Posted by PBS Mind |
Although they appear to have done it under pressure of threatened lawsuits, Kellogg has stepped up and taken a first step toward ceasing advertising of unhealthy products to children under 12, according to a report on ABC News. They're also embarking on a new, albeit flawed, labeling program for their foods that will give people nutritional information on the front of the box (I say flawed because the labeling information will be based on a 2,000 calorie [read adult] diet, even though many of the products are intended primarily for children, who require far fewer calories.)
Kudos to Kellogg for taking this first step without forcing a long court battle and without hiding behind the lack of federal regulation, of course, and like they, I hope other companies will jump on. But the darts and laurels procession doesn't stop there:
Additional laurels go to the citizens' groups (among them the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC)) who were unwilling to wait for the government to step up and protect their children's health. And darts to that government and the feckless and fettered FDA, who are, as usual, still letting corporations run amok at the expense of the health and well-being of the people they're supposed to serve.
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