Reuters Report: Big Food's Widespread Political Influence

On the heels of yesterday's post about the harmful nature of (completely unnecessary) Type 2 diabetes in children, here's additional evidence that the multibillion dollar food companies care much more about making even more money than about our health. Last week's special report ("How Washington Went Soft on Childhood Obesity") from Reuters (video and print) shows what we are fighting. But don't give up; make the better decisions for you and your family!

First, the video report (click here to watch if you are receiving The Delicious Truth via email):



And here's the start of the written report. (Click here to read the entire article.)

"In the political arena, one side is winning the war on child obesity.

"The side with the fattest wallets.

"After aggressive lobbying, Congress declared pizza a vegetable to protect it from a nutritional overhaul of the school lunch program this year. The White House kept silent last year as Congress killed a plan by four federal agencies to reduce sugar, salt and fat in food marketed to children.

"And during the past two years, each of the 24 states and five cities that considered 'soda taxes' to discourage consumption of sugary drinks has seen the efforts dropped or defeated.

"At every level of government, the food and beverage industries won fight after fight during the last decade. They have never lost a significant political battle in the United States despite mounting scientific evidence of the role of unhealthy food and children's marketing in obesity.

"Lobbying records analyzed by Reuters reveal that the industries more than doubled their spending in Washington during the past three years. In the process, they largely dominated policymaking -- pledging voluntary action while defeating government proposals aimed at changing the nation's diet, dozens of interviews show.

"In contrast, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, widely regarded as the lead lobbying force for healthier food, spent about $70,000 lobbying last year -- roughly what those opposing the stricter guidelines spent every 13 hours, the Reuters analysis showed.