Companies Propose Curbing Junk Food Ads for Kids

According to Fox news, food companies in the United States are proposing decreasing the amount of advertising of their unhealthier foods that are marketed to children, after rejecting a similar set of guidelines proposed to them but the Federal government.  Companies such as General Mills, ConAgra and Kellogg plan the announcement of their guidelines, saying the effort will drastically changing what they are advertising. New standards will only allow companies to advertise products that meet a minimal nutritional criteria, this could force some brands to vary their recipes to decrease sodium, fat, sugar, and calories.  Now similar foods produced by different companies will have to meet the same nutritional guidelines instead of company specific guidelines, according to Elaine Kolish of the children’s food and beverage advertisinginitiative, an industry group formed to address marketing issues. The group proposal may have been hurried along by the government effort to accomplish a similar goal.  The Federal trade commission had been directed by congress to establish voluntary guidelines for advertising junk food to children, which were issued earlier this year.  Industries were hesitant to the proposal at first, stating that the standards were too broad, and would limit marketing on items not classified as junk food, including yogurt, cereals and whole wheat breads, The government and the industry have vastly different ideas of how to set up the guidelines, with the government’s proposal stricter limits would be placed on fats, sugar, and sodium, while the industry proposes different guidelines for different foods, stating that it’s a more practical approach. Another major difference between the proposals has to do with their advertising, the government guidelines discourage the advertising of unhealthy foods in stores and on packaging, and in the media, while the industries would apply to media, but not packaging. Margo Wootan, director of nutrition at the center for science in the Publicinterest, an advocacy group praises the industry for trying to achieve common standards throughout the industry, even if she believes they will not go far enough.  Sen. Tom Harkin, a democrat from Iowa wrote the proposal for the government to develop these standards, he talks about the drastic increase in childhood obesity and how it is time for all parties to rally together to begin implementing these proposals rather than making their development into a contest.

This reminds me of when they forced Camel cigarettes to get rid of Joe Camel because he appealed to kids because he was a cartoon character.  It all boils down to blame… who’s to blame that our children do not eat a well-balanced meal? Is it McDonalds, Chef Boyardee? Wake up parents, if your child eats food that’s full of sugar, sodium, and fat it’s your fault.  It is not the food industry’s job to hand pick what you put in front of your child.  If parents weren’t so lazy they could actually cook for their families instead of incurring the extra expense of prefabricated meals or fast food.  I work full time plus and still manage to provide my child with healthy balanced meals, because it is important to me that she receive all the vitamins and minerals necessary for her continued growth and development.