“Big Food” Critic Skeptical of Industry Promises to Make Healthier Products

Public health attorney and author Michele Simon has authored an article that calls disingenuous at least one food company’s promise to support first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to end childhood obesity. Simon targets PepsiCo, which has publicly supported the campaign and also makes sweetened beverages, energy drinks and salty snack foods. The company’s CEO has reportedly indicated that it is investing in new sweeteners and salt-reduction technologies to improve its products. According to Simon, this means “the company is hard at work trying to engineer healthy Cheetos.” She concludes, “PepsiCo makes processed food, which is no basis for proper diet in any culture. Nature provides true nourishment in the form of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and no corporate mantra can improve on that.” See AlterNet, June 2, 2010.