WIC programme, it was established that majority of children in the city were malnourished and anemic. Programmes such as the food stamps have helped alleviate severe cases of hunger but have not successfully tackled the problem.

Community self help groups and other government programmes need to be highly considered as an effective means of curbing the food problem. Faith and community based education as well as civic education can also be exploited as a drive towards a more secure food state.

Inadequate Diet

The level of junk food in Detroit is alarming. Obesity is almost becoming an issue of public concern and this is majorly caused by the fact that families stopped preparing fresh foods and instead prefer packaged foods that are instant to prepare. With these bad eating habits, health issues such as hypertension and diabetes are increasing in the local authority, and the increasing need to set up emergency funds for health care has risen.

Impact of the Detroit Food Policy on the Residents of Detroit

Civic Education

Residents of Detroit need to be empowered about environmental protection and diversity of life. This can be done through equipping the youth with knowledge, tools and skills to enable them act as advocates to improve the environments quality. The youth are the most resourceful members of the community.

Institutions of learning such as schools and colleges are also effective channels to advocate for civic education. This can be done through introduction of certain courses tailored to educate the society or directly educating the students and making them serve as ambassadors to their parents (Detroit, n.d.).

Urban Agriculture

The policy has influenced most residents in Detroit to practice urban farming through increased local produced food products. The urban agriculture-zoning ordinance was for instance approved by Detroit City Planning Commission as a move towards encouraging larger urban farms in the city.

Impact on Schools and Public Institutions

Schools and other community organizations such as churches and community associations play an important role in ensuring food security in Detroit. For example, Students can be encouraged to pursue courses in agriculture and animal husbandry.

The city council of Detroit can easily collaborate with churches and community organizations to help disseminate information on importance of practicing a healthy diet and encourage residents to undertake urban agriculture.

Effect on Emergency Response

The city council needs to develop food reserves in cases of emergency. Strategies and plans need to be put in place to prevent cases of food emergency. In conclusion, this public policy has had many profound negative effects on the operational budget of Detroit.

The city council has had to set up large sums of money to feed the residents each year through food aids. Massive investment has also been done in programmes to ensure food security. This has largely constrained the development of Detroit in other sectors of the economy. However, once the problem of food is tackled, the city will be able to effectively move forward and be at a level ground with other American cities.

References

Detroit, (n.d.). A City of Detroit Policy on Food Security: Creating a Food Secure Detroit. Retrieved from: http://eatbettermovemore.org/sa/policies/pdftext/200909181349220.DetroitFoodSecurity.pdf

Lee, R., Johnson, R., & Joyce, P. (2008). Public budgeting systems. (8 ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Pothukuchi, K. (2011). Food System Report 2009-2010. Web.

Executive summary

This report is about establishment of a diet food centre within the institution of higher learning. Several complications and shortcomings are associated with provision of foodstuff within various market segments. Most institutions have raised the alarm on such unhealthy kinds of foodstuff being supplied within their territories.

The same concern has been raised by a majority of consumers who happen to be students studying within these localities. This research begins with introduction which addresses the issues by providing an elaborate plan through which such instances can be avoided.

The research was done based on students conditions at the University of California where much attention was paid to unhealthy food stuff sold that contributed to overweight and obesity. Further, there is a methodology process based on the decision making which is one of the most important tools used in determining necessities within any Institution.

The findings of the research are then underlined before making analysis and conclusion. The article agrees with the literature researched and analyzed by asserting that health of an institution comprises of individual food products and product lines, as well as channels through which they are supplied.

At the same time, it points to the importance of institutions prior determination of its food suppliers based on the price and health issues. According to the article, the resources should be utilized with the highest level of efficiency in order to satisfy buyer needs, as well as cater for the current demand in the market and, at the same time, provide appropriate satisfaction. All these explanations emphasize the importance of having well managed product mix.

Introduction

The University of California is one of the most recognized institutions of higher education in the world. Within the university campus, there are various sources through which students get access to their food. First of all, it is the universitys small cafeteria that provides a limited choices of sandwiches, croissants, cakes, hot and cold beverages most of which appear to be unhealthy for student fraternity and University staff.

Another source of food is slightly larger cafeteria which is considered to provide a wide choice of meals in most cases full of carbohydrates and fats such as French fries, fried chicken, greasy barbequed meat, and burgers that are also very unhealthy.

Then there are several vending machines scattered all over the university campus providing students with variety of chocolate bars, potato chips, nuts, and juices considered to be extremely unhealthy, especially when consumed on a daily basis. Such sources of food limit students and, at the same time, force them to consume unhealthy foodstuff based on availability (Dalton, 2004).

Objective

This justification report provides evidence on the justification of the idea of starting a diet food center at the University of California. This is done through showcasing the feasibility of the project and the benefits that the project, if implemented, would have to students health, and in financial terms including.

Benefits

Implementation of such a project provides numerous benefits to students. For example, those students who spend a lot of time studying in the library or participating in other activities would not have to travel long distances outside the university to find nutritious healthy food.

This time can be spent on the e academic activities during the semesters. Additionally, provision of several kinds of healthy delicious food encourages students to change their life styles hence providing them with the opportunity to enjoy healthy food.

At the same time, such a project would be beneficial to students already struggling with overweight and obesity cases since it gives them chance to continue with their dietary plans (Society for Nutrition Education, 2002).

Qualification of Personnel

Upon the project acceptance, the owner will be a senior finance student from the college of business studies. The project owner should be more than qualified to run the business since he must be a former student of the university where the project will be implemented.

The manager will be capable of keeping good financials of the shop, as well as identifying and satisfying any future needs of the students.

The manager will be assisted by qualified individual who took many business courses from the university, such as entrepreneurship and strategic management hence capable of assessing market needs as well as gaps, recognizing opportunities and, at the same time, attracting customers through marketing strategies and quality assurance.

There will also be provision for good leadership skills from the operators of the business.

