Editorial

Better Eating Starts with Vending Machines

When you walk around you will see a vending machine around every corner. That may be an exaggeration in schools, but the reality is that there are too many opportunities to choose something unhealthy.

I slide my quarters in the slot, and the vending machine stares back at me. I search for my next snack. Chips? No. PopTarts? No. High school students are often faced with similar problems. But, the question is, why are all of the choices not more filling? Using fruit, or other foods that are healthier as a replacement can make it a simpler choice by choosing the item that will give you more energy for the day. The more enriching foods can be as broad as Nature Valley bars to oranges.

Specifically, Nature Valley bars have 95 calories per bar, while a bag of Lay’s Potato Chips is 160 calories (“Compare”). The idea that things that are worse for you taste better can be proven on how the obesity level of people in America is higher than any other country (Richard). The main target to help solve this issue is today's youth. Helping rid schools of unhealthy snacking options can create a healthier America. Trinity’s vending machines, for example, offer many unhealthy options and only one or two healthy choices. They have worse choices, and if switched with better food options could make the Trinity community healthier.

In contrast, the food that is worse for you is often tastier. Nevertheless, the natural foods can better you with more energy throughout the day and a healthier body. Processed foods can have ingredients that are nearly impossible to pronounce, therefore you shouldn’t put them in your body. The natural and organic snacks have simpler ingredients, so you know what you’re eating.

Because many students also enjoy the more fattening options, the other vending machines could be there as well to offer more variety. Oftentimes students eat out of boredom, and with the healthier options nearby, they are more tempted to enjoy a more filling snack.

In conclusion, having the option of a healthier lifestyle is beneficial rather than being harmful. It is better for your body to eat organic and natural even while snacking. Rather than eating a bag of potato chips that usually leave you hungry for more, a fruit or granola bar can give you enough energy for the long day ahead. The long term issues that can follow eating unhealthy on a regular basis are important to consider. One’s health in the future is more important that an unhealthy snack now.

"Compare Food Nutrition Facts." CalorieKing. CalorieKing Wellness Solutions, n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.calorieking.com/foods/compare/?l=ZmlkPTc5MDUz>.

Richard, Jocelyn. "Obesity Rates Rising: 10 Fattest Countries In The Developed World (SLIDESHOW)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.

Editorial Reflection

I wanted to edit this piece because I felt that it was the weakest piece that I had. My editorial had seemed very repetitive. I need to cite some of my sources and provide more information to sound more factual. I thought about my audience more as I wrote my editorial. I wanted to direct it more towards the students and make them realize what they were eating. I changed the title of my piece to make it more focused on what exactly my purpose was. I also changed a lot of my transitions because I was really struggling with them. I also cited my sources and did more research than I had the first time I wrote it.