Constant Crap: Food Advertising Aimed At Children
The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report yesterday of its study of television advertising in America aimed at children.
The findings showed that American kids view several commericals a day on average, the largest proportion of which are for food products. Below are the shocking numbers:
What's even more troubling is the kind of so-called food that is being marketed to children - almost all of it is artifical, processed and unhealthy.
What level of damage is this massive barrage of marketing mind control doing to our children?
As a parent of three children below the age of 15, I sometimes find myself struggling to help them develop the attitudes and knowledge they need to make smart choices about eating. And my kids DO NOT watch very much television, so they are not being exposed to these food ads for the most part.
Unfortunately, advertising crap to children is just the tip of the iceberg of a bigger problem that this country has with its dysfunctional perceptions and attitudes about food. McDonald's is revered more than reviled as an icon of American values - i.e., the quick, the easy, the convenient, the standardized and the profitable.
It's free enterprise. Anything goes. Let the market decide. Freedom of speech. Allow the consumer to choose. Yeah right. Continue using advertising to seduce kids and adults into consuming nutritionally deficient and unhealthy food. Let big corporations define our values. Make a bundle doing it. That's the American way.
The findings showed that American kids view several commericals a day on average, the largest proportion of which are for food products. Below are the shocking numbers:
What's even more troubling is the kind of so-called food that is being marketed to children - almost all of it is artifical, processed and unhealthy.
What level of damage is this massive barrage of marketing mind control doing to our children?
As a parent of three children below the age of 15, I sometimes find myself struggling to help them develop the attitudes and knowledge they need to make smart choices about eating. And my kids DO NOT watch very much television, so they are not being exposed to these food ads for the most part.
Unfortunately, advertising crap to children is just the tip of the iceberg of a bigger problem that this country has with its dysfunctional perceptions and attitudes about food. McDonald's is revered more than reviled as an icon of American values - i.e., the quick, the easy, the convenient, the standardized and the profitable.
It's free enterprise. Anything goes. Let the market decide. Freedom of speech. Allow the consumer to choose. Yeah right. Continue using advertising to seduce kids and adults into consuming nutritionally deficient and unhealthy food. Let big corporations define our values. Make a bundle doing it. That's the American way.
posted by Tony DiRomualdo at 5:14 AM
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