The food industry is extremely competitive. That’s why food companies like McDonald’s, General Mills, and Kraft target children at young ages, to ensure brand loyalty as soon as possible. But this practice is inherently deceptive because young children do not have the cognitive capacity to even understand what marketing is. In response to criticism, the food industry is currently engaged in a clever charade called voluntary self-regulation, a toothless set of rules that has proven for decades to be a dismal failure. Unfortunately the federal government is going along with this non-system.

What can we do about it? Plenty. For starters, we should stop letting industry and policymakers alike scare us into thinking the First Amendment is an insurmountable barrier to regulating advertising. Eat Drink Politics can help you navigate the complex world of food marketing to children and find viable solutions to this predatory practice. We can also provide experts for litigation consulting.