I'll know they're serious about health when they put a tax on added sugar and an additional tax on high fructose corn syrup.
Until then, they're just actors on a stage
Until then, they're just actors on a stage
"High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Honey (7%), Fructose, Contains 2% or Less of: Caramel Color, Molasses, Water, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Malic Acid."
That is sugar, sugar, sugar, honey, sugar, color, sugar, water, acid, flavorant, acid. The lengths they've gone to save a literal penny are staggering.
It’s possible they use multiple types for flavor/texture reasons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some foods where it could be accomplished with sugar, but then everyone would know that the “snack” is mostly just sugar.
If memory serves, HFCS is effectively subsidized by the fact that corn is subsidized.
On the other hand, there are huge price supports for the domestic sugar industry, via import tariffs on foreign sugar.
Here in the Bay Area, I can buy a McDonalds value menu hamburger and a soda for $2, or I can buy a healthy salad at SweetGreen/Panera/Mendocino for $15-20.
If healthy food was on a level playing field, many people would choose to eat healthier.
(Now, this doesn't address the problem about rising food costs, and the macroeconomic implications hare are beyond my expertise... but surely forcing those with a low income to have to eat junk food isn't what we want as a society.)