Peer Response to Mark's Blog Post 2

In this post, Mark discusses an issue regarding "real" versus "fake" food. He begins this blog by capturing his audience's attention by listening specific fruits he ate as a child growing up. After stating this personal information, he starts to explain Michael Pollan's theory on the Western Diet and how it affects many Americans' health. The article Mark attaches does a good job clarifying just how the Western Diet affects individuals' health and how it can cause heart attacks. Mark clarifies that his mother always had fresh fruit at home to eat on a daily basis. He admits that when he was a child he believed eating this fruit was just a simple treat, but now realizes his mom had a purpose for having fresh fruit in the kitchen. I agree with this statement because I feel the same way about my childhood. My parents always made sure I had my daily intake of fruit. I believed it was just refreshing and tasty, but in reality, my parents just wanted me to start eating healthy and get the right nutrition early on in my life.

Mark tells his readers that as he grew up he ran into the issues of cost, laziness, and timeliness. He explains that these issues affected what he chose to eat and how the issues related to the purchase of processed fruit. Mark says that he consumed his first "fake" cup of fruit in high school due to these issues. The "fake" fruit definitely smelled different to Mark, as well as the fact that it seemed more sugary, which made it taste sweeter than the fresh fruit he had consumed as a child. The positive aspects of eating this "fake" food is that there was no mess, your teeth wouldn't hurt if you happened to hit a pit, and there was no skin on the fruit. I also agree with the fact that "fake" foods can have many positives even though nutritionally they aren't as good for you.

To conclude, Mark states that "real" food is certainly the way to go because it is healthier and contains more nutrients. For now, Mark consumes "fake" food because he experiences the issues of cost and timeliness, being a college student. After college, he intends to switch back to "real" food. I have run into the same problems being a college student and will absolutely return to eating "real" food once I live on my own, am financially set, and have a little more time on my hands. Mark did a great job with his ideas. His thoughts were clear and concise and I really agreed with everything he had to say.