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The Food Industry Is Out to Get You! |
| September, 2004 |
| Fred Tutwiler |
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| I don't know if you saw it, but Tuesday's (September 21, 2004) New York Times had an interesting article in the "Science Times" section entitled "Beware Food Companies' Health Claims." It's a good reminder of why food companies exist - - to make money. |
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(Oops, you didn't actually think they were in business to provide you with healthy nutrition did you?)
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Americans are increasingly health conscious (or at least we are told we ought to be every where we turn!)--A valuable piece of information, which is not lost on the food marketing execs around the world. The ever-growing market of consumers looking to buy healthier foods that also fit our busy lifestyles has produced an equally fast-growing initiative on the part of food companies to provide these products, or at the very least make us think they are providing these products. As Jane Brody reminds us in this excellent article, "Many food companies are interested in one thing-the most efficient route to extra sales. The more products the consumers buy and the more they eat, the fatter the companies coffer." |
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Sadly, she goes on to remind us, we are getting fatter too, despite the claim that the foods we are eating are supposedly healthier. Why is this? Well for one thing we aren't eating any less, we may even be eating more, because we feel like we have a green light to eat as much of these "healthy" foods as we like. The marketing machinery of the food industry continues to shower us with catch-phrases and current healthy lingo to try and convince us that food, even nutrition-empty junk food, is actually good for us |
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Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of public health at NYU, refers to these healthy-sounding phrases as "calorie distracters." She maintains that they carry a "subtle, but highly seductive message that it is okay to eat unlimited amounts because the food is supposedly good for you." All those "low-fat" muffins that are sold at coffee shops across America are a striking testament to the fact that "health conscious" consumers will fall prey to even the simplest marketing gimmicks. Many of those low-fat products you buy often make up for the missing ingredient by adding copious amounts of sugar and other flavor/texture enhancers that may not be fat when you eat them, but they get turned into fat pretty darn fast once you swallow. |
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It should come as no surprise to anyone that the food industry is highly adept at capitalizing on the latest nutrition trends. After all, BILLIONS of dollars are at stake. Brody further says, "In recent years, trends have shifted from low salt to high fiber to fat free and now to low in carbohydrates, high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, and free of trans fats. Food companies have introduced new, reformulated or repositioned products to satisfy every new vogue in nutrition, regardless of how well or poorly grounded it may be in science".
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