Scope

This report is created with the purposes of shedding light on the benefits of establishing diet food center within the University, the need for such a project, literature supporting the idea, and provision of a complete plan to be used for the implementation of the business idea.

The report discusses various methods of the approach applied, preliminary financial projection requirements capable of sustaining the center, various facilities required, anticipated cost of the whole project, and at the same time, feasibility of the business idea and anticipated results. From the business point of view, the application of this project will generate significant financial success capable of satisfying students needs.

Review of the Literature

Collins et al., (2000), performed a study for the purposes of testing the effects of students eating habits and physical activities on their general health. The findings of the study concluded that in the main, the types of food offered in school cafeteria have a direct impact on students dietary habits hence encouraging project initiatives geared to healthy food provision.

However, some Universities like Seattle University have different experiences with having diet food shops within the campus, and from students personal experiences; diet food shop within university campuses provides a successful business idea.

Consequently, food offered at diet shops is usually delicious and healthy, and most students would buy their lunches there.

The demand for the diet shops is usually very high hence it is usually not available already early in the day considering that such food is expensive in comparison to other venders within the university campus and yet students prefer consuming it because of good taste and health reasons.

Limitations and Contingencies

In the first instance, the approval from the universitys administration is required based on vast experience. However, the owner of the project may have limited experience creating rare chances of obtaining full permission from university administration guaranteeing operation.

On the other hand, the university is currently has contract with other foods suppliers holding the right to be sole food providers of the university. This means that applying this idea would have to wait until the contract with other suppliers ends and a new contract is drafted.

Problem statement

Various reports indicate that students from the University of California require such a project since the majority has busy schedules hence leading them to consume unhealthy foodstuff offered in the university. The issue has led to rampant increase of obesity cases amongst students.

This can be proved based on the fact that most students come to the university in healthy physiques which suddenly changes with time.

After a semester of consuming available foodstuff within the university campus, there is notable increase in the number of those gaining weight attributed to lack of healthy and tasty food choices offered within the university campus (Connecticut State Dept. of Education, 2006).

Method used

This study utilized a number of sources which include journal articles revealing the effect of healthy food on cognitive abilities of students. Such revelation from journal articles confirms the need of establishing a diet shop within the University. At the same time, a survey attached in the appendix, proves this fact of the high acceptance of this idea amongst students.

Findings

The survey results were recorded as shown below, however, students who participated in this survey have been to the university for at least two years.

• 71% of surveyed students reported that they have gained weight since they joined the University campus.
• 64% of surveyed students reported on the fact that one of the major reasons for gaining weight was partly attributed to the food offered within the university.
• 85% of surveyed students expressed their interest in purchasing their food from the diet food shop including even students who did not gain extra weight.
• 42.9% of those interested asserted on their desire to purchase food from the diet shop on a daily basis while 28% gave assurance of buying food from the diet shop at least three days a week.
• 85% of surveyed students responded positively on the question concerning whether they are ready to pay more for healthier meals that will be offered in the shop, responses were; 50% for one to three USD, 14.3% for four to six USD and 35.7% for seven to ten USD. Such conclusive result when combined with the previous research reveals the kind of desire for quality food from students hence the potential for financial success from the shop (Dalton, 2004).

Analysis

Analysis of food costs and level of health standards provides required basis for planning and financial sources. This is necessary since it assists in allocation of required finances capable of sustaining such a project.

Then there is determination of various costs such as overhead, variable and fixed costs which are ultimately compared to industrys benchmark. This helps in the adjustment of operational costs based on activity-based costing which is employed in the process of allocating costs to different food stuff.

As it has been discussed, the article provides for various processes used in the analysis of diet food shops. This is a responsibility of top management since they have capability of analyzing areas of opportunity within the entire market.

Such activities require detailed analysis based on business attractiveness, as well as nature of growth trend within food industry. Activity-based costing (ABC) system has been used in the process of overhauling costing procedures as well as further organization of operating processes. However, ABC system ignores some very important aspects such as resource based constraints.

The other concern involves the business ability to exploit opportunities based on organizations potential and market positioning (Dalton, 2004). High opportunity levels and potential to exploit food and beverage market ensures introduction of new business ventures, as well as existence of future growth.

Strong market position, on the other hand, enables maintenance of high positions for profitability purposes. At the same time, weak positioning of the project should be avoided in the process of making decisions on food varieties to be provided. Such processes and concepts are necessary since they enable adequate evaluation on the potential for new project within learning institutions.

Conclusion

There exist a variety of choices of product-mix majorly based on certain setup cost formulations. Such concepts as explained in the article demonstrate available potential for incorrect business decision based on Theory of Constraint.

The process involves identification of product mix as optimal choice and eventually incorporating activity-based costing within the decision making process hence assisting in setting up of variable total setup costs.

However, the article reveals that at times establishing diet food shop on activity-based costing may be incorrect based on the nature of assumptions made, especially on proportionality of overall activity costs.

The article enables clear understanding on the actual process undertaken within businesses in the process of decision making on products and pricing. It unveils the fact that proper mix of products may lead towards increase in sales through provision of products capable of meeting consumer needs and demands.

On the other hand, the example given in the article shows a possibility of such business competing favorably within the food and beverage market. At the same time, the act of optimal mix of products enables provision and advertisement of single product to bigger percentage of the market share.

At the same time, it brings the aspect that top management is endowed with responsibility of determining mix of product and pricing. However, activity-based costing majorly depends on assumptions made on proportional cost structures without involvement of resource constraints.

Owing to such limitations, activity-based costing is not considered a serious management decision tool. This can be improvised by integrating activity based costing with Theory of Constraints as well as method of mixed-integer programming. In the same context, ABC is considered to provide only short-term solutions hence not appropriate for strategic decision-making.

References

Collins, J., Devereaux, R.S., Davis, M, & Wechsler, H. (2000). Preventive medicine. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/

Connecticut State Dept. of Education. (2006). Action Guide for School Nutrition And Physical Activity Policies. Web.

