Photo by Brent Hofacker
America, I applaud you. In 2013, the U.S. of A is no longer the fattest kid on the international playground. This summer, a report by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization found that Mexico has surpassed the U.S. as the world’s fattest nation, beating our rate of adult obesity (31.8 percent) with a 32.8 percent.
Not saying we are in any place to start showing off our macho muscles, but with Americans paying closer attention to what they’re eating and drinking, food and beverage companies are quickly learning that certain unfamiliar additives on their packaging is inviting criticism from the public. Thanks to the web, people are shouting their concerns to the world. As a result, companies are quietly reformulating popular snacks to remove suspicious componenets.
Want an example? PepsiCo Inc. this year claimed it would stop useing brominated vegetable oil (huh? I was drinking what?) in Gatorade and find another more natural way to distribute the color in their sports drink.
With the Internet acting as a loud speaker, it is great to see people taking a stand for what goes into their bodies. My only concern is does this invite companies to become sneakier? They are already being devious by removing these additives in a way that seems like – POOF – they were never really there! My hopes are that while corporations are showing a genuine interest in the putting better ingredients in their products, we all colletively choose that apple or baby carrots instead of that unfortunate bag of baked potato lays (I mean really. Baked? You might as well at least enjoy your unhealthy snack by picking the Cheetos for goodness sake).
Smoothie Slayer 