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Politics of Food:

How Americans Choose What to Eat

Jennifer Kitchen

June 5, 2011

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Politics of Food

In the United States there is pride in the freedom of choice. Americans can choose what

religion to belong to. They can choose what career they want to pursue. They choose what the

purchase and when. Are they choosing on their own or are Americans persuaded to buy certain

items? How does politics play a role in the food market?

Most Americans know that the government has agencies to help protect our freedoms.

They are also aware that the foods, drugs, and other products that they purchase have been

tested and deemed safe by one government agency or another. In the U.S. people hear, watch,

and read the news. Americans know that tobacco can cause health issues because the

government made it so a warning is placed on all cigarettes and other tobacco products. The

United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls foods and drugs that are found to be

harmful and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates what kind and

how much of an emission from factories can be let into the atmosphere. So, citizens of the

United States can purchase whatever they want from the store and feel secure that what they

purchase is safe for them to use and that whatever they consume was made in a eco-friendly

way.

Yet, Americans are experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, and

cancer at alarming rates. Obesity is running rampant and children are developing diseases way

before the age of 30 when we should be seeing the onset of degenerative disease. Can the

freedom to choose play a role in these situations? The government recommends that

Americans eat less fat, sugar, and salt but many of the favorite snacks eaten in the U.S. are

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salty, sweet, and fat laden. As Americans are told to eat healthier diets the food industry stocks

the shelves with more convenience foods that are not really healthy. What does the average

American, busy pursuing their American Dream, know about food and food choices? Eating is

an activity everyone has in common and everyone has freedom in deciding what to consume

every day. To understand why Americans choose the foods they do and how it effects their

health it is important to understand the environmental factors that play a role and what ethics

and policy mean in the food industry and the government agencies that regulate them.

Environmental Factors

Today, there are more foods on the market than ever before. Americans get to choose

from a whole aisle of breakfast cereals. There is a cracker of every taste and budget. The food

industry supplies its consumers with 320,000 food products to choose from and tells them that

there is no good or bad foods, all foods can be part of a healthy diet (Nestle, 2007). How can

this be? If certain foods contain a quarter of the sodium or fat that an average person needs in

a day, how can all food be part of a healthy diet? The food industry says eat a balanced diet,

eat a variety of foods, and eat certain products in moderation (Nestle, 2007). That sounds like

something that the government said in the Dietary Guidelines. “Consumption of a balanced

variety of protein foods can contribute to improved nutrient intake and health benefits.” “Eat

a variety of vegetables.” “Choose a variety of fruits.” “If alcohol is consumed, it should be

consumed in moderation.” (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2010). The fact that the Dietary

Guidelines do not reach the population as well as the advertisements of the food companies is

one aspect that can make purchasing healthy food products more than a little confusing.

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Consumers believe that what they are purchasing is good for them and that if they follow the

recommended ‘balance, variety, and moderation’ plan when shopping and eating they will be in

good health.

Americans live in a special environment that is deceptively run by the television, radio,

and internet. The government agencies, like the FDA, EPA, and the United States Department

of Agriculture (USDA) may regulate certain aspects of the production and sale of products in the

U.S. but what Americans buy is ultimately up to them. The FDA recommends that people eat

healthy diets and get enough activity to help maintain a healthy weight but commercials make

food products look so tempting and the latest movies trailers entice people to take some more

sit-down time. Americans are told all food is good and relaxation is a necessity. As Nestle

states in Food Politics, representatives of the food industry make claims that promote

purchasing by consumers (2007). Commercials are made to promote profit not health. A

commercial for a fortified cereal tells people that the product has good nutritional value and

more fiber, which the doctor said to get more of. A box of cereal promotes what the

government says about getting more grains in the diet. The ‘nutritional label’ says the cereal

contain 100% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of more than 7 vitamins and minerals. It

must be good for them. Yet, if Americans had read the Dietary Guidelines, looked at

MyPyramid a little closer, and then read the list of ingredients they would know that the cereal

they are buying has more sugar, sodium, and fat than should be added to a healthy diet. They

may start to think that looking for whole grains instead of eating the cereal that is made from

enriched, white flour sounds like a better choice for health. Most Americans do not have a fully

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understanding of the marketing efforts made by the food industry and even less is known about

the food industries influence in the government.

Ethics and Policy

Over the past 100 years, food and government have come together. The agencies

within the government not only regulate the food industry but help to set up guidelines and

recommendations for the population on how and what to eat. In 1916, The USDA's put out its

first food guide, "Food for Young Children" and classified food into five groups: cereals,

vegetables and fruits, milk and meat, fatty foods, and sugary foods. By 1945, they gave us “The

Basic Seven” which by 1956 became “The Basic Four.” In 1979, “The Hassle-Free Guide to a

Better Diet” included the category of the foods to eat in moderation; fats, sweets, and alcohol.

In 1984, the USDA came up with the five food groups we know today and published "Food

Wheel: A Pattern for Daily Food Choices". In 1992, the wheel became the "Food Guide

Pyramid", which changed to “MyPyramid” in 2005. Now, they are ready to come out with a

new food guide called, “MyPlate”, which will highlight fruits, grains, vegetables, protein and

dairy (Stenovec, 2011). The food industry has had some pull in what has gone into these

guidelines and when they cannot get the government to convince consumers to “eat more” of

their products they try their own convincing and tell consumers that dietary advice from the

government changes to often and that government intervention in dietary choice does not fit

with democracy (Nestle, 2011). So, when the USDA says, “Enjoy your food, but eat less” (USDA,

2011) it is because the industry does not want to hear “eat less” but when the USDA says to

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enjoy the food it can mean still eat what you want to eat. Making the food industry happy also

means promoting economics and economics play a major role in politics.