Dalton, S. (2004).Our overweight children: What parents, schools, and Communities can do to control the fatness epidemic. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.

Society for Nutrition Education. (2002). Guidelines for Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs: Promoting Healthy Weight in Children. Journal of nutrition education and behaviour, 35 (1), 1-3

Creating a menu for vegetarians, many food services do not think about the specifics of the nutrition of such people. Moreover, a lot of additional factors are to be considered about vegetarians while developing a menu fir them. Much attention should be paid to the reasons people have applied to which choosing their diet.

The food services are to understand the psychology of vegetarians to make sure that they have developed the menu for them correctly and to know some particular rules according to which the menu is to be developed.

Amir Shani and Robin B. DiPietro in their article Vegetarians: A typology for foodservice menu development discuss the problems the food services ace when they are about to develop a menu for vegetarians. Firs of all, the authors state the fact that the research in the sphere is not enough.

The food service menu development is the theme which is considered in many journals, however, the problem of vegetarian menu is not usually discussed. Dining is one of the Western activities and vegetarians want to have a perfectly developed meal if it is possible.

Therefore, paying much attention to the motivation for being a vegetarian as the main factor food services should refer to while developing a menu, the authors of the article have decided to consider the problem as close as possible.

The authors refer to the following difficulties in developing the menu, lack of knowledge about vegetarian food, absence of the notification in the menu that a food is vegetarian, limited variety of choice of the vegetarian food, presence of the hidden meat in the food, such as beef flavoring, etc., and the inability to understand the reasons why people consume vegetarian food which is really important.

Dwelling upon the reasons of the little research in the sphere, the authors refer to the problem of boring and unsatisfying attitude to vegetarian food. However, this is not really correct and many cooks begin to pay more attention to vegetarian food in several reasons.

First of all, many people become interested in vegetarian food. Second, the demand on such kind of food encourages the cooks create something interesting and the development of the vegetarian menu becomes a new issue for the restaurants. Moreover, the tendency to healthy nutrition increases the number of those who prefer vegetarian food, however, there are people who are vegetarians because of other reasons.

Amir Shani and Robin B. DiPietro are sure that the reasons why people have chosen vegetarian diet should be considered while developing the vegetarian menu as to meet the desires of different customers, the restaurant is to try to satisfy the needs of each of the customers.

The individual approach is really important as trying to direct attention to each particular customer, the restaurant is going to win in comparison with the food service where the menu is directed for all vegetarians without differentiation.

Trying to differentiate the vegetarian diets with the purpose to pay attention to consumers needs, the author identify health-concerned vegetarians, weight-concerned vegetarians, sensory vegetarians, comfort vegetarians, religious vegetarians, economically vegetarians, social vegetarians, ethical vegetarians, environmental vegetarians, and humanitarian vegetarians (Shani and DiPietro 70).

Depending on the reasons why people have chosen not to eat meat and other products of living origin, people will choose the meals in the menu. Therefore, the restaurant managers are to consider the needs of each group mentioned above and to make sure that the menu is going to contain the items which are going to satisfy the needs of each category.

The article is valuable for its recommendations for the further research and implications for practitioners. The authors have conducted the literature review and they able dwell upon the future of the sphere. Thus, the authors of the research want to direct the restaurant managers who want to attract more clients to heterogeneous market segment.

The researchers are sure that the motivation for following the vegetarian market is important in choosing the products. Therefore, the food service managers are to develop the menu in accordance with the needs of the customers. The authors conclude that the main factor the restaurant managers are to pay attention to is the strictness of the diet.

To the point, while developing the menu for vegetarians, managers are to pay attention to market segmentation, appropriate staff training, menu design, and small details which may be really important. The example of such detail is the serving of the soy milk along with of cow milk.

Developing an effective menu

Foodservice operators must regularly develop new products and tweak old ones to pique consumer interest and attract repeat business is the statement which serves as the prologue in the article Developing an effective menu by Heather Henstock. The main idea the author of the article wanted to deliver to the audience is the idea that changes in the menu are obligatory.

No matter how successful the menu is, the managers are to understand that only constant and regularly improvement may be a guarantee of success. The Nice Easy Grocery shops are chosen as the example at the beginning of the article.

The shop has been selling the particular type of salads and the products were successful, however they could not reach their full potential. The hiring of the new chiefs to the store helped to conduct the slightest changes which have increase the potential of the menu and of the shop as a result.

The authors of the research have made the change in the menu the central idea for the discussion. Moreover, the author states that the changes are to be conducted regularly in order to make the clients interested in the future changes.

Thus, if the customers get used to the fact that ach week (month, decade) the restaurant change the menu, the increase of the visitors in the day of changes may be observed as people like changes, they are interested in new dishes and the ability to provide the customers with what they want is exactly what should be the main idea of the menu development process.

Heather Henstock stresses the idea that demographic and psychographic factors are to be considered while developing the menu. The menu developers are understand what kinds of clients attend their restaurants and how the choice of this or that meal may impact their desire to come to the restaurant again.

The menu developers are to understand that the food which is too popular in one part of the city may be absolutely out of demand in another. This is connected with people and their preferences in eating.

In combination with the changes which are to be present in any restaurant, the menu developers are to remember about the meals which are too popular to be changed.

Thus, if a menu developer will provide the changes in the product some particular group of people attend the restaurant for, they will not come to the restaurant again if they fail to get what they need. Therefore, the author of the article stress on the idea of rational changes to the menu while its development.

Along with changes, the author of the article recommends to pay attention to the absolutely new products which may be interesting to the consumers. There are a lot of meals and products and it is impossible to have all the variety of items in the menu of one specific restaurant. However, the attempts to add something new o the menu should be encouraged as this is one of the aspects of a change.

Presenting a new product in the menu, the menu developers will have to remove one of the items from the menu. To the point, it is economically advantageous to remove the items from the menu which are out of demand and substitute those with the changed or the new ones.

