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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Junk Food Companies Say Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Is a 'Job Killer'
  • Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:34:48 -0700


Junk Food Companies Say Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Is a 'Job Killer'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donald-cohen/food-marketing-guidelines-job-killers_b_1103511.html

An effort to get American children to eat more fruits and vegetables should,
even in hyper-polarized Washington, be a no-brainer. Last week, Congress
declared pizza sauce to be a vegetable in school lunches. Now, major food
manufacturers are escalating their attacks against healthy food, calling
proposed food marketing guidelines "job killers" that will devastate the
American economy.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission, along with three other
federal agencies (FDA, CDC and USDA), released a set of proposed voluntary
guidelines for marketing food to children to reduce sugars, fats and salts
and increase fruits, whole grains and vegetables in the diets of American
youth. In 2008, led by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Tom Harkin (D-IA),
Congress asked for the recommendations to address the nations' growing
obesity crisis among our nation's youth.

Studies show that one-third of all children aged 10 to 17 are overweight or
obese. In the past three decades rates have more than doubled among kids aged
2 to 5 and more than tripled among those ages 6 through 11. The incidence of
"adult onset" diabetes in children and youth has more than doubled in the
past decade.

A coalition of major manufacturers of processed foods, fast-food chains and
the media industry that depends on their advertising dollars are spending
millions to derail the proposed guidelines. The FTC has already started to
trim the proposal in response to the lobbying blitzkrieg but industry wants
to go ever further. They want to use an industry-designed scheme that would
declare Chocolate Lucky Charms, Marshmallow Pebbles and Cookie Crisp cereals
as healthy.

But despite industry claims these guidelines are not mandatory regulations;
they are voluntary guidelines developed by an independent committee of
nutrition experts about how we can improve children's health.

That hasn't stopped industry predictions of economic disaster. According to
comments filed by General Mills' to Interagency Working Group "the economic
consequences [of the guidelines] for American consumers and American
agriculture would be devastating." They also predict "severe" economic
consequences for the media industry and their employees.

They argue that the voluntary guidelines would cause consumers to eat more
fruits and vegetables produced in other countries and therefore fewer grains
grown in America. According to research funded by the Grocery Manufacturers
of America, "demand for fruits and vegetables would increase by 1009 percent
and 226 percent respectively" resulting in almost $500 billion more spent on
imported food and $30 billion less on domestically grown grain.

Even if the voluntary guidelines were that effective and their study was
accurate, it's an audacious marketing spin to turn an overwhelmingly positive
victory for public health into a big government, job-killing attack on
freedom.

Another industry-funded study claimed that the voluntary guidelines would
result in the loss of 74,000 jobs. An analysis by the Economic Policy
Institute found the study riddled with "implausible" assumptions, historical
inconsistencies and incomplete analyses of potential impacts to both the
industry and economy as a whole. For example, the industry study assumes,
without justification, a 20 percent decline in advertising and completely
ignores the likely scenario in which companies shift advertising to other
products or audiences. It also ignores the fact that there has been no
negative economic impact since the industry adopted its own guidelines in
2006. In fact, EPI concludes that the guidelines could have no impact on jobs
or could even lead to job growth in other parts of the economy.

Finally, General Mills adds that the food companies' $1.6 billion in
advertising expenditures "would go up in smoke." "$1.6 billion in economic
activity cannot disappear without an impact on people's jobs and livelihoods"
they wrote.

While it's impossible to believe that food conglomerates wouldn't redirect
their advertising dollars, it's even harder to think that media companies
wouldn't find other buyers. In fact, they've done it before. When Congress
banned tobacco ads on TV and radio in 1970 media companies stood to lose $220
million in annual cigarette advertising. Like their counterparts today, the
networks, and broadcasters associations lobbied hard alongside big tobacco
against the ban.

The media industry did fine. Total TV and radio advertising sales has
increased every year before the ban and after. According to media analysts,
in 1969 ad expenditures on TV and radio were $4.85 billion. In 1972, they
were $5.7 billion.

For decades, industries have opposed laws, rules and even basic consumer
information that have made us all healthier. At every step they predict
disaster but, in fact, they respond with new ideas and innovations, and we
all benefit. These voluntary guidelines merely suggest a path that industry
should embrace and applaud.





  • [Livingontheland] Junk Food Companies Say Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Is a 'Job Killer', Tradingpost, 12/05/2011

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