Food Company Booths at Annual Meeting Expo

Below are images of the various food company booths at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics annual convention. See additional images of promotional emails and handouts.

Read the full report: And Now a Word From Our Sponsors.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Promoting the RD
Tweet by Andy Bellatti: No thanks, Coca-Cola.... I'd rather not be promoted by you. (Why is an RD wearing a stethoscope)

Coca-Cola to the Rescue
Tweet by Andy Bellatti: I'm so confused about nutrition! Thank goodness for Coca-Cola!

Coca-Cola - Olympic Torch
Coca-Cola congratulates Ethan Bergman (President of the Academy) for carrying the Coke-sponsored torch in the Olympics.

Coca-Cola - Dasani
Part bottle. Part Mother Nature. All progress... Right.

Coca-Cola - Providing Choices to Consumers
At the Coca-Cola booth, the company's dizzying array of products on display. At left is the Coke soda fountain, where RDs lined up for a free drink.

Coca-Cola - Providing Healthy Lifestyles
More PR spin on the most contentious issues being debated today, such as marketing to children,
Coca-Cola is positioned as being responsible and caring.

PepsiCo

Frito-Lay Healthy Snacking Research Center
Frito-Lay is promoting 'healthy snacking.' After all, who wouldn't want a 'license to snack'? Also promoting continuing education courses for RDs. (Photo by Andy Bellatti)

Frito-Lay: Simple Ingredients
At Frito-Lay booth, where this spin was: if chips only consist of potatoes, salt, and oil, they must be good for you. (PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay brands)

Frito-Lay - Tortilla Chips
At Frito-Lay booth, where spin was: Look at the simple ingredients in our snacks, so they must be good for you.

PepsiCo Foodservice
PepsiCo serving up samples of soda and other sugary beverages.

PepsiCo Tropicana
Did you know, PepsiCo owns the Tropicana line of juices too?

RDs Lined up at PepsiCo Booth
Tweet from Andy Bellatti: Pretty sure the PepsiCo booth is larger than my first NYC studio apartment.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s, the Oatmeal Company?
The McDonald's booth was very popular, thanks to the free hot oatmeal.

McDonald's Oatmeal
Tweet by Andy Bellatti: How convenient -- no mention of sugar grams. And, again, why is McDonald's at a nutrition conference? (It contains 32 grams of sugar - MS)

McDonald's Happy Meal
More spin: Each Happy Meal contains apple slices and kids fries

McDonald's Calories Sign
At the McDonald's booth was this promotion of 'under 400 calories' items, the company's latest way of spinning its products
as being good for you. As if calories is all that matters.

McDonald's Smoothie
All the images at the McDonald's booth were similar to this one: making sure RDs saw the most healthy
items on the menu. Never mind the Big Mac, McRib, etc.

Wholesome Egg McMuffin
Tweet by Andy Bellatti: An Egg McMuffin is 300 cals. OK, how many ingredients? What ingredients? How much sodium? (More than 30 ingredients, some unrecognizable; 780 mgs salt - MS)

Hershey’s

Hershey's Moderation Nation
The candy company's attempt to counter any negative criticism about its products.
The 'program' is promoted by the Academy in partnership with Hershey's.

Hershey's Scharffen Berger
Tweet by Andy Bellatti: Look! It's the Hershey's-owned brand that was banned from
Whole Foods for horrific labor violations.

Hershey's Street and Avenue?
As one of the Academy's partners, the Hershey's booth was huge.

Hershey's Chocolate Display
Much of the Hershey's booth was dedicated to spinning chocolate as healthy, never mind that most of
Hershey's products have more sugar than cocoa.

Nestlé

Nestlé House
The Nestlé booth was fashioned as a 'house' with distinct rooms. It was the largest of the entire expo, at 2,500 square feet, and for a fee of $47,200.

Nestlé Brands
One of the many displays of Nestlé's processed food products.

Nestlé Water Taste Tests
At the 'dining table' Nestlé offered water tastings. Nestlé is the world's largest seller of bottled water, which is an environmental disaster.

Nestlé-sponsored Panels
At the Nestlé booth, the company was promoting the company's numerous sponsored sessions.

Kellogg’s

Kellogg's Choose MyBowl
Kellogg's 'MyBowl' is an attempt to mimic the federal government's 'MyPlate', the icon to tell Americans how to eat right.

Kellogg's Whole Grain Pop-Tarts
Kellogg's touting Pop-Tarts and other highly processed products as healthy.

Kellogg's Truck
Kellogg's was attempting to capitalize on the growing popularity of food trucks without a hint of irony
that this trend has been driven by independent operators.

Monsanto

Monsanto 'better foods'
Photo by Andy Bellatti

Monsanto 'better seeds'
The Monsanto booth with signs touting 'better seeds.'

Monsanto's Trademarked Lettuce
As Andy Bellatti tweeted: Can you guess who has the chutzpah to trademark lettuce?

Walmart

Walmart Shelves
This was the first year Walmart had a booth at this event. Probably not the last.

Walmart - Great For You
Walmart's self-defined nutrition seal of approval.

Eat Drink Politics

Michele Simon has been writing and speaking about food politics and food industry marketing and lobbying tactics since 1996.

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Food Company Booths at Annual Meeting Expo

Coca-Cola

PepsiCo

McDonald’s

Hershey’s

Nestlé

Kellogg’s

Monsanto

Walmart

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Eat Drink Politics

Michele Simon has been writing and speaking about food politics and food industry marketing and lobbying tactics since 1996.

Global Nav

Food Company Booths at Annual Meeting Expo

Coca-Cola

PepsiCo

McDonald’s

Hershey’s

Nestlé

Kellogg’s

Monsanto

Walmart

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Join Email List

Speaking Requests

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