The author of the article states that the failure of provide changes to the menu may spoil the reputation of the restaurant. People live in the modern civilized world where globalization plays an important role. Globalization of all spheres of human life has created the circumstances that people got used to constant changes and improvement. Stable life is not what people have got used to.

Therefore, when people do not see the changes (in the menu in his case) they lose interest. Those who do not want the customers to lose the interest in their restaurant should regularly change the menu and implement the novelties as the part of the menu development process.

Works Cited

Henstock, Heather. Developing an effective menu. Convenience Store Decisions 22.10 (2011): 62-66. Print.

Shani, Amir, and Robin B. DiPietro. Vegetarians: A typology for foodservice menu development. FIU Hospitality Review 25.2 (2007): 66-73. Print.

MSG is a common flavor enhancer that is widely used in the global food industry. Although MSG is thought to have an optimal safety profile, it has also been linked to high blood pressure at high levels. This is based on a cross-sectional study conducted by He at. Al (2011). Other diseases linked to MSG intoxication include Type II Diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. MSG is an etiologic agent with an incubation period of less than 1 hour.

The most common symptoms of MSG food-borne illness include tightness in the chest, a burning sensation, dizziness, nausea, flushing, and headache. These symptoms last less than 1 day. Chinese foods have been identified as the key carrier for MSG intoxication (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Since food-borne illnesses are increasingly linked to cases of mortality, morbidity and economic loss, there is a dire need to examine preventive measures to avoid an epidemic.

In the United States alone, food borne illnesses account for between 33 and 76 million cases annually. On the other hand, food-borne illnesses reportedly cause between 5 and 9 thousand deaths annually (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). So far, there have been scanty details on the prevalence, incidence, mortality, and morbidity rates of MSG-induced food-borne illness. Reporting of the incidence and prevalence of MSG food-borne illness varies from one region to another. Cases of underreporting are also high.

Less than 1 case of MSG-induced food-borne illness is reported annually for every 100 000 persons. The food-borne illness agent also leads to undesirable negative economic consequence in the form of lost wages, litigation, medical costs, investigations, and recall. Many studies have thus far been carried out with a view to evaluate the potential role of MSG in food hypersensitivity.

However, most of these studies have not succeeded in replicating the adverse effects reported by majority of the people as regards MSG ingestion. Towards this end, researchers have undertaken numerous research studies to measure blood pressure and heart rates of such individuals. However, these studies have failed to identify variations in the aforementioned parameters between individuals fed with a placebo and those fed with foods containing MSG (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2012).

Many individuals who claim to be sensitive to MSG exhibit such symptoms as nausea and headache after consuming foods containing MSG. However, according to the research findings commissioned by the FDA it is not possible to systematically induce reactions from such people when fed with either a placebo or foods containing MSG (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2012).

The most common symptoms reported included numbness, palpitations, headache, and drowsiness. These symptoms are common among sensitive persons who take MSG in excess of 3 grams.

Community prevention programs would go a long way in helping to prevent MSG-induced food-borne illnesses. Preventive and control measures of food borne illnesses are intended to prevent the occurrence of future outbreaks. In this case, it is important to ensure that prompt and appropriate health action is undertaken (Taylor, 2010). One way of doing this is by forming partnerships between relevant government stakeholders such as the US FDA and consumer welfare organizations.

Such a partnership will aid in the development of community-based educational campaigns aimed at creating awareness on the causes, symptoms and risk factors of MSG-induced food-borne illnesses, and how to prevent an outbreak.

During such education campaigns, food handlers should also be educated on the need to read labels and on the minimum tolerable levels of MSG in foods. However, such a campaign could be faced with the challenge of behavioral change, in that food handler may find it hard to start looking at food labels keenly, prior to purchase.

Reference List

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Guide to Confirming a Diagnosis in Food-borne disease. Web.

He, K., Du, S., Xun, P., Sharma, S., Wang, H., Zhai, F., & Popkin, B. (2011). Consumption of monosodium glutamate in relation to incidence of overweight in Chinese adults: China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Am J Clin Nutr., 93 (2), 1328-1336.

Taylor, M. (2010). Food Safety Education Conference. Web.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2012). Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). Web.

Introduction

There has been an increase in demand for organic food all over the world owing to consumer perception of such foods. These perceptions include various notions that organic foods are safe, ethical and clean in nature (Hamstra 2013). It is estimated that within a few years, the growth of organic food markets will have increased from 12 to 20%.

In 2005 alone, the organic food market made sales of between $ 29 and 31 billion (Hui-Shung, Griffith, Zepeda 2003). One of the countries that has faced a high growth rate in the organic food market in the recent years is the United States.

On the other hand, Australia has a well established organic food market. Consequently, the aim of the paper is to carry out a comparative analysis of the United States and Australia in regards to the organic food market, their availability and accessibility.

Food Statistics World Wide

According to the week 5 lecture notes, the world has grown immensely over the last few decades (week 5 lecture notes n.d.). The lecture notes further indicate that the global population has attained immense growth over the years and that peoples perceptions have revolutionized proportionately (Smed et al. 2013).

As a result, most people have resorted to organic farming. In order to meet the growing demand for food across the globe, it has become necessary to develop additional means of food production. Consequently, organic food farming has emerged as a potential means of filling this need (Hughner et al. 2007).

There is a dire need to improve food production if at all we are to overcome the global challenge of malnutrition. In the United States for instance, among the 11.9 % percent of people that indulge in unhealthy diets, 60 % are children (Hughner et al. 2007). The same problem is present in Australia where almost 60% of the population is overweight (Week 10 lecture notes n.d.).

Most people in these nations prefer organic foods over conventional products owing to perceptions that their consumption is associated with positive health and nutritional effects. In contrast with the perceived benefits of organic foods, most of the consumers who said that they would buy organic foods cited that they would do so as a way of avoiding harmful chemicals used while manufacturing conventional food products.

The health perception among the organic food consumers is one of the key parameters that are considered in the purchase of organic food products. For most purchasers, it is the egoistic motive that shapes the purchase option more than the altruistic motive.

