Amanda Youngblood
English 102-111
15 February 2012
In Bittman’s essay, the use of statistical information can be identified throughout the majority of the text. He uses this information as a way to persuade the reader to believe that there should be a tax on unhealthy foods. A lot of his data revolves around how much soda and other unhealthy beverage or food items are consumed in America. Many people reading this essay do not realize how much of something they consume, but seeing that the average American consumes 44.7 gallons of soft drinks a year makes them take a second look. Bittman knows that his audience will pay attention to this and reconsider their eating habits and whether a tax might be a beneficial addition to things like soda. He also brings up the fact that one third of Americans have diabetes and that most of the people that do have diabetes have Type 2, which is acquired through bad eating habits. This brings about a serious topic for the audience to contemplate. The type of data Bittman uses the most is financial data. He has to explain how the tax would work through numbers and statistics along with other financial information. He writes about how much the fast food industry spends on just advertising, an amount close to $4 billion. He also discusses health-related obesity costs projected in 2018, which is $344 billion. Both of these numbers are staggering and can really draw in the attention of a reader.
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