[...] Similar to the story of big tobacco, oil, healthcare (in the US) and pretty much every other mature industry with enough money to influence the system.
Bad diets kill millions of people globally every year, and lead to tens of billions of dollars in health costs, often placing the heaviest burden on communities who are least able to afford it. Children, with limited decision-making power, are particularly vulnerable to this.
Legislators and government officials have worked to rein in this public health crisis by enacting laws that require food companies to be transparent about their ingredients and limit the advertising of unhealthy foods.
In public, the world’s biggest and richest food companies such as Coca Cola, PepsiCola, and Mondelez say they want to be part of the solution. But behind closed doors, they have taken governments to court to delay, dilute, and derail public health laws, which the companies say violate their rights.
[...]
Of the cases brought by private companies where the plaintiff was identifiable, more than 1 in 3 came from just nine parent groups, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelez
Their actions are not only prolonging the public health crisis but also cost countries billions of dollars in both legal and healthcare costs. In addition, they have a chilling effect on policymakers that wish to better their citizens’ health but do not have the resources to engage in drawn-out legal fights with food companies.
Similar to the story of big tobacco, oil, healthcare (in the US) and pretty much every other mature industry with enough money to influence the system.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but in the 80s tobacco companies bought some of America’s biggest food manufacturers - General Mills, Nabisco, and Kraft. So they didn’t just take inspiration from...
Similar to the story of big tobacco, oil, healthcare (in the US) and pretty much every other mature industry with enough money to influence the system.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but in the 80s tobacco companies bought some of America’s biggest food manufacturers - General Mills, Nabisco, and Kraft. So they didn’t just take inspiration from big tobacco, they just used the strategies they already developed; make the product addictive, resistIng regulation, and poisoning the discourse.
One aspect that I think is shocking that they get away with is that they are allowed to put so many ingredients as “Flavors” and not disclose what they are. The food one puts in one’s body shouldn’t be subject to trade secrets and frankly it’s an unethical form of protectionism that even free market economists should be loudly objecting to. Everyone should have the right to know what they are consuming and the fact that these products are literally addictive makes it so much worse.
Exactly, the business model is addiction and food was a great way to expand into a market where no one thought of the products as addicting. And because no one thought of the products as...
Exactly, the business model is addiction and food was a great way to expand into a market where no one thought of the products as addicting.
And because no one thought of the products as addicting, influencing policy and regulation was comparitively easy. For a long time the idea that highly processed food and refined carbs were a serious health issue was something that pretty much no one wanted to hear. Big food just needed to keep it that way. That didn't really start to change until the last couple of decades and they're still working hard to make sure policy doesn't catch up with the science.
Additional note: The list of 9 companies in the article should actually be 8. Kellogg's is owned by Ferrero and Mars (Mars has North American cereals, Ferrero has everything else).
Additional note: The list of 9 companies in the article should actually be 8. Kellogg's is owned by Ferrero and Mars (Mars has North American cereals, Ferrero has everything else).
[...]
Similar to the story of big tobacco, oil, healthcare (in the US) and pretty much every other mature industry with enough money to influence the system.
Grr, Citizens United strikes again.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but in the 80s tobacco companies bought some of America’s biggest food manufacturers - General Mills, Nabisco, and Kraft. So they didn’t just take inspiration from big tobacco, they just used the strategies they already developed; make the product addictive, resistIng regulation, and poisoning the discourse.
One aspect that I think is shocking that they get away with is that they are allowed to put so many ingredients as “Flavors” and not disclose what they are. The food one puts in one’s body shouldn’t be subject to trade secrets and frankly it’s an unethical form of protectionism that even free market economists should be loudly objecting to. Everyone should have the right to know what they are consuming and the fact that these products are literally addictive makes it so much worse.
Exactly, the business model is addiction and food was a great way to expand into a market where no one thought of the products as addicting.
And because no one thought of the products as addicting, influencing policy and regulation was comparitively easy. For a long time the idea that highly processed food and refined carbs were a serious health issue was something that pretty much no one wanted to hear. Big food just needed to keep it that way. That didn't really start to change until the last couple of decades and they're still working hard to make sure policy doesn't catch up with the science.
Additional note: The list of 9 companies in the article should actually be 8. Kellogg's is owned by Ferrero and Mars (Mars has North American cereals, Ferrero has everything else).