It seems that everyday  another report is published on America’s unhealthy eating habits. Some days its the soda tax, other times its GMOs and of interest to me today is the corporate response to obesity.

The reality is this: processed food and drink are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other health ailments. When the vast majority of products at the store are sold in a box, bag or can, the store and producer are faced with a significant challenge. Do we continue the production of these products and face the consequences? Or do we modify the product and sell “healthy” junk food?

In my utterly liberal and idealistic vision of the future, the store no longer sells processed foods. Everyone purchases mostly whole foods with the necessary canned goods throughout the colder months. To afford this pleasant reality, workers are paid living wages and food literacy and cooking skills run rampant in the community. The needed paradigm shift has occurred and people are finally connected to their food, be it backyard raised beds, institutional CSAs and massive farmers markets. Ahh…what a place! (A man can dream can’t he?)

Until this utopian vision manifests, I recognize there are some reality checks to consider. Of the many barriers between the present day and this far-off future world is the industrial food chain, both production and distribution. Between corporate food production (i.e. Kraft, Pepsico, Heinz, etc) and the chains of grocery stores (see Walmart, Costco, Safewat, Supervalu, etc) the business side of things has won the game for many, many years. And so it is with much chagrin that these corporate conglomerates face the newest consumer challenge – the demand for real food.

Real food does not come wrapped in plastic or packaged in layers of cardboard. Real food is not infused with preservatives, extra nutrients, colors or added textures. Real food comes from the dirt and animals, all of whom need to live better lives. This push for “real food” will cease to exist solely amongst the upper-educated social bracket. It is only a matter of time, a short amount I believe, before the government enforces more strict regulations. The connection is too clear to ignore.

As more people get sick – younger folks especially, something is going to have to change. Here’s an example of how corporate food producers intend on making processed food healthy:

KRAFT announces that it is voluntarily reducing the sodium in its foods by 10% by 2012.  Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese (SpongeBob package) has 580 mg sodium per serving and there are two servings in one of those small boxes: 1160 in total.  A 10% reduction will bring it down to 1050 mg within two years.  The upper recommended limit for an adult is 2300 mg/day. (Excerpt taken from Food Politics.)

So, sarcasm aside, if we take this one example of “reform” among the largest food producers in this country, I think it’s fair to say that things are going to have to get a lot worse before they get better. I suppose when everyone is obese then the government will really make an effort to read between the lines. For some reason, a mere 60% of the population just isn’t high enough for real change to begin.

Related posts:

1. Food Subsidies – Our Biggest Threat
2. Losing faith in nutrition
3. A Tax on Soda = Illogical Food Policy
4. To Tax or Not To Tax? Obesity is the Question.
5. Another Food Curriculum Project (literally)

Tags: FDA, Food Politics, Nutrition, subsidies