A Comparative Analysis of Australia and the USA

Approximately 2.7 million hectares of land in the United States are used for organic farming (Hui-Shung et al. 2003). The organic market in the United States grew by about 29 billion dollars in 2010. This equivalent to an 8 percent growth (Hui-Shung et al. 2003). It is further noted that in 2009, organic food production increased to about 7.7% with the organic supplements taking the lead with about 681 million dollars worth of food.

This is the equivalent of 7.4% growth rate (Mobium Group March 2009). Contrary to the United States, Australia has set aside 12 million hectares to organic farming (Hui-Shung et al. 2003). The organic market in Australia has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years, though one of the key influencing factors for organic farming in the country is the desire to meet the international demand for organic foods.

The Australian organic market is said to have contributed about 947 USD in 2009 (Lockie & Donaghy 2004). This change in market growth rates was witnessed due to the newly established Australian standards for both the organic and the bio dynamic products.

One of the factors that has ensured high productivity in organic foods is the ever growing need among the consumers to know how and where the production of the food takes place (Household and Personal Products 2010).

Most of the organic products that were initially offered in healthy food stores and the food cooperatives have now been spread across the country. As such, most of them are easily accessible and available in supermarkets. There are various types of organic products among the prime products on display in most supermarket chains.

Most of the organic farms in the country spread right from the big cities to the dairy farms. It is important to note that most of the organic farms are scattered all over the east coast (Polacek 2013). The industry has witnessed an exponential growth and now covers all production sectors of the country ranging from the processing plants, wholesalers, logistics, exporters, and retailers, among others (Lockie & Donaghy 2004).

Even though the products offered are small, they are diverse in nature. They include fruits, nuts, meat, and vegetables.There is also the addition of cereals, dairy products, oil seeds, and body care products.

Even though the organic products are quite costly compared to the other conventional products, they still have a wider market. This may be attributed to the fact that most of the people that purchase organic foods are older and have stable incomes. To them, the amount of money they spend on organic foods only constitutes a small percentage of their total income.

On the other hand, the United States has faced a lot of challenges in categorizing what is actually organic and what is not. This is due to poor certifications of organic products in the country. The country has further ensured through federal legislation the establishment of three categories of organic products, depending on the level of organic percentage that they contain.

Those with 95% organic content are referred to as organic, 70 % organic content are labeled as made with organic content, less than 70% organic content are still displayed as organic with a listing of the organic products that were used in their manufacture (Nutraceuticals World 2013).

In general, the organic food market in the United States is poor and manufacturers have still not taken their time to produce 100% organic foods. Even though most consumers indulge in their purchases, there is limited confidence in this food market.

Conclusion

Although the organic food industry is new and upcoming, it has been one of the fastest growing industries. A comparison of organic food consumption in Australia and the United States has proven that there is higher access to organic food products in the former, in comparison with the latter.

The organic food industry in the United States is further marred by a discrepancy in determining what is organic and what level of organic substance has been used in the manufacturing process. Australia, on the other hand, has completely embraced the organic food idea and has gone 100% organic in farming and manufacturing of the foods (Lockie & Donaghy 2004).

Reference List

Hamstra, M 2013, Pressure Rising, Sn: Supermarket News, vol. 61, no. 35, pp. 32-36.

Household and Personal Products 2010, What Normal Organic Growth Might Look Like Across U.S., U.S. Perspectives, pp. 17-26.

Hughner,R S, Mcdonagh, P, Prothero, A, Shultz, C J & Stanton, J 2007,Who Are Organic Food Consumers? A Compilation And Review Of Why People Purchase Organic Food, Journal of Consumer Behavior, vol. 6, no. 2-3, pp. 94-110.

Hui-Shung, C, Griffith, G, Zepeda, L 2003.An overview of the organic food products Market in Australia. University of New England, Graduate School of Agricultural and Resource Economics& School of Economics

Lockie, S. and Donaghy, P. 2004. Who consumes organic food in Australia? In: Halpin, D. (ed.) University of New England 2008, Australian Organic Market Report. Biological Farmers of Australia.

Mobium Group March 2009. GreenTracker Partner Program Biological Farmers of Australia Nutraceuticals World 2013, 80 % of U.S. Parents Report Buying Organic 20132, Nutraceuticals World, vol 16, no. 4, pp. 14.

Polacek, K 2013, Organic Farming, Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 197-204.

Smed, S, Andersen, L, Kargard, N, & Daugbjerg, C 2013, A Matter Of Trust: How Trust Influence Organic Consumption, Journal Of Agricultural Science, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 91-106.

Ali, Fredrick. Prevalence of Diabetes and Obesity-Related Health Risk Factors. Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 289, 2003, pp. 7679.

This paper analyses the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity in populations that eat junk foods as opposed to the healthy eating population.

Binkley, Kenny, et al. The relation between dietary change and rising US obesity. Change and Rising Obesity. International Journal of Obesity, vol. 24, no. 8, 2000, pp. 103239.

The studies of Binkley et al. reveal the link that exists between diet and the risk of developing obesity. The conclusions drawn from this show that unhealthy eating portends greater susceptibility of developing obesity in future.

Bryan, Larry. Optimal Diets to Prevent Heart Disease. JAMA, vol. 289, no. 12, 2003, p. 1509.

Bryans studies indicate that healthy eating is very effective in preventing occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. This also implies that it could be much cheaper to eat healthy and prevent these diseases rather than use the cheap junk foods and suffer consequences of seeking medical attention when already sick.

Golanty, Eric and Gordon Edlin. Health and Wellness. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.

Golanty and Edlin also contribute to the creation of awareness concerning the need to eat healthily. Health is explained with relation to the way of life of an individual meaning that what we eat and exercises we do determine our health. Its hence important to stay healthy by eating foods that are recommended as healthy.

Mozaffarian, Dariush, et al. Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease. New Eng. J.Med., vol. 354, 2006, pp. 160113.

