Much like their counterpart big tobacco, giant food corporations such as Coca Cola and Nestle perpetuate problems relating to obesity and heart disease. But, why does this happen? Their distracted agenda is to help Americans consume less and live healthier lives by providing research money in studies, when in fact, their underlying objective is their quest to make a profit. This is deeply detrimental to American people’s lives because food corporations’ agendas lead Americans into believing that their products are a healthy choice.
While most Americans know that smoking cigarettes increases risk for cancer, big tobacco companies are getting better at hiding the fact that they still are selling carcinogens in new styles and flavors. Juul is a great example of a hazardous product that is popular among young adults. The same is happening with the food industry. As new evidence plasters headlines indicating a link between sugary drinks and obesity linked diseases, the companies must fight back. Companies such as Coca Cola invest their money into creating low-calorie, zero sugar, “better for you” soft drinks, and put more time into funding research that concludes “Americans should be more concerned with exercise than diet to maintain health” (Reilly). This is a big theme among company giants. They supply information to people with evidence from research studies, that they (big companies) have funded. Large companies like Coca Cola support the individual idea that “it’s your fault if you’re obese, not soda’s”. They also promote living a healthy active life while exercising, but diet is not as important. Because companies such as Nestle own a lot of other companies like Gerber baby food and Powerbar, they have a lot of impact on consumer choices. Food giants support the idea of living a healthy and active life, and that calorie counting is not as important. This image shows a couple major companies that own most used products in everyday life.
Food giants are shaping consumer’s minds about what choices in the supermarket are healthy. People rely on the common idea that companies value the public’s health. Whereas the harsh reality is that these companies’ bottom line is earning a profit. For example, if Coca Cola stated that Coke is actually harmful, it would negatively affect their profit. It is much more cost effective to add “zero sugar” on a label even though it does not improve the nutrition of that product. Nevertheless, there continues to be a rise in obesity rates and chronic disease relating to obesity rates in the United States. This graph shows the rising obesity rates in the United States for men and women starting in 1960. The trend continues to grow, despite the new healthy soda and nutritious cookies that are out on the market.
It is not a coincidence that food corporations are gaining profit and obesity rates are still inclining. Money is the underlying theme in the bridge between what consumers hear is good for them, and what these companies want them to hear. Food corporations are not concerned with the “obesity epidemic”. The data concludes that large companies have more of a priority in continuing to sell product, rather than reducing the risk of chronic disease in consumers.
References:
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-scientists-who-shift-blame-for-obesity-away-from-bad-diets/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/consumer-brands-owned-ten-companies-graphic_n_1458812.htmlh
Data/Society/Decision-making Spring 2019 