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Liza from Marshall Street
A modernized version of Alexis De Tocqueville's views on democracy.
The discussion of food is such a sensitive topic because it is so crucial to America and to any society. It is the one thing that affects and influences everything we do as humans. Food and nutrition have an unlimited amount of benefits and they fulfill their jobs entirely. However, America’s food system does fall short. Its faults could catch up to us in the near future if we don’t reflect upon the situation now. The predicament is that large food businesses and corporations are spending entirely too much money on food advertising that usually tends to attract to the younger generation. This is specifically what causes children’s obesity rates to be so high.
The government is lacking action in the FDA which is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are responsible for providing public health, safety, and security for the people through food supply, cosmetics, products, etc. They are also in charge for food marketing, manufacturing - like with advertisements. The democracy lies within the government and FDA in which they are having subtle but yet extremely relevant power over citizens in America within the food system. These people of authority are taking advantage of basic regulations and using their power to the point where they aren’t fulfilling their jobs. The government is allowing the FDA to come up with this advertising system that seems to be working for them but isn’t working for the audience it is affecting.
Children typically below the ages of 12 are the ones endorsing these food advertisements the most; without knowing that the information is completely convincing while also being very misleading. The food commercials are what cause children to eat unhealthy foods while having the mindset that what they are eating is acceptable because the commercial says so.
How Does the Media Influence Childhood Obesity?
McDonald’s spends over $900 million dollars every year on advertising. And even companies that sell foods that aren’t as dangerous as fast foods still make their way on TV and billboards; like for Kellogg's cereal that typically contain over 10 grams of sugar per serving. Although we might be thankful that there are other food advertisements besides strictly fast food restaurants, one shouldn’t be so quick to jump for victory. Despite what perspective you use to look at the matter, food advertisements are taking over; specifically in the lives of children.
"I personally would suggest that we should make it easier for kids to make the right choices. Kids are easily influenced by what they see," said Dr. Steven Abrams, a nutrition expert. Children from the ages of 8 to 18 consume 44.5 hours of media weekly and more than one third of the children in the U.S. are overweight according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its a natural impulse and given fact that there is a correlation between the amount of unhealthy food advertisements adolescents watch and the amount of weight they are regularly gaining. Most children under the age of 6 years old wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between their favorite cartoon and a commercial about how good a burger tastes. This is why they endorse, remember, and enjoy whichever one is displayed on the TV screen in the same manner. It is clear these programs influences the actions they take on the foods they eat because they appreciate the fast food commercials just as equally as any of the other programs they watch. And children under 8 years old don’t know the difference between normal dialogue and persuasive content; being completely unaware that are being encouraged to actually the burger that looks so good on the commercial break.
Commercials of food advertisements have been incorporated into too many daily lives which is why the problem appears almost invisible at first glance but is actually something that is taking a tole on anyone’s health status. Therefore, it is acceptable to point fingers at the government for not insisting on providing a rule for there to be a limit on how much money a company can invest on advertisements.
Those working for the FDA are the ones that have hands-on control of what type of advertisements are displayed on TV for our food system. Those working for the government are the ones that have hands-on control of the FDA and they need to draw the line more clearly. The government is pushing the FDA to make harsher regulations for what is or isn’t acceptable as a food advertisement. These people of power are failing to realize the relationship that is shared between what children see on media and how they behave in society. Even a matter of what food you eat is a behavior that needs to be tamed. The government shouldn’t be hesitated to create rules for the FDA to follow. No adolescent under the age of 18 should be consuming any type of media that might encourage them to eat unhealthy. Despite the fact that children, adults, and families eat unhealthy for economic reasons, the FDA shouldn’t be feeding (literally) their audiences another reason for individuals to invest their money into something that is never going to benefit them in any form.
The matter at hand is that the FDA has a deep position of power in our country but they need to remind themselves why they are doing it. Their responsibility is to maintain human’s safety in regards to their public health. The FDA is not meeting this requirement if they are steering those that they accountable for in the wrong direction; whether they have the authority or not. The FDA and the government’s title of authority should be used as an advantage to make sure there is no longer a relationship between media filled with non-nutritious foods and child obesity rates.