This paper presents information that trans fats pose a real risk to occurrence of the dreaded diseases in America which include diabetes and heart attack. These diseases are also among the leading causes of death. Mozaffarian and others also suggest the way to reduce these risks by eating healthily. One can greatly reduce the risk by limiting the number of eating out and increasing the use of organic foods.

Pollan, Michael. Food Rules: Your Dietary Dos and Donts. The New York Times, Food Issue, 11 Oct. 2009, www.nytimes.com.

Pollan highlights the importance of food security to the nation yet its often not even included as a factor by the government. According to him, politicians tend to put other issues first as implied in their presidential campaigns.

Often they present plans for reforms in things like health, oil addiction, foreign policy, economic plans and so on. However, in the course of their regime, they end up dealing with food policy and food security issues so much. This factor impacts a lot of health, economy, fuel policy and foreign policy, Factors that are seen unlikely to concern food in America.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side Of The All-American Meal, Part 10. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

According to Schlosser, Obesity is a serious disorder that occurs as a result of poor eating habits. However, restaurants that prepare many fast foods have been criticized for their stake in the increased rates of obesity. Therefore, it is advisable that people should prepare their own meals at home instead of relying on fast foods in order to reduce the negative effects of fast foods.

On the other hand, restaurants are hereby advised to work hand-in-hand with research institutions in coming up with meals that are low in fats and caloric content. CDC estimates that there are over 300, 000 deaths that are due to obesity and the related complications. This is an alarming revelation that needs not be addressed.

Wellson, Allison. Organic Agriculture in the U.S. Nova Science Publishers, 2003.

Considering the need for healthy supply of food, Wellson explains why organic foods are good for health and why they are even synonymous with healthy food. Essentially, its just in the way the farming is done rather the production, which leads to production of food with no or very low toxins from chemicals.

Wheelock, Verner. Implementing Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.

With more emphasis on the need to have better eating habits, Wheelock helps in unlocking the seeming deadlock by suggesting the way to eat basically by simply following the dietary directions already laid down. This is where grains and starch should compose the bulk of food one eats with minimum proteins and fats. Contrary people tend to eat more fats and protein with very little whole grains and starch.

Works Cited

Ali, Fredrick. Prevalence of Diabetes and Obesity-Related Health Risk Factors. Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 289, 2003, pp. 7679.

Binkley, Kenny, et al. The relation between dietary change and rising US obesity. Change and Rising Obesity. International Journal of Obesity, vol. 24, no. 8, 2000, pp. 103239.

Bryan, Larry. Optimal Diets to Prevent Heart Disease. JAMA, vol. 289, no. 12, 2003, p. 1509.

Golanty, Eric and Gordon Edlin. Health and Wellness. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.

Mozaffarian, Dariush, et al. Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease. New Eng. J.Med., vol. 354, 2006, pp. 160113.

Pollan, Michael. Food Rules: Your Dietary Dos and Donts. The New York Times, Food Issue, 11 Oct. 2009, www.nytimes.com.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side Of The All-American Meal, Part 10. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wellson, Allison. Organic Agriculture in the U.S. Nova Science Publishers, 2003.

Wheelock, Verner. Implementing Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.

Currency

This article was written by Froma Harrop, a columnist for the Seattle Times. The article has not been revised ever since; hence, it is not a current source of information on the topic. Genetically modified organisms are a topic that requires access to the most recent information. The article may only be relevant in revealing how shallow the information that people had on GMOs was a decade ago and beyond.

Some old sources like this article can only be relevant when looking at the period when scientists started experimenting with GMOs. The article is a clear indication that the resistance to GMOs is an issue that has rocked the world for a long time.

Relevance

The information in the article highlights the common issues that the society has raised with reference to the introduction of GMOs in their foods. While most people have openly claimed that they have no problem with consuming GMOs, the author of this article has clearly indicated that there are some people who are totally against the GMOs. These opposing populations are not adequately represented by the author because of her clear lack of background information about the potential adverse effects of GMOs.

The intended audiences for this article are the institutions and personalities that are proposing the extensive application of GMOs in the production of food (Harrop par. 4). The author is clearly against the efforts mounted by different institutions to ensure consumers are not provided with information about GMOs in their foods. The information provided by the author is not deep enough to provide any scientific credibility on the authors claims. Harrop is clearly not knowledgeable in the area of GMOs.

Authority

In 2002, Harrop was a syndicated columnist for the Seattle Times, which means that she had the authority to publish this article. She has clearly given it her best shot, and some of the information she provided is noteworthy.

Her writing skills and presentation of information is quite compelling to the audience, and she provokes readers to join her in the protest against the forceful consumption of GMOs (Harrop par. 5). The author has provided her email address, and it is valid. This contact information can be used to reach her for further questioning or clarifications about the article.

GMOs

GMOs are organisms that have had their genetic material altered to enhance their resistance to certain conditions to enhance their growth and development. For instance, scientists have developed hybrid crops through genetic engineering to help them resist adverse environmental conditions. GMOs have eliminated the need for farmers to use herbicides and pesticides, and they have also facilitated higher farm yields.

Most nations do not believe that GMOs are safe for consumption, but the corporations that provide information on the safety of the GMO products have claimed that they are safe to enhance their sales. Most GMO products are not labeled; hence, people might not know it when they consume GMOs.

In America, GMO products make up around 80% of processed foods. One of the harmful effects of the consumption of GM foods is the possibility of an increase in food allergies. There are also fears that toxicity in some foods might increase with the introduction of GMOs. A decrease in the nutritional value of specific foods is also a likely result of developing GM foods.

Works Cited

Harrop, Froma 2002, Food industry should modify its stance on altered food. Web.

