It is time to hold the food industry to account for it’s role in the declining health of Americans

— OPINION —

By Ron Erickson

Recently, I visited the immense breakfast cereal aisle at my local supermarket.  I was curious to learn from the labels of cereals marketed to children the daily value of the sugar in a single serving. Fifty years ago, as a young attorney and policy wonk, I worked with Robert B. Choate and the organization he founded, the Council on Children, Media and Merchandising, on trying to limit the advertising of sugar-coated breakfast cereals on Saturday morning children’s television programs. More recently, I am the founder and CEO of a Seattle based company developing non-invasive diagnostic technology with a first focus on determining blood glucose levels. 

Diabetes is near pandemic on a global basis. More than 11 percent of the U.S. population suffers from the disease and in some countries, the incidence rate of diabetes can exceed 30 percent. It is generally agreed that Type 2 diabetes has an association with obesity, which is rampant.  Over 40 percent of Americans are regarded as obese.  When it comes to health and wellness in America, we rarely look at the root cause of disease but rather focus on treatment after diagnosis.  Obesity is a classic example as we witness the excitement over GLP-1 remedies for obesity.

This morning, Tony the Tiger was delivering 24 percent of daily value of sugar in a single serving.  Captain Crunch was 33 percent and Honey Smacks was 36 percent. Breakfast cereals are not the only culprit. Sugar, and added sugar, are components of many processed foods found in the center of supermarkets.  I began to pay attention to the sugar content and added sugar in these foods in the past three years as my wife has been treated for breast cancer. I became responsible for shopping and preparing food, with the wonderful assistance of family and friends.  As a part of my wife’s treatment, she chose to eat a Keto diet and dramatically limit her intake of carbohydrates and sugar, believing that there is evidence that cancer cells consume and thrive on sugar more than normal cells.

Fifty years have passed but not much has changed.  In fact, the incidence of obesity and diabetes, and for that matter, cancer, has increased. Processed foods, including breakfast cereals marketed to children, contain significant amounts of sugar. What is the impact on society of that fact? What is the responsibility of large, processed food manufacturers? Are they aware of the near addictive nature of their products and the impact on the health and wellness of their consumers? Do they bear some responsibility for the growing problems of obesity and diabetes?

In my view there is no difference between Joe Camel and Tony the Tiger. The tobacco industry knew for decades that their products were marketed to young people and would have addictive long term impacts. Is what I call the “Industrial Food Complex” any different?  We will begin to see litigation like that which brought the tobacco industry to heal.  One of the first was just filed in Pennsylvania. It accuses major food companies of marketing “addictive” food to kids. There will be more to come. The “Industrial Food Complex” bears significant responsibility for obesity and the diseases that flow from that condition. It is time to call them to account.

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