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Dear PR person who is making money marketing products that help make our kids fat and unhealthy
As PR people become more and more aware of blogs, and more and more aware of what a nice marketing tool they can be, more and more of them offer to send me products in the hopes that I’ll talk about them.
Which is how the next product ended up on my desk.
Stamped with the USDA Organic label and calling itself “Organic Smooshed Fruit,” you would think FruitaBü would be the amazing new snack product we have been searching for and searching for on behalf of our obese kids.
But then we flip the box over and look at the only facts that count, the ingredient list.
FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit Fruit Twirls, Smooshed Strawberry ingredients
Organic Apple Puree Concentrate, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Organic White Grape Juice Concentrate, Organic Strawberry Puree Concentrate, Organic Apple, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Citrus Pectin, Natural Strawberry Flavor, Fruit Juice for Color, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Acerola Cherry Extract (Natural Vitamin C), Soy Lecithin
Sugars galore!
This is how they get fruit concentrates. They essentially take a nice, healthy, piece of fruit and cook the sh!t out of it until what you have left is fruit flavored sugars.
In her book, What to Eat, Marion Nestle, Ph.D. says
“‘Fruit concentrate,’ according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, is a euphemism for sugars.”
Not one, not two, not even three, but the first four ingredients are concentrates. Heck, it would be cheaper to give your kids a big old bowl of white sugar and a shovel.
Dear very nice PR person who represents this company
Our kids are fat. They are fat, in part, because of the preponderance of companies making what are essentially sugary desserts and equating them with healthy fruits. And they are fat because you are helping these companies market these sugars.
If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem
So I have a question for you, PR person: Why on earth would you represent a client like this?
Shame.
Comments
4 Responses to “Dear PR person who is making money marketing products that help make our kids fat and unhealthy”
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because it might be a part o f their job. just because they represent the company doesn’t mean that they are bad people themselves… think about lawyers who have to represent the guiltiest of convicts. they shouldn’t be considered guilty as well. now, that being said, I completely agree with everything that you said, but people are entitled to buy whatever they want. if the world only served real “healthy” food, half of the food industry would be out of business.
I guess I am wondering what the world would be like if everyone took responsibility. If actors refused to act in commercials with questionable products. If store owners refused to sell them, if manufacturers refused to make them, if truck drivers refused to ship them, and if PR people refused to promote them.
In short, if everyone refused to make a buck off hurting their neighbors.
What a healthier world we would all live in.
yes, isn’t it sad that money really does make the world go round.
I don’t buy any juice that only has 10% vitamins. What’s the point? I drink juice to get vitamins, why drink juice without it?
It’s like cleaning a room by shoving everything into the closet. It looks like it’s doing something, but it’s just a waste of time and energy.