Background

Many businesses have been adversely hit by the current economic crisis which has swept across international boundaries and is surely going to affect millions of lives in many countries around the world. The impact of current economic crisis could be seen as overall decline in corporate sales and eventually companies being forced to declare bankruptcies and book losses in their records. The crisis which started from subprime mortgage market is taking its toll on other industries as well which are now facing greater challenges in term of survival and their ability generate sufficient cash to pass through the current economic recession period (Shiller 2008). This has also resulted in companies stocks declining in their value and stockholders money being wiped off the floor of the capital markets. The crisis which was initially considered to hit corporate sector of major economies has transcended to the consumers. With job losses and savings shrinking the consumer spending has been observed to be declining. People have become more cautious of what they buy and where they want to put their savings. In such situations companies are finding it really difficult to revive their standings by inducing consumer spending. In such situations major companies have turned their focus on promoting their brand loyalty in order to attract customers and relying on customer loyalty they are aiming to put their businesses back on track of profitability and sustainability. This forms the basis of the proposed study and its objective that is laid out in the next section.

Objective

The objective of this research is to evaluate different customer loyalty programs offered by companies operating in the UK Fast Food Industry to induce more sales and assess their effectiveness amid of the current economic recession.

Project Aim

The proposed study will be an attempt to identify the issues facing companies operating in the UK Fast Food Industry and their business affected by the weakening conditions in the UK economy amid of the current economic recession. Different companies have launched customer loyalty programs offering customers a wide variety of offerings to retain customers and also to induce further buying from them. These programs will be evaluated by gathering information from companies under review and also by collecting responses from consumers. This research will provide a thorough understanding of the customer loyalty programs and their outcome for businesses that may be struggling to either keep their profits up or even sustain in the current difficult times. The proposed research will be of great value to companies under review as it may help them in determining the critical success factors of such customer loyalty programs and it will make recommendations for improving results expected by these companies.

Literature Review

A research by Jang and Mattila (2005) suggests that customers favour immediate benefits from customer loyalty programs offered by restaurants particular fast food companies in terms of monetary advantage. Other factors which also affect their loyalty are the quality of service and food and also convenience. Furthermore, it was observed that consumers of fast food are also interested in exciting and entertaining offerings in addition to cost savings. Another study reveals that customer satisfaction and loyalty programs have recently been placed at high priority levels by fast food companies. The outcome of these determines the repurchase frequency that is very much influenced by factors such as staff behaviour, waiting time, quality and variety of food at these outlets. These factors could be considered as critical success factors for customer loyalty programs offered by fast food businesses (Law, Hui and Zhao 2004)

UK Fast Food Industry could be traced back to eighteen century and the rapid change in the industry could be viewed as McDonaldisation of the UK society that accepted food culture from the US (Guthman 2003). The UK Fast Food Industry comprises of all major fast food chains and also local regional chains, restaurants, kiosks and drive ins. In the current economic recession restaurants are also feeling pressure due to low turnout at their outlets and generally lower spending by consumers. However, despite of the economic slowdown McDonalds, a leading fast food retailer, was able to record highest number of sales as 88 million customers visited its stores in 2008 as compared to 78 million in 2007 (Hawkes 2008).

Research Hypothesis

The proposed research will focus on investigating different areas to develop an understanding of customer loyalty to brands and in particular to the UK fast food industry it will test out the following research hypothesis and conclude by either rejecting or accepting them. This may result in rejection or acceptance of either or both hypotheses.

• H0: Customer Loyalty programs inducted by UK Fast Food companies have assisted companies to generate more sales for them.
• H1: Customer Loyalty programs inducted by UK Fast Food companies are accepted and appreciated by customers leading to greater brand loyalty.

Research Questions

The research hypotheses set out for this research will be tested by gathering of relevant information through different techniques identified in the next section to find suitable answers for the following research questions:

1. What impact does current economic crisis have on companies in the UK Fast Food industry?
2. What customer loyalty programs fast food companies operating in the UK have implemented?
3. Do these customer loyalty programs result in better sales for fast food companies?
4. Do these customer loyalty programs result in greater brand loyalty by customers and induced more buying by them?

Research Methodology

Previous researches have set out two broad approaches to conducting a research which are identified as quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative research approach is based on positivistic paradigm which relies on establishing a research hypothesis and applying statistical tools and techniques such as observation or comparison using different variable parameters on the collected data to present numerical findings. The outcome of such research is either acceptance or rejection of previously established research hypothesis. This approach has certain limitations in terms of its understanding and assumptions made for testing. On the other hand qualitative research is based on interpretative paradigm which allows descriptive analysis of collected data (Ketchen and Bergh 2004). This approach does not test out existing hypothesis but in fact establishes a new one that is based on research findings.

The selected research methodology will be qualitative research using deductive approach. Deductive approach allows discussion from a broader scenario and using findings from collected data hypotheses are assessed and finally results are generalized to a particular set of situations (Wellington 2000). The data will be collected from both primary and secondary sources.

Primary Source

For primary data collection two survey questionnaires will be designed (Bradburn et al. 2004). The survey questionnaire will be based on descriptive and Likert Scale questions (Trochim 2006). One survey will be aimed at gathering responses from companies / restaurants which will help in developing an understanding of different customer loyalty programs offered by them. Second questionnaire will be targeted at consumers which will gather responses regarding their behaviour and effects of customer loyalty programs on the buying decisions at fast food outlets.

Secondary Sources

Different secondary sources (ADAH 2009) will be accessed to provide literature review on the subject topic and also to draw important findings from companies sources regarding their customer loyalty programs and progress reports.

Research Variables

The outcome of the proposed study is based on the following independent and dependent variables.

Categorical Variables

These variables have limited number of distinct values (SUNY 2009). Two dependent variables include firstly researchers own ability and knowledge to interpret data collection for the proposed research (Agarwal 1983) and secondly selection of fast food companies based as suggested in the research methodology and consumer respondents visiting outlets of these companies. Two independent variables of time and cost can be suggested for conducting the proposed research (Key 1997).

Continuous Variables

These variables have an infinite number of possible values (Lane 2009). A dependent variable is the number of responses collected for the proposed research. While on the other hand an independent variable may be suggested as the motive and intention of the respondents (Key 1997).

