Big Food: Kicking, Screaming, and Losing Lots of Money

A red flag sign of an emotionally abusive relationship is when the abuser goes to great lengths to make the abused party seem “crazy” or “ridiculous.” This is actually just an attempt to maintain power in the relationship and the behavior worsens when they sense that their victim is breaking free. They humiliate, demean, and “tease” the victim in an effort to remain in control. This is the classic pattern of a bully, whether it’s in a romantic relationship, a workplace relationship, or a parent/child relationship.

Apparently this is also how a dying multi-billion dollar industry behaves in an attempt to shame the fleeing customers.

Here’s Exhibit A, from Pepsi:

(Hat tip to John Vibes at True Activist)

This is just the most recent evidence of a trend mocking those who avoid putting processed garbage into their bodies in an attempt to do some damage control.

A couple of months back, headlines screamed about “the new eating disorder” of eating as healthfully as possible. The mainstream media (heavily funded by Big Food, of course) co-opted the very real disorder of Orthorexia Nervosa and assigned the label to folks who refused to consume junk food. They based the media blast on a study published in a Spanish medical journal that said:

Orthorexia is an obsessive-compulsive process characterized by extreme care for and selection of what is considered to be pure ‘healthy’ food. This ritual leads to a very restrictive diet and social isolation as a compensation. Orthorexics obsessively avoid foods which may contain artificial colours, flavours, preservant agents, pesticide residues or genetically modified ingredients, unhealthy fats, foods containing too much salt or too much sugar and other components. The way of preparation, kitchenware and other tools used are also part of the obsessive ritual.

Their advertisers need you to think you’re nuts, because the Big Food Beast is failing. Companies are losing money hand over fist as consumers learn the truth about their unhealthy offerings. Following is a list of companies that are grasping at anything they can get ahold of to maintain their power positions in the industry:

• ConAgra (Hunts, Swiss Miss, Chef Boy Ardee)
• Kraft (Oscar Mayer, Jell-O, Maxwell House, Velveeta)
• Kellogg
• Campbell’s Soup
• Coca-Cola
• McDonalds
• Monsanto

(sources: Here and Here)

Meanwhile, businesses that focus on healthful, wholesome, non-processed foods are on the fast track to success. Lisa Leake, the author of the book, 100 Days of Real Food, started out with a blog journaling a challenge that she and her family took to break free of processed foods. The blog is now one of the top food destinations on the web and the book is a New York Times #1 bestseller.

While the trend in the direction of real food is bad news for food “manufacturers” (those words really shouldn’t ever be used together), it’s great news for the health of our nation.

Expect to continue to see the escalation of propaganda that scoffs at healthy eaters. And every time you see it, smile. It means we’re winning.