Selling Food to Kids
Have you watched Saturday morning cartoons with your kids recently? Do you notice how many advertisements are directed towards children? A July 2008 report by the Federal Trade Commission stated that the food industry spent over $1.6 billion dollars on marketing to kids. According to Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, this number is probably understimated. Last week the Federal Trade Commission held a public forum on marketing to children. The Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Foods Marketed to Children, brings together the FTC, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the Centers for Disease Control and the Federal Drug Administration. It has has been charged with developing recommended nutritional standards for consumers under the age of 17 by July, 2010. While this may sound like a step in right direction, according to Nestle, these standards are voluntary, and it’s quite unlikely the industry will do what it promises.
Years of the industry’s “self-regulation” has not worked. We have seen an increase in childhood obesity and the rates of diabetes among young people are rising as well. The food industry can use front of package marketing suggesting that foods are a great source of fiber, calcium, folic acid, vitamins and minerals, etc. without mandatory regulation. As long as cartoon characters and prizes are included in the marketing of foods kids will continue to ask parents for them.
What do you think about the governments attempts to regulate the food industry?
For more information visit Marion Nestle’s website about Food Politics.
I was playing with my five year old daughter with type one diabetes since age 12 months old to be Nutrition Detectives as we love Dr. katz video. We went to different super markets with our spy kit. She was so upset and disappointed, she asked me, mom, why Mickey Mouse, Dora and the fun packages of food are not good for kids but are supposed to be for kids?. Why cereals that contain 2% fiber don’t have nice boxes?. I just told her that I hope that Disney realizes that they should sell health to kids and had to explain to her the sad story about business oriented to increase profits, without taking care of the real need of Nutrition for kids.
I also worked for Kellogg Company Mexico, for marketing one of the worst cereals for kids. At that point, I didn’t have diabetes or cancer around my loved ones, and I had no knowledge about Nutrition and leaving with a chronic disease. I was proud of working for such a successful Organization that was “Nutrition oriented”. Sadly, as I had to be involved with Diabetes, I realized that everything moves around marketing and that those huge Organizations could impact the world if they would just consider to care about health. It is such a battle to teach Nutrition to kids when the world is being bombarded with unconscious marketing. For my five years old, it has been sad to see Mickey and her “Noggin cartoon” friends, marketing food with harmful ingredients that she learnt thanks to DR. Katz material. She already recognizes at the Nutrition Facts that ingredients such as Hydrogenated oils, Long list of ingredients, corn syrup, SUGAR, SUGAR and more SUGAR, less than 2% fiber are not good for her.
I hope that organizations like Kellogg’s and Nestle realize that their ingredients are being the worst marketing campaign that any organization could have and that people aware of those facts are in charge of spreading the word as we are acting with compassion and love for our Population.
What do you think about the governments attempts to regulate the food industry?
There is such a need for food regulations!, but not just thinking in terms of profits, but being mindful about the huge need to avoid chronic illnesses.
Ana,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. We really appreciate hearing a child’s perspective. That is truly the most powerful thing.
The problem stems from the public not knowing about nutrition and the impact it has on our lives. We believe everything our doctor’s (most doctors do not receive adequate training on nutrition) tell us without questioning anything and we believe commercials for food are delivering factual information. The public doesn’t question anything. Poptarts are NOT a nutritious breakfast food! Neither are most of the cereals sold today. I had the hardest time finding bread at Safeway that wasn’t baked with high fructose corn syrup and other totally unnecessary ingredients. Out of the twenty different choices for bread, only one was acceptable - not great but it wasn’t like the others.
We need to take responsibility for our health and vote with our dollars. When we stop buying those foods in question, the system will change.