Deceptive Health Marketing on Food Products

1641 Words4 Pages

We live in a fast track society, and the goal of the typical consumer is simple: get the best product for the least amount of money in the shortest amount of time. When at the supermarket, it is easy to quickly scan boxes and cans for signs that assure us of a quality product. Among these familiar signs are the stamps of approval from the American Heart Association and the Smart Choices program. In many cases, however, these assurances of quality and nutrition are not what they seem to be. The use of deceptive health marketing by corporations on food products is unethical. Many of the names consumers trust to guide them in a better lifestyle are actually paid large sums of money by corporations for the privilege of putting a logo on their product. When deciding between similar products, consumers are often drawn to familiar names and logos over the unknown. Corporations are well aware of this fact, and are willing to pay large quantities of money for the right to a label. In 1994, the Florida Department of Citrus paid the American Heart Association $450,000 dollars for a promotion and advertising deal that prohibited any other citrus provider from using the AHA’s logo or promotion (Burros). Florida Citrus has no special benefits over California or Mexican citrus- but they have the ability to convince consumers that their product is better for you. The AHA is aware that their system is not the most ethical, as can be seen in their refusal to call their agreements with corporations “endorsements”. “We don't endorse products,'' said Brigid McHugh Sanner, the heart association's senior vice president for communications and advocacy ''We call those food-certification programs or corporate relationships. None of this constitu... ... middle of paper ... ... Expanded Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture). 2 ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Print. Nestle, Marion. What to Eat. 1 ed. New York: North Point Press, 2007. Print. Neuman, William. "For Your Health, Froot Loops." The New York Times 5 Sept. 2010: B.1. Print. Parker, Betty. "FOOD FOR HEALTH: The Use of Nutrient Content, Health, and Structure/Function Claims in Food Advertisements." Journal of Advertising 32.3 (2003): 47-55. Proquest. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Ruiz, Rebecca. "Smart Choices Foods: Dumb As They Look? - Forbes.com." Forbes.com - Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. . Yarnall, Stephen. "'Nonsense' Stamp Put on AHA Plan."Medical World News 31.6 (1990): 47. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Dangerous Foods in the Book, Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Foot Giants Hooked Us

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...pened my eyes to the health risks of the food I consume. There is a lot of health risks associated with the foods on the shelves at the supermarket. A food product I ate as a child was Lunchables. At the time I just thought the food was good. Although, now that I am aware of what I put in my body I try to look at the ingredient and the food products I consume before I consume them. The book also informed me of the deceitfulness of people in order to make a profit. A prime example in Chapter eleven is the Kraft Company. The Kraft Company state they want to decrease the amounts of salt, sugar and fat in their products. On the other hand, Kraft creates new products with an increased amount of these ingredients. Many companies state that they try to fulfill the desires of consumers. This idea is wrong. The consumers study what our body craves and uses it against us.

    Read More

  • Government + Food Industry = ?

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.

    Read More

  • Omnivore's Dilemma Pollen Summary

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    By accepting misguided information about the food that is being purchased from the marketers, consumers are letting the food industry shape buying patterns, even when it is not to their benefit. Pollan supports this claim when he writes, “With all the variety and constant stream of messages from the food industry and media, how can we make up our minds” (86). Pollan’s quote elaborates on how the the constant stream of messages affects what Americans put into their bodies.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Fed Up By Stephanie Soechtig

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the film, various companies are exposed for promoting products in a manner that depicts the products as a healthy alternative. The ultimate exposing is done on the government and the USDA. The government is exposed for making deals with food companies to not demonize companies that sell unhealthy food. Even Michelle Obama 's "Let 's Move" campaign against childhood obesity started out bringing unhealthy companies to the light but died down by emphasizing exercise and not talking about food.This is largely in part due to a deal made with major corporations who weren’t too pleased with the original approach of “Let’s Move”. In addition, the USDA is exposed for promoting products such as cheese, milk, and high fructose corn syrup in a fictional way. They provided no information that they were unhealthy in the

    Read More

  • Eat Food Pollan Summary

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the advancements in the food industry, produce and other products have since became brimming with additives. This shift in authenticity sparked the award winning author Michael Pollan to compose “Eat Food: Food Defined”. Pollan educates readers of methods they can use in order to avoid harmful additives. Through the effective use of comparisons, logos and exemplification, Pollan encourage his audience to take responsibility with what they are eating.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Michael Moss The Lure Of Addictive Junk Food

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    of Philip Morris, said “People could point to these things and say, ‘They’ve got too much sugar, they’ve got too much salt […] well, that’s what the consumer wants, and we’re not putting a gun to their head to eat it. That’s what they want.” (Moss 267) However, consumers are being unconsciously forced to fund food industries that produce junk food. Companies devote much of their time and effort into manipulating us to purchase their products. For instance, Kraft’s first Lunchables campaign aimed for an audience of mothers who had far too much to do to make time to put together their own lunch for their kids. Then, they steered their advertisements to target an even more vulnerable pool of people; kids. This reeled in even more consumers because it allowed kids to be in control of what they wanted to eat, as Bob Eckert, the C.E.O. of Kraft in 1999, said, “Lunchables aren’t about lunch. It’s about kids being able to put together what they want to eat, anytime, anywhere” (Moss 268). While parents are innocently purchasing Lunchables to save time or to satisfy the wishes of their children, companies are formulating more deceiving marketing plans, further studying the psychology of customers, and conducting an excessive quantity of charts and graphs to produce a new and addictive

    Read More

  • The Reality of America’s Immigration

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harvey, Blatt. America’s Food: What You Don’t Know About What You Eat. 1st ed. Cambridge:

    Read More

  • Salt, Sugar, and Fat: Is It Cereal or Candy?

