Lappé Discusses “Food MythBusters” with Mother Jones

“The food industry is spending almost $2 billion a year marketing directly
to children and teens,” opines food industry critic Anne Lappé in an October
2, 2013, interview with Mother Jones that focuses on her latest project, Food
MythBusters. Discussing a range of topics from genetically modified organ-
isms to food marketing and farm labor practices, Lappé not only argues that the food industry “has infiltrated all aspects of our children’s lived experience, including their experience at school,” but claims that legal restrictions on food marketing and advertising are necessary to protect children’s health. She also criticizes the industry’s move toward self-regulation, alleging that such initiatives have already failed.

“Diet-related illnesses are causing nearly as many deaths as tobacco-related
illnesses, not to mention the impact on quality of life when you start to
develop adult-onset diabetes as a child, or all these other diet-related
illnesses,” concludes Lappé, whose Food MythBusters project includes an
online resource center featuring information from select food and farm
organizations.