Posts Tagged ‘McDonald’s’
Posted on Tuesday, July 9th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Last month, I participated in an important panel at a childhood obesity conference to discuss the current strategy backed by some advocacy groups: asking industry to market “healthier” foods to children. But as Susan Linn and I recently argued, any marketing to children is harmful, regardless of the product’s nutritional content. Instead of begging corporations to tweak the grams of sugar, fat and salt that these highly processed junk foods contain, we should demand that industry stop exploiting children altogether. Some advocates argue this approach is too radical. But it’s actually far more practical and ultimately more effective because of certain key tactics that industry uses to target children.
Read rest at Corporate Accountability International.
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: Big Food, child nutrition, childhood obesity, Corporate Accountability International, McDonald's, targeted marketing, voluntary self-regulation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Last week at a childhood obesity conference, I participated in an important panel to discuss what has become a controversial strategy among some advocates for children’s health: calling on industry to market “healthy” food to children.
As Susan Linn and I explained in our recent article, any marketing to children is deceptive and harmful; it doesn’t matter what the product is.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Marketing to Children | Tagged: Big Food, childhood obesity, fast food, General Mills, Kellogg, McDonald's, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Monday, June 17th, 2013 by Michele Simon
By Susan Linn and Michele Simon
In response to the public outcry over the negative impacts of junk food marketing to children, food companies have started using popular media characters to market “healthy” foods to children. These products include fruits and vegetables, as well as processed food. So we now have Campbell’s Disney Princess “Healthy Kids” soup, Kellogg’s Scooby-Doo! cereal (with less sugar), and others.
But is this really progress?
The developmental vulnerabilities of children, along with the legal, ethical, and political pitfalls of encouraging the food industry to target kids, make marketing food to children harmful regardless of nutritional content.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Marketing to Children | Tagged: Big Food, child nutrition, childhood obesity, fast food, Kellogg, McDonald's, voluntary self-regulation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (30) |
Posted on Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Last week at McDonald’s annual shareholder’s meeting, CEO Don Thompson got caught off-guard when a team of 15 advocates, led by Corporate Accountability International, descended upon corporate headquarters to question the fast food leader’s relentless exploitation of children and communities of color.
Read rest at Corporate Accountability International ….
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children | Tagged: child nutrition, childhood obesity, fast food, junk food, McDonald's, nutrition labeling, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Sign at Mom’s Organic Market
As the frequent bearer of bad news about the food industry, I am thrilled to share a positive story. Last month, MOM’s Organic Market, a small retail chain based in the Baltimore area, announced it would stop carrying products featuring children’s cartoon characters:
Products ranging from Dora the Explorer frozen soybeans to Elmo juice boxes will be discontinued and replaced with organic alternatives in cartoon-free packaging.
Company CEO Scott Nash blogged last August about how his young daughter begged for a cereal she never tasted because of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” on the box, putting the store’s policy into motion. The company sent me this list of discontinued items, which includes numerous Earth’s Best products, along with a few other natural food companies.
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Posted in Child Nutrition, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children | Tagged: advertising regulation, McDonald's, public relations, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 by Michele Simon
2/28 Postscript: In happy news, Tara Marino reports that after an exchange with Lauren Fox (social media manager for AND), she will be reinstated. Fox claimed that Marino’s comments were not the reason for her removal but rather AND was deleting all non-members of the Academy. Marino provided her member number, which cleared things up. However, still no word back from the California affiliate.
I received the following email from registered dietitian Tara Marino who says she was recently “deleted” from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics LinkedIn group after expressing support for my report on the organization’s questionable corporate sponsors. (See previous post on a similar silencing attempt.)
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Posted in Alcohol Policy, Big Food, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, co-opting science, deceptive health claims, McDonald's, public relations, targeted marketing, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (5) |
Posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 by Michele Simon
A colleague sent me the following email message that went out to members of the Missouri Dietetics Association (MDA). I think it pretty much speaks for itself. See note at the end, which includes: “Do not reply to this message, as this is not a discussion forum.” Obviously not. Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Public Health | Tagged: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kellogg, McDonald's, public relations, targeted marketing, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Friday, December 7th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last week, the National League of Cities, which represents over 19,000 cities, villages and towns, hosted its annual meeting in Boston, with one of its three aims to “strengthen neighborhoods and families.” What better way to accomplish that goal than to challenge fast food’s influence in their communities? While a couple of conference sessions featured First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program, missing from the agenda was the role fast food plays in communities. That’s why Corporate Accountability International released a report and action guide earlier this year called “Slowing down fast food: A policy guide for healthier kids and families” – to fill this void. Read rest at Corporate Accountability International…
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Public Health | Tagged: Corporate Accountability International, fast food, Let's Move, McDonald's, zoning restrictions | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 by Michele Simon
This week, the New York City Board of Health is expected to approve Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to limit the size of sugary soft drinks. Motivated by rising diet-related chronic diseases (along with healthcare costs), the mayor’s attempt to rein in out of control portion sizes caused quite a media firestorm. Predictably, the soda lobby has come out swinging, complete with an industry front group called, “New Yorkers for Beverage Choices.”
A better name would be, “Soda Pushers for Continued Profits.”
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: Coca-Cola, front groups, McDonald's, New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last week McDonald’s Canada posted a video on YouTube entitled, “Behind the scenes at a McDonald’s photo shoot,” which purports to answer a question from a customer on why McDonald’s food looks different in ads than it does in reality. So to answer this question, Hope Bagazzi, director of marketing for McDonald’s Canada takes us on a tour of how the food stylists with the company’s advertising firm prepare a cheeseburger and how that differs from what it really looks like. The idea, so it appears, is to be transparent and honest about how McDonald’s portrays its food in advertisements.
The video has gone viral, inching toward six million views. I even tweeted it myself. But one of my followers who lives in Vancouver, Anne Rosenberg was not fooled. She sent me the following email:
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Posted in Big Food | Tagged: advertising regulation, marketing practices, McDonald's, public relations | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (5) |
