Food companies everywhere are facing the people-- overly enthusiastic zealots want the government to interfere and stop them from advertising to children. This is unethical because it isn’t the government’s concern to say what companies can and can’t advertise. Furthermore, the government doesn’t have the power to decide what food companies say; on the contrary, they would just be creating trouble for everyone. Furthermore, the economic impact would be devastating! The food industry is more important than people realize. It is food companies’ right to be able to advertise to whoever they want, however they want.
In the first place, in order to fully understand and explore the problem, it is critical to fully comprehend the government’s role in these regulations. The United States has long shown its support for stifling food companies advertisements. In a country that claims to show complete and total support for free speech (The Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of
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And although other countries, including Sweden, have already placed a ban on child-targeted food advertising, the fact that they do not have obligations to allow citizens-- or anyone in the country, for that matter-- express themselves freely provides a perspective on the fact. Furthermore, the government tried in the 1960s to regulate food advertising, but advocation stopped them.Supersize Me, a 2004 documentary, also states that (in 2004) instead of regulating food companies, the “Cheeseburger Bill” was passed, saying it is illegal to sue food companies for making you obese. That’s right; a bill passed in the favor of the companies that the government tried to restrain only a few decades ago! Not only is it unethical to stop companies from advertising, it’s improbable that the government will actually succeed. In addition to these points, the fact that the United States should be
From cartoon and sports to having the toys in meals in a huge display and lowered. There are even advertisements that trick adults. They are convincing, but it can all be stopped with just simple reminders that it’s not real or it’s not good to have this in your body. These reminders can help America become less obese and more health conscious and can even affect the way children think as they grow up surrounded by them. The United States is slowly increasing its awareness of the condition that it is in by companies improving foods and people paying more attention to the nutrition’s in foods. Also many food companies have died down on television advertising for kids, but it is still found in other expressed ways. While it is okay to advertise the question of is it okay to advertise to children is still not answered. It all depends on the consumers what is right and wrong and how to approach each product. Obesity from these products can be cured by hard exercise, but this is not recommended for children. It is more efficient for children to just eat healthy as they are still growing each day. So the next time an ad pops up on the screen and that little girl or boy is focused on it try to explain to them by reading the ingredients or the nutrition label why they should not eat it often. With small steps like these children
There should be limit’s that stop’s food companies from promoting themselves as appealing when in reality their food products are a hazard to our bodies. As Barboza states in his article “There is a need to set specific standards on what is marketed to children…” we are in agreement that, what ever kids see on T.V. or being marketed, they want it! As a child I remember that I wanted many things I saw on T.V. like Carl's Jr, Lucky Charms, Mcdonald's, Gushers, ect… When eating these food products, as you get older it affects your health. A good
Obesity in the United States, which the media has labeled a national crisis, has also been connected to poverty rates. Big fast food industry’s target poor communities, and spend millions of dollars each year to create advertising that appeals to these specific areas. These industry’s also target naïve children when advertising because they know that eating habits developed in childhood are usually carried into adulthood. Children who are exposed to television advertisements for unhealthy food and who are not educated well enough on good nutrition will grow up and feed their families the same unhealthy foods they ate as kids. A big way fast food giants are able to make certain young people have access to unhealthy food is by strategically placing franchises in close proximity to schools. They will often place three times as many outlets within walking distance of schools than in areas where there are no schools nearby. The way fast food advertising is targeted towards children is very alarming considering how important good nutrition is for young people and how a child’s eating habits can affect their growth and
Any agency that uses children for marketing schemes spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year worldwide persuading and manipulating consumer’s lifestyles that lead to overindulgence and squandering. Three articles uncover a social problem that advertising companies need to report about. In his research piece “Kid Kustomers” Eric Schlosser considers the reasons for the number of parents that allow their children to consume harmful foods such as ‘McDonalds’. McDonalds is food that is meant to be fast and not meant to be a regular diet. Advertising exploits children’s needs for the wealth of their enterprise, creating false solutions, covering facts about their food and deceiving children’s insecurities.