List of References

ADAH. (2009). Secondary Sources. Web.

Agarwal, R. D. (1983). Organization and Management. New Dehli: Tata Mc-Graw Hill.

Bradburn et al., N. (2004). Asking Questions: The Definitive Guide to Questionnaire Design  For Market Research, Political Polls, and Social and Health Questionnaires. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Guthman, J. (2003). Fast food/organic food: reflexive tastes and the making of yuppie chow. Social & Cultural Geography , 45  58.

Hawkes, S. (2008). New hunger for old favourites gets McDonalds back in shape. Web.

Jang, D. and Mattila, A. S. (2005). An examination of restaurant loyalty programs: what kinds of rewards do customers prefer? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 402-408.

Ketchen, D. J. and Bergh, D. D. (2004). Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. New Jersey: Emerald Group Publishing.

Key, J. P. (1997). Qualitative Research. Oklahoma State University. Web.

Lane, D. (2009). Continuous Variable.

Law, A. K., Hui, Y. and Zhao, X. (2004). Modeling repurchase frequency and customer satisfaction for fast food outlets. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management , 545-563.

Shiller, R. J. (2008). The subprime solution: how todays global financial crisis happened, and what to do about it. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

SUNY. (2009). Variable Types. [online] Available from State University of New York at Oswego. Web.

Trochim, W. (2006). Types of Surveys. [online] Available from Research Methods Knowledge Base.

Walden, G. R. (2006). Survey Research Methodology 1990-1999: An Annotated Bibliography. Charlotte: IAP.

Wellington, J. J. (2000). Educational Research: Contemporary Issues and Practical Approaches. Educational research: contemporary issues and practical approaches. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Introduction

Even as commercial and peasant farmers continue to increase pressure on farmland for the production of non-food crops, food security continues to dominate major global forums. Global farmlands are gradually losing their historical fertility, food-processing companies are increasingly becoming unstable, and food galleries are becoming emptier.

The issue of food security is a universal dilemma that has struck several nations across the world, even as climate continues to be unpredictable, and the events of hunger and drought continue to occur repeatedly. The intent of this essay is to give an in-depth meaning of food security, the perspective of food insecurity to the case of the United States, the major lapses of the conventional food systems, and the American communities that frequently remain affected by food insecurity.

The Meaning of Food Security

Food security may refer to the sufficient accessibility of nutritious, safe, and religiously and culturally appropriate food to all the people across the world. Food security may also depict a situation whereby all communities of the world, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, political affiliations, and socioeconomic statuses, rightfully enjoy unlimited access to reliable and affordable food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption.

Food security is also a state whereby all the people across the continents are capable of accessing food that is sufficient in quantity and quality, depending on their daily nutritional demands. The concept of quantity applies because food has to be adequate to feed the populations sufficiently. The concept of quality applies because food has to be safe and nutritious.

Food Insecurity in the American Perspective

Despite the United States seeking equitable access to economic food resources and physical food resources, food insecurity in the American perspective comes in a disparity manner. American food insecurity occurs when the vulnerable groups of people in different communities are suffering an acute shortage of ability to have an economic and physical access to safe, nutritious, and religiously and culturally appropriate food.

Food insecurity in America is eminent when children are facing a devastating shortage of adequate food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption. Food insecurity in the United States also becomes eminent when the elderly, the ethnic minority, and the rural people, lack access to food of the right quality and quantity, due to their mobility conditions and other socioeconomic situations.

Major Problems Associated with the Traditional Food Systems

The foremost problem associated with the American conventional food systems is lack of food maintenance. The traditional American food systems lacked proper food maintenance because they lacked proper food harvesting techniques, they lacked proper food preservation methods, and they lacked ample storage infrastructures.

Although the traditional food systems are more nutritious and safer compared to the foods produced through the contemporary technologies and stored through the modern industrial systems, they lack their sustained value because of poor preservation. Since the modern industrial food systems replaced the traditional methods of producing and preserving food, food security has improved tremendously across the continents. The traditionally gathered foods have never proven significant in dealing with the modern food insecurity. The replacement of traditional galleries with industries is worthwhile.

American Communities Affected by Food Insecurity

Although hunger is a universal problem that affects all the global communities, food insecurity in United States affects the minority ethnicities unfairly. The most affected minority communities are those that make up the biggest minority groups. The ethnic communities of America that often face food insecurity are large minority communities.

These communities involve the African American ethnic communities and the Latino minority population, which report constant events of food shortages. In the American demographic statistics and history, the two minority communities have remained disproportionately affected by poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment misfortunes. These two ethnic communities of the United States live in the rural, the suburban, and the underdeveloped cities of America. These are areas, where racial poverty, lack of education and unemployment, are major social concerns.

My Role in the Food System

My major role in the modern food system is to ensure appropriate use of the available food in the markets, at home, and within the institution. People must use the right amount of food required by the body tissues to enable the body systems work properly. I must practice suitable cooking. Suitable cooking means cooking the right amount of food, without wasting any food amount that may deem important somewhere else in the world.

My other significant role in the food system is ensuring an appropriate budgeting of food to avoid unnecessary food decay, which literally leads to loss of food. Lastly, my other role in the food security is sensitizing the local communities about the appropriate use of farmland.

Conclusion

Food insecurity is becoming a growing concern in many nations. Food security primarily means an unlimited economic and physical access to food that is nutritious, safe, and culturally and religiously acceptable. Although hunger is a universal problem that affects many people across the world, the situation may sometimes be disproportionate in some parts of the world, depending on several socioeconomic dynamics.

In America, poverty, unemployment, and old age are some of the variables that determine access to food, as well as define the situation of food insecurity in the nation. In America, there is food insecurity when the elderly, the ethnic minority, the children, and the rural and suburban populations report considerable incidences of hunger. Such situations make the issue of food insecurity a complex phenomenon.