Fat Frenzy

Another from Now -- I've ranted on this topic before -- the marketing of junk food and supersize meals in North America -- especially the US. (It always shocks me when I'm in the US, and I order a meal, the amount of food that is delivered.) The North America food industry spends #34bb a year in advertising for their $1.3tt market -- that accounts for a bulk of the $40bb a year the entire world spends on advertising foods, and for the North American population bulking up faster than the rest of the world. Every year 10,000 new food products join the 320,000 already on shelves. The article points out Oreo cookies. In 1990, there were only 6 varieties -- today? 27. How many ways can they make Oreos? Probably a lot more. How do we fight this? It's easy. Stop eating so friggin' much! We really don't need to consume so much food. North America produces an excess that it doesn't need. Unfortunately, the economics of the food industry drives them to jam more food down our throats. It would be a simple matter however to divert some of that excess to developing nations where the food is needed. And the food industry can make money from it. Just as long as they don't try to make some poor 3rd world country a slave to their marketing.