Junk food is commonly used to describe any food that is perceived to be unhealthy and has low nutritional value (Smith 2005). Junk food is being blamed for the increase in childhood obesity, which can lead to further cases of heart disease and some cancer (Weekends News 2005). Junk food is also being blamed for health, litter problems and behavioral problems. However, sales of junk foods should not be banned in school canteen as junk foods are also a part of a healthy diet; it brings profit to the authorities and most importantly, the restriction could not change the eating habit of students.
Firstly, prohibition on the sale of junk food in school canteen will not change the eating habit of students. As we all know, the eating habit of every child is cultivated from home. For this reason, parents remain to be the primary guide of their kids for adopting healthy eating habits, eat and drink in moderation and do not have snack between meals (Cook 2005). Schools play an insignificant role. Apart from school canteen, students can easily get the junk foods from home or on the way to school. The eating habits of children between 12-14 years old at home that are shown in the Australian Nutrition Journal (2004) stated that only a small percentage of kids have their diet according to the recommended intake. In a nutshell, restricting choices at school is not the answer to the youth obesity problem.
In addition, a ban would reduce the profits earned markedly. By limiting the range of food, in particular the junk food, the profits earned gradually falls (School News 2005). Junk food, such as chocolate bars, crisps, and soft drinks are much cheaper than fresh foods and can help producers reap more profits. Most schools rely on profits from canteens to purchase and upgrade school’s facilities, equipments and software programs which are not covered by school fees. Sufficient profits which are earned from the sale of junk food can also be used to pay the salaries of canteen staff s as school can no longer rely on volunteer staffs. A ban would have a negative impact on education when the school facilities are not well up-to-date and adequate to foster a comfortable learning environment.
Next, junk food also plays an important role in promoting healthy diet. Junk food is not all bad. Pizza which is also considered as one kind of junk food can be nutritious (Cook 2005). Most of the sweets contain no fat can be part of a healthy diet as they are not fattening. Most dietitians agree that all food, including junk food, can become part of a healthy diet if eaten in moderation (Smith 2005). In other words, eating junk food in moderation would not harm and threaten the health of youths.In brief, consuming junk food occasionally is not a problem if we have a healthy diet at home.
In conclusion, junk food should not be banned as restricting the choices would not change the eating habit of kids. Junk food is part of a healthy diet and it brings profit to the authorities. Although it might cause littering problem, but again, I would like to strengthen my stand on the side which allow the sale of junk foods in school as the students should learn on how to make the choice to have a healthy diet. Restricting the sale of junk food will never nib the problem in the bud.
What are the potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change and how can they be arrested?
For decades, cars and factories have spewed billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and these gases caused temperature to rise between 0.6°C and 0.9°C over the past centuries (Riebeek 2007). Development to satisfy the demands of consumers is triggering global warming. Global warming basically refer to the rising in average temperature of Earth caused by greenhouse gasses especially carbon dioxide. The rate of warming in the last 50 years was double the rate observed over the last 100 years. Once planet starts to warm up, it's very hard to slow down the process—and almost impossible to stop it completely. Global warming means Big Trouble. Ironically, global warming which is caused by an anthropogenic process will cause a slew of inevitable effect and thus, practical solutions and strategies must be prepared to solve this long-lasting global issue.
One of the inevitable potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change is the rise of sea level. Global warming caused an increase in world’s temperature of approximately 2-5 degree centigrade. According to the film An Inconvenient Truth 2007, the melting of land-base ice in both poles contributes to the rising of sea level. If all the ice melts completely, low-lying nations and islands such as Bangladesh, Beijing, Shanghai, Netherlands, Greenland, Florida, Calcutta, Manhattan and California will be at the risk of inundation. Ten percents of the world’s population who lives in coastal area will be affected. The rising of sea levels also will erode coasts and cause more frequent coastal flooding. This will trigger storms, hurricanes, tornados and typhoons to occur more frequently. In short, global warming will cause topographical change in the earth and the world’s map would have been redrawn.
Besides that, the ecosystem is tremendously disturbed by global warming. Erratic weather patterns lead to an emergence of disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes. About thirty newly-emerged diseases are also found, for example, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Nipah Virus, Ebola, Arena Virus and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (An Inconvenient Truth 2007). These diseases are worrying as they are fatal and have the potential to kill vast human population. Rise in temperature is also putting pressure on the ecosystem, the plants and animals that co-exist in a particular climate. Warmer temperature shifted the growing season of flora. Spring which comes earlier forces the migration of animals to start earlier to follow food resources. As the growing season progresses, maximum daily temperatures increase, sometimes beyond the tolerance of the plant or animal. In order to survive in the climbing temperature, both marine, land-based plants and animals started to migrate towards the poles. Species which fail to migrate or adapt will face extinction (Riebeek 2007). In brief, global warming makes the ecosystem to become unbalanced.
Reducing the emission of carbon dioxide gas is the most practical way to curb climate change. (Woodford 2006). Individuals and government must have consciousness and responsibility towards global warming. Individual can contribute by using energy-saving fluorescent lamps, use public transport or car pooling, and reduce the consumption of electricity especially air-conditioner (An Inconvenient Truth 2007). Government should find and develop into alternative renewable energy and environmental friendly transport. Government should also invest in correcting climate change as according to a report, it will only cause twenty percents drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Woodford 2006). Carbon tax is one of the good examples in reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. Authorities should create the awareness among the society via education and campaigns. Every one of us should work together to hinder global warming and save our ailing earth.
All in all, we are witnessing collision between our civilization and the Earth. Ecosystems across the globe are already affected and surprising changes have already taken place. Polar ice caps are melting, plants and animals are migrating, tropical rain is shifting, and droughts are becoming more widespread and frequent. Since greenhouse gases are long-lived, the planet will continue to warm and changes will continue to occur, but the degree to which global warming changes life on Earth will depend on our decisions. Therefore, it is essential that we make the right decision in order to put global warming away once and for all.
