1. STARBUCKS PHOTOVOICE PROJECT By: Amanda Newingham PUBH209
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

2. A LITTLE HISTORY
As a consumer, I chose to look closer into the popularity of coffee in the United States. My main focus was on Starbucks. I chose Starbucks because it is the largest coffeehouse company in the world (KoKho, 2011). As of 2015, Starbucks had over 22,000 stores world-wide, with a majority of them in the United States alone (Starbucks Company Timeline, 2018). Starbucks was founded by three partners: Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker. They opened the first Starbucks coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 (koKho, 2011). In the beginning, Starbucks sold only high quality coffee beans and equipment. It wasn’t until Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982, that Starbucks began to expand by selling coffee and espresso drinks in addition to the high-quality beans (KoKho, 2011).

3. SUGARY, OVERSIZED COFFEE DRINKS
24 ounce iced mocha
20 ounce hot mocha

4. HOW HEALTHY IS IT?
Coffee is good for you, right? Yes! How many times have you been told that coffee has many health benefits. Some benefits include protection against type 2 diabetes, reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease, reduced risk of liver cancer by 40%, and a good source of antioxidants (Nordqvist, 2017).
But…wait just a minute. Starbucks has given an entirely new meaning to coffee. The previous photos show two drinks that are popular at Starbucks. The photo on the left is a 24 ounce iced white chocolate mocha. This drink is packed with 560 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 73 grams of sugar (Starbucks.com). The photo on the right is a 20 ounce hot mocha. This drink is packed with 490 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 45 grams of sugar (Starbucks.com). Where did the health benefits of coffee go? Down the drain! Some may argue that both drinks have a considerably high amount of protein. The iced mocha has 15 grams and the hot mocha has 17 grams.

5. HOW HEALTHY IS IT…CONTINUED
Some consumers drink multiple Starbucks drinks each day. The recommended daily caloric intake is 2,000. By drinking just one of the aforementioned drinks each day, a consumer is drinking an entire meal, but with little to no health benefits (Protest Starbucks, 2018). According to News Target, you can hardly call a Starbucks drink coffee anymore (Protest Starbucks, 2018). You may as well call it “coffee-flavored sugar.”
The increased sugar intake has many health risks tied to it. Health risks include:
Liver damage
Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
Metabolic dysfunction
Heart disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
(Mercola, 2018).

6. Why is it so difficult to be healthy/easy to be unhealthy?
Eating healthy is so difficult because there are temptations marketed everywhere. My example of Starbucks is a good one. Starbucks is so popular, especially in the United States that consumers immediately buy into the marketing. That coupled with our nation’s addiction to sugar, makes Starbuck’s consumption a “sure thing.” In addition, convenience is a big factor. There is practically a Starbucks drive-thru on every corner. It is very easy, especially when you are in a hurry, to pull-up, order a delicious sugary “coffee”, with a glutinous scone, and still make it to that morning work meeting on time. Sitting in the car waiting for your meal is much easier than preparing a healthy, nutritious breakfast. America has become so lazy, that Starbucks doesn’t even need to try advertising and marketing anymore. Consumers are always going to buy into it, whether it’s healthy or not. Unfortunately, consumers are no longer worried about the health risks associated with convenience.

7. HOW HAS THIS PROJECT AND CLASS OPENED MY EYES TO CONSUMER HEALTH?
I always knew that the popular drinks at Starbucks were not healthy. But, I too have been victim to all of the hype associated with Starbucks. And, who can resist a yummy, delicious, sugary drink? I sure can’t! What I didn’t know is just HOW bad those drinks are for your health. I was completely shocked to learn that one Starbucks drink is equivalent in calories to an entire meal. The only difference is that the drink has no nutrition. From now on, I will be brewing my own coffee, and will stay away from Starbucks. There were many concepts throughout this course that were very beneficial to my everyday living. I learned a great deal about consumer health and just how the “markets” function. If someone had never been exposed to the consumer health issues brought to light during this course, a project such as this one would be extremely beneficial. It really opens your eyes your surroundings. My hope is that someone who is reading this project will understand just how easily a “healthy” drink can be turned to “unhealthy.” I hope that people learn to make better choices based off the information that I provide here. It only takes a second to look at the nutrition facts on food. If we all took a minute to look at the facts, as a society we could become much healthier.

8. REFERENCES
KoKho. (2011). A Brief History of Starbucks Coffee. coffee.html
Mercola, J. (2018). What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Too Much Sugar? Mercola.com.
Nordqvist, J. (2017). Health Benefits and Risks of Drinking Coffee. Medicalnewstoday.com.
Protest Starbucks. (2018). Starbucks, Coffee, and Your Health: Bucking The Starbucks Experience. Organicconsumers.org. health-bucking-starbucks-experience#close
Starbucks Company Timeline. (2018). Starbucks.com. company-timeline