Why should society permit the existence of food companies that contribute to poor health? The standard answer is that people should be allowed to make bad choices about what they eat and drink.
But that’s a slippery defense when the consumers are children and the choices they face are loaded against their wellbeing, as Thursday’s British government report on childhood obesity makes clear. The snacks industry — from Mondelez International Inc. to Coca-Cola Co. and from Nestle SA to the Kraft Heinz Company — needs to rethink its purpose, and strategy, if its license to operate is to endure.
Former U.K. chief medical officer Professor Sally Davies, the report’s author, cites multiple causes for a saddening rise in obesity among England’s 10-11-year-olds since 1990. The giant food brands are only part of the problem but that hardly absolves them from leading the solution.
As Davies says, cheap unhealthy food tends to be the most readily available. Portion inflation is rampant. Advertising or sponsorship is pervasive. Healthy options are often unaffordable for those on low incomes, while the unhealthy options are cheap.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-10/doritos-snickers-and-pizza-are-under-attack?srnd=premium-europe