With hundreds of thousands foods on the market there are more jobs needing to be

filled. The farmers grow the food, others must transport the food, then the manufacturers

make and package the food in packaging that was produced in a factory and shipped to them

from elsewhere. There is movement of food and food products by trucks, trains, planes, and

boats every day. Then the food is put on shelves or prepared behind counters to be served to

thousands of hungry, paying customers. According to Nestle, this makes for a good argument

on the side of the food industry, if people “eat less” economic harm will come to food

producers (2007). If people “eat less” meat, economic loss will be felt by producers of meat.

“Eat Less” of the foods containing sugar and salt and economic harm come to not only the

farmers of sugar cane and the miners of salt but also to the companies that produce the sugary

drinks and salty snacks. So, the food industry lobbies the government agencies and tries to

convince them that people do not need to “eat less”. Instead, the food industry and the

government agencies decide to develop fortified and functional foods, which lets the people

“eat more” (Nestle, 2007). Then the food industry spends money on marketing, from packaging

to advertisement, to convince consumers to keep eating. With this structure of institution, built

by the industry to sell more, how can the American population move away from premature

degenerative disease and the epidemic of obesity? How can Americans change their diets for a

healthier tomorrow when they still look to the commercials and the packaging for their diet and

nutrition information?

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Making a Change

Nestle lists in Food Politics, there are several “modifications of public policies” that

could help promote better dietary choices and more active lifestyle, such as discontinuing sales

of sodas and candy bars and requiring more physical education and sports in schools and

requiring all food packaging and print advertisements to include nutritional data and prohibit

misleading claims (2007). This may help but requires the government to change policies on

foods and combat the lobbying of the companies that do not desire change. Already, most

packaged foods on the store shelves are required by law to carry nutrition labeling but with raw

foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and fish labeling is by choice (FDA, 2011). Some stores do put

up information for consumers regarding the nutritional content of these raw foods but the

information is not available everywhere. According to the FDA Americans do read labels,

though, and the labels are helping people make better health choices when buying foods. Over

half of consumers in the United States when buying a product for the first time often read the

food label (FDA, 2010). People are getting wise to their nutritional needs and the links between

food choices and early degenerative diseases like heart disease and diabetes. They are

becoming aware that the saying, “you are what you eat” is not far from truth.

With this in mind, Americans have started movements that promote health and hope to

change policy. Although, there are many organizations that a person can join that promote

awareness amongst consumers and push for change in the policy making of food rules and

regulation, some of the biggest change can be made by the personal purchasing power of the

people. In the section ‘Taking Action: Voting with Forks’ of Food Politics Nestle states;

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“Our overabundant food system, a result as well as a cause of our flourishing

economy, gives most of us the opportunity to make a political statement every

time we eat – and to make a difference.”

The U.S. has a great food market. We can shop at a variety of stores and buy a variety of

products. With the American people educating themselves and purchasing foods that are truly

“healthier for you” the politics of food may be modified for the better. People can learn about

the effects of food on health when they speak with their doctors, nurses, or nutritionists. They

can gather information from books, magazines, television programs, and the internet but it is

important to research the source of information as well as the legitimacy of the claims being

made. With the knowledge of nutrition and purchasing power a difference can be made.

Each day people make choices on what to eat, but they do not often think about why

they make the decision to purchase certain products and not others. People do not think about

the policies that put an item on the shelf or the ethics of the company that made the product

for them to purchase. They only see what is shown to them in advertising and the package that

they hold as they contemplate their purchase. This is how common everyday people can make

a difference. Even people on a budget can learn how to eat healthier and it is simpler than

many would think. Taking one step to cutting junk food out of a family’s diet and learning to

make new healthy fast foods can help cut much of the over-consuming of salt, fats, and sugars

down (Paul, Segal, & Smith, 2011). Some rather easy lifestyle changes can make a World of

difference. As Americans learn to buy healthier foods and leave the fat-saturated, blood-

pressure raising, and kid-hyper-making foods on the shelf, the food industry must change. If

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people say they will no longer consume these unhealthy foods, the industry must come up with

foods that will satisfy the people, or else, they lose the bottom line, profit.

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References

United States Food and Drug Administration, (2010). Survey Shows Gains in Food-Label Use,

Health/Diet Awareness. Retrieved from

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm202611.htm

United States Food and Drug Administration, (2011). Food Label Helps Consumers Make

Healthier Choices. Retrieved from

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094536.htm

U.S. Department of Agriculture, (2010). Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.

http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture, (2011). Choose My Plate. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Stenovec, T., (2011). USDA Food Pyramid Gone: A History of Food Guides. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/02/usda-food-

pyramid_n_870457.html#s286384&title=1916_Food_For

Nestle, M., (2007). Food Politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health. CA;

University of California Press.

Paul, M. W., Segal, R., and Smith, M., (2011). Eating Well on the Cheap: saving money on

healthy food. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_on_budget.htm