More Proof that Big Food Profits by Making Us Unhealthy

Nothing infuriates me more than big food manufacturers getting richer by making people sick. Of course, they’ll deny this left and right, but they continue to use ingredients and sell products that scientific research has linked to chronic illness.

Why do they continue to get away with this?

They can afford to buy influence. They can afford to blast clever advertising campaigns into every home in America. They can afford to sweep bad publicity under the rug as if it never existed.

Consider these three examples:

1) Diet Coke Pulls Ads with Alleged Drug References

According to The New York Times, Diet Coke had been running ads for three months with the theme “You’re on,” which portrayed the soda almost like an energy drink to younger audiences.

In some of the ads, “You’re on” appeared above the Diet Coke logo, which many high-profile bloggers interpreted to mean “You’re on Diet Coke.” Because cocaine was once an ingredient in Coca-Cola, the perceived drug connection took on a life of its own.

A Coca-Cola executive claimed “you’re on” is similar to “bring you’re A-game.”

When Diet Coke pulled the plug on the campaign and reverted to the old “just for the taste of it” slogan, the executive claimed the company simply decided to go in a different direction.

The lesson?

Big Food knows exactly what message it’s sending in every single one of its ads. If someone catches on to the scheme, Big Food has the public relations budget to handle damage control and the marketing budget to simply move on to another message.

2) McDonald’s Catered the California Dietetic Association’s Conference

That’s not a misprint.

According to Mother Jones, registered dietitians were eating McDonald’s for lunch. Other treats were provided by Hershey (chocolate and strawberry milk) and Butter Buds (fake butter crystals).

Presentations were delivered by:

• The Wheat Council, claiming gluten intolerance is more of a fad than a real health issue.
• The International Food Information Council, supported by Coca-Cola, Hershey, Yum Brands, Kraft and McDonald’s, trying to convince an audience that genetically modified foods are safe.
• The Corn Refiners Association, a supporter of high-fructose corn syrup, lamenting the ban of sugary snacks in schools as blown opportunity to teach moderation.

The lesson?

Big Food has so much money and influence that an association of “dietitians” can hold a conference that basically shills for junk food and beverages without allowing even a whisper of an opposing viewpoint.

3) A Frozen Food Coalition Will Try to Make You Like Frozen Food.

$30 million. Three years. That’s how far the American Frozen Food Institute is willing to go to make us think frozen foods are healthy, according to Ad Age.

“Frozen. How Fresh Stays Fresh.” That’s the name of the campaign. Seriously.

I’m all for freezing homemade, natural meals, fresh fish, meats and even fruits and vegetables. These are fresh foods.

But what frozen foods represented here are actually comprised of fresh, natural foods?

The campaign is intended to overcome negative perceptions about frozen foods, particularly related to nutritional value and taste. In this case, perception is usually reality.

But this $30 million ad campaign will attempt to tell you otherwise by manipulating the truth for their own gain.

The lesson?

Big Food doesn’t really care what you think. They’ll just spend as much money as necessary to change how you think.

The message is clear. Big Food continues to prove it cares about one thing – money.

They don’t care about your children, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer or any of the other illnesses linked to their products.

It’s up to us to use our brains, make smart decisions and reject these companies and their products in order to protect our families. This is the only way to slow the epidemic of chronic illness that’s ravaging our healthcare system and our economy.

Believe it or not, we do have the power. We just need to be willing to use it.

Dr. James Prood­ian is an accomplished chiropractic physician and health educator who founded Proodian Healthcare Family of Companies to help people feel better, function better, and live longer. His expertise for the past two decades has been in physical rehabilitation, and he has successfully established himself as a spinal specialist. In his practice, he advocates the science of functional medicine, which takes an integrative approach to treating patients by addressing their physical, nutritional, and psychological needs. Alarmed by the escalation of complex, chronic illness in our country, Dr. Proodian has been speaking to companies and organizations through his “Wellness at Work” program since 1994, motivating thousands of people to make positive lifestyle choices and lead healthier, more productive lives. He can be heard weekly on his radio program, “Proodian Healthcare By Design,” on Tandem Radio.