Kraft Foods, Inc. hides behind fat kids

It’s no secret that American kids, like adults, are getting dangerously fatter and fatter. In… It’s no secret that American kids, like adults, are getting dangerously fatter and fatter. In fact, we’re the fattest nation on Earth. A combination of sedentary entertainment options and dino-sized portions of macro-cheese and mega-pie are contributing to the epidemic porking-up of the country, and the health risks are indisputably startling.

It would seem that any attempt by a food manufacturer or marketer to stop the insanity would be a step in the right direction.

That’s not necessarily the case.

Kraft Foods, Inc., the nation’s largest food manufacturer, announced, this week, its plans to combat childhood obesity by investigating limits on portion sizes and eliminating in-school marketing.

That means no more Oreo book covers, no Nabisco posters, no Easy Mac scoreboards and no product samples or contests in the classroom.

While Kraft will consider changing sizes of their snack-packs, the treats will still be available in vending machines in schools.

It may seem like a noble effort on the face of this Phillip-Morris owned behemoth, but in reality, Kraft is hiding behind fat kids.

To say that sponsorship of a scoreboard causes obesity is absurd. Given the choice between an apple and a cookie, just about any kid is going to choose a cookie, regardless of who paid for the scoreboard at school. A recent study, done by researches at the University of Minnesota and published by the American Public Health Association, shows that kids prefer cookies to apples, no contest.

Slimming down marketing efforts is an easy way to pocket more cash. It’s not, however, a benevolent outreach toward children’s health.

If Kraft were truly concerned with wellness, they could change how they spend their in-school marketing dollars. Sink some cash into athletic equipment. Publish food guide pyramids. Heck, make some healthy food.

As ridiculous as they seem to us now, corporate lawsuits are becoming reality. What if, 10 years from now, junk-food giants are on the receiving end of tobacco-style liability judgments, saying they knew all along they were purveying a dangerous product and marketing it directly to kids, in schools, no less?

How convenient it would be for Kraft to mention this anti-obesity initiative, this juggling of marketing dollars – because rest assured they will still reach children through advertising, in schools or not – as proof of their honorable, healthy intentions.