Crouse, Janice Shaw. "The Fast-Food Industry Intentionally Markets Unhealthy Food to Children." Fast Food. Ed. Tracy Brown Collins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, and the reasons are quite obvious. Take a look around. Fast food chains on every block, more and more technology to make our lives easier, and high amount of stress are just a few factors to weight gain in our country. There are many different views on obesity and how the people think it should be resolved, whether it's government making the change or the people taking care of themselves. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Are we doing enough to bring these statistics down? No. In the last 40 years, there has been a growth to more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America (“Adolescent and School Health”). Restaurants (such as Wendy's, McDonald's etc.) serve more than 50 million people per day, generating about 65 million in sales annually. Only since obesity has become a national epidemic have fast food restaurants changed their ways. But we need to do more than just change the kind of oil the french fries are fried in. Better yet, why don't we remove, or intensely decrease the number of the unhealthy fast food chains, and spread more healthy fast food chains, such as Subway? Is it something government could take act in? Should the United States government take measures to fight the rise of obesity in the country, or are choices concerning diet and nutrition better left to the individuals, free of government interference?
It is the parent’s choice if they want to but the product. “There are no true legal grounds to support it, and honestly, everyone has a right to choose. Eating junk food is a life choice and should not be ashamed. It’s also a double edged sword to put forth a ban on ads and could hurt the industry.”(Should junk food) There is no good reason to ban junk food and fast food ads. “Junk food ads should not be banned during children’s programming because it’s the parents who should regulate what their kids eat or watch, not the companies.”(Should junk food) It is also not the company’s responsibility to keep the kids healthy but it i...
Worcester Polytechnic Institution. "Fast Food Marketing to Children." Public Health Communication. (2007). http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-082107-231740/unrestricted/Appendix_1.pdf (accessed February 17, 2014).
Nestle, discloses information on public policy, how the food industry is one of the largest and most powerful industries, making profits of $1.3 trillion dollars on an annual basis. The article covered information on school food as well as strategies for change. Change can only come with cooperation and unity. In the meantime, children can be introduced to healthy foods and taught about the consequences of junk food (processed foods). Nestle, M. (2002).
Food advertising to children is a controversial issue that is considered as a source of attention to many investigators and analysts due to its influential impact on children’s food choices and parents buying behavior. Food advertising is the primary type of advertising that people go through on a daily basis. Nowadays, the industry of food advertising is growing enormously in the middle east region and Malaysia as a result of the huge amount of food advertisements, especially junk food ads that reach people directly and indirectly through various mediums that deliver advertising contents to the audience. Children and youth are the main target audience for fast food advertisers, mainly because of their purchasing influence, exposure to TV and
We all find ourselves in situations where we stop growing. Regardless of our training status (beginner or advanced) we all come to a grinding halt at some point in time and for whatever reason, we can't seem to get our bodies back on track. It's frustrating because no matter how hard we train or how much we eat, our bodies refuse to grow. What's the problem? I've got some news for you; the problem may not be you but rather your weight training routine.
McGinnis, J. Michael., Jennifer Appleton. Gootman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2006. Print.
Most women have been through that ‘weight loss phase”, where they spend tons of time effort and even money trying to lose weight. Being skinny was in and celebrity models like Kate Moss were plastered all over the television screen. Everyone wanted to be skinnier that a rail. Not today, woman now are more comfortable with their body and shape. They can take pride in the curves and contours.
The food industry use advertisements to promote the product they are selling to the future consumers. Even though there are advertisements that do promote healthy eating and organic snacks, they are not as numerous and tend to attack a smaller audience. The food industry is unethical because of the chemicals they use in their products and the advertisements manipulate their consumers in to buying junk food products.
There are others who disagree with people like myself and don’t believe that food advertising should be banned. When the AAP, CSPI and other companies bashed food advertisers and recommended a ban on TV food ads others obviously had something to say about the issue. According to the article “AAP urges ban of TV food ads for children” the author states that “GMA and others dismissed CSPI’s suggestion in as early as June” (par.2) they said “It was a rehash of the same arguments made by the same people” (par.2). The FTC said that the AAP’s recommendation goes too far and it isn’t necessary for food advertising to be banned. I believe it is ridiculous for the FTC to say that these recommendations are going too far and are unnecessary. You never go beyond when you make recommendations that can only benefit our society and that’s what I believe these companies were doing. There are overwhelming statistics that prove the point that I am in favor of. According to Bill McConnel “Today 15% of children age 6 and older are overweight, more than double the proportion two decades ago” (1). These stats have only increased since the rise of advertisers targeting a large percentage of young people. Even worse now more than ever conditions that were once limited to adults are now hitting today’s