In the end there is nothing
surprising in what he has to say. I
suppose what is surprising is that so many of us pretend that it is still okay
to eat substandard food placed in front of us.
After all eating properly mainly consists of preparing food ourselves
from somewhat reliable sources and almost never touching any packaged food that
adds sugar in particular. That is
surprisingly difficult to do, but is possible.
It is going to take a
knowledgeable consumer public to shift food education out of the hands of the
marketing department.
It is also going to take an
application of government regulation to suspend the race to the bottom that has
been conducted in the sugar game.
Everything can be sweetened today with stevia and energy can be safely
added with pure glucose if it is necessary.
Sugar can then be reserved fro candy treats in particular. There you know what you are doing.
No other food should be producing
sugar highs and hyperactive kids.
The sugar content of processed
foods has been rising for a full century as our taste buds care continuously
reset upwards.
Confessions of a former Big Food executive
2 NOV 2011 7:25 AM Photo: Casey V. Photography
A few weeks ago, I learned of a relatively new blog about food industry
deception, but with an interesting twist. The blog's author is Bruce
Bradley, who spent over 15 years as a food marketer at companies like General
Mills, Pillsbury, and Nabisco. He has since, in his words, "become more educated
about the risks and environmental impact of eating processed foods," and
is now a CSA enthusiast.
Recently, I had the chance to ask Mr. Bradley about the industry, his
blog, and the people behind today's processed food companies.
Q. On your website you
write that you've "seen some disturbing trends in the food industry over
the past 20 years." What have you found most insidious?
A. The landscape has
changed dramatically since I started my career at Nabisco in 1992. In response
to Wall Street profit pressures and the growing power of retailers like
Walmart, the food industry has undergone a tremendous wave of consolidation and
cost cutting.
This has hurt our food supply in many ways. First, huge, multinational
food companies now dominate the landscape. Wielding far greater lobbying power
and much deeper pockets, these companies have been very successful in
stagnating food regulation. Second, cost savings have been a key profit driver
for the industry, but they've had a devastating impact on both food quality and
food safety. Think factory farming and GMOs, just to name a couple of examples.
Third, as consumers' health concerns have increased, processed food
manufacturers have become even more aggressive in making dubious health claims
or co-opting fad diets to market their brands and develop new products.
The net impact of this transformed landscape has been disastrous from a
public health perspective -- with obesity rates skyrocketing and a never-ending
flood of food recalls.
Q. How does the food
industry respond to those in the public health and nutrition arena who
systematically call them out? Is there is a legitimate fear that one day
"the people" will realize how unhealthy many of their products are?
A. The average person
working at a food company doesn't view public health and nutrition
"food cops" as a threat. In fact, they are embracing many of the
ideas coming from these sources. For example, books like Michael Pollan's The
Omnivore's Dilemma were extremely popular when I was at General Mills,
and I learned about CSAs from an R&D scientist working on one of my teams.
Now if you're talking about the Big Food company executives, I do think
they feel threatened. However, most of these executives tend to dismiss those
who "call them out" as wrong or misinformed, versus taking a serious
look at changing their business model. After all, these executives and their
companies have a huge interest in maintaining the status quo.
Q. On your blog you
say, "confusion is one of the tried and true tools of the processed foods
industry." Can you say more about the subtle and not-so-subtle ways these
companies confuse us?
A. I think one of the
main ways the processed food industry is trying to grow and defend their
business is by funding self-serving research. The goal of these studies isn't
to uncover "the truth" or to improve public health. Instead, the
research is carefully constructed to create sound bites and statistics to help
market their products or combat potential regulation. This is one of the
primary ways we end up with conflicting studies that confuse consumers on what
they should eat or drink.
Is this purposeful misdirection? Intent is always tough to prove,
especially if you don't have firsthand knowledge. Research tends to be the work
of a select few within processed food companies, and I was never part of one of
those groups. That said, if you dig into these studies and their methodology,
you can usually find the telltale signs of how they have "stacked the
deck" in their favor.
Q. As a registered
dietitian, I am very disappointed by fellow RDs who choose to work for the
likes of PepsiCo and Wendy's. Have you ever felt disappointed by the
behaviors of any of your food industry peers?
A. I'd be remiss if
I didn't note my response is biased; not too long ago I was one of those people
who worked at a Big Food company. But would I like to see more people from
within the food industry take a stand for real food? Yes, I would.
Nevertheless, my experience is that the vast majority of employees are good,
honest people who are simply trying to "play by the rules of the
game" set by food industry leaders, their lobbyists, and our government.
I prefer to focus my efforts on increasing awareness that the rules of
the game aren't protecting consumers. Changing the rules is my objective, and
I'm hopeful that along the way my blog and
my book, Fat Profits, will
help convince people from all walks of life, including those who work at Big
Food companies, to join me and take a stand for real food.
Q. What are three
things you think every consumer should know about Big Food?
A. Big Food is
profit-driven. Don't be fooled into thinking a brand or the food company
that owns it cares about you or your health.
Think critically. Most claims and advertising by Big Food
companies are meant to manipulate you, not educate you. Read your labels and do
your research.
There is no free lunch. Over the long-term, you always get what
you pay for. Cheap food is very expensive once you add up the true costs --
like the taxes you pay to subsidize Big Food companies, health consequences
like obesity or diabetes, the devastating harm to our environment, and the
inhumane treatment of animals raised within the industrialized food system.
Andy Bellatti, MS, RD, is a Seattle-based dietitian who approaches
nutrition from a whole-foods, plant-centric framework. He also takes a strong
interest in food politics, nutrition policy, and deceptive food industry
marketing tactics. He is the creator of the Small Bites blog and can be
followed on Twitter.
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