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to false advertising, I feel that certain food companies are being careless in trying to make people buy their products in order to make money in the quickest way possible. My only suggestions for this situation are either the companies to tell the truth about their products, or stop advertising completely. If the companies could spend more time researching the effects of their products, then they could make improvements to their foods or maybe find alternatives to the ingredients. That way people can make the right decisions in buying what is best for them and their children. Thank you for your time.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Food Industry

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    The food industry wants people to think that their advertising of products is good for you, but in reality they are not. Most of us don’t even know what we are consuming from eating their food. If people knew what was in their food that the food industries are promoting/advertising, they wouldn’t want to eat it. There can be given facts on this and maybe even some proof as to what you don’t know about the food industry, but also what you are consuming in your body at the same time. Some of the products that they advertise on TV, Billboards, and etcetera, you actually start to believe that they are good products until you start to do your research

    Read More

  • Beat The Meat

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blatt, Harvey. "What Is This Stuff We're Eating?" America's Food: What You Don't Know about What You Eat. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2008. 202. Print.

    Read More

  • Junk Science by Lee Ann Fisher Baron

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Lee Ann Fisher Baron’s “Junk Science,” she claims that the “food industry with the help of federal regulators” sometimes use “[a science that] bypasses [the] system of peer review. Presented directly to the public by…‘experts’ or ‘activists,’ often with little or no supporting evidence, this ‘junk science’ undermines the ability…[for] everyday consumers to make rational decisions” (921). Yet Americans still have a lot of faith in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 65% of Americans are “very favorable” or “mostly favorable” of the FDA. When it comes to what people put in their bodies, the FDA has a moral obligation to be truthful and transparent. The bottom line of the FDA’s myriad of responsibilities is to help protect the health of Americans. Deciding what to eat is a critical part of living healthily, and consumers must be able to trust that this massive government agency is informing them properly of the contents of food. While the FDA does an excellent job in many areas, it has flaws in other areas. One of its flaws is allowing the food industry to print food labels that are deceptive, unclear, or simply not true (known as misbranding). This is quite the hot topic because a Google search for “Should I trust food labels” returns well over 20 million results, many of which are blog posts from online writers begging their readers not to trust food labels. HowStuffWorks, a division of Discovery Communications, published an online article whose author claims that “[the food industry] will put what they want on labels. They know the game….” While the food industry is partially at blame for misbranding, the FDA is allowing it to happen. If a mother tells her children that it is oka...

    Read More

  • Food Labeling

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some examples of claims are "low-fat", "lite", "light", "reduced", "%fat free" and "No added". The food industry is very keen to make health claims on food labels, and the ANZFA has considered lifting the ban that stops them from doing so. Many disagreeable claims are made regarding the ability of nutrients to prevent certain diseases. Food manufacturers are now only allowed to make the following well-established claims concerning relationships between diet and disease: Calcium and a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Fat and increased risk of cancer.

    Read More

  • Ecological Perspective in Hinduism

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kittler, P. G., & Sucher, K. (2000). Cultural foods: traditions and trends. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.

    Read More

  • Misleading Food Labels

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    More and More people are becoming concerned about what they eat, especially if they consume food products that are manufactured in food industries. However, it is hard to know what exactly you are consuming if food industries provide false nutrition content and mislead consumers by placing false advertisements on the packaging. When a company produces a product that contains misleading label, consumers are not receiving complete information about the food they are eating which could lead to health issues including allergies and problems with diabetes.

    Read More

  • Buying Healthy Food

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foods and grocery items are marketed toward health by letting the consumers know what they are getting before they buy it – providing people with facts about health as well as promising they will get something in return like a healthier life. Health claims describe the relationship between a food and the risk of a disease. A health claim states or implies that a food has valuable dietary properties, like being Trans fat free, boosting immunity, being high in fiber, and containing a reduced about of total fat. It is important that products that make health claima have a identified amount of the valuable dietary properties that is directly tied to the disease it claims to help. An example of a health claim would be foods that have high calcium content, which may help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, or foods that are low in fat which may help reduce the risk of some cancers (FDA.gov). The requirements of these health claims must be maintained and are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These claims are important for the buyers to know about; and, therefore they are suitable to be placed on the label of foods. Using the same example above, if people are interested in reducing their risk of osteoporosis, it is helpful for them to know that the foods they are thinking about buying will or will not help them achieve that objective.

    Read More

More about Deceptive Health Marketing on Food Products

Open Document