Obesity is the number one health concern in the United States today. Over recent years, this epidemic has particularly affected children. Some activists and health concern groups demand that the government takes some responsibility for the problem. We know the problem, but what has caused it? One obvious reason is the rise in processed food consumption that large companies are so adamant on pushing the public to buy. These companies include Kraft, Nabisco, Frito-Lay, and many others. They sell foods that are high in fat, saturated fat, simple sugars, cholesterol, and basically everything that the government tells us is unhealthy. The number one demographic that is advertised to is children. .
So few healthy options are available to children today. School cafeterias, fast food restaurants, and grocery stores are full of junk food; food low in nutrients, but full of fat, sugar, and calories. Most foods purchased today are processed and loaded with extra "stuff" that isn't needed. Less than 1% of the money government gives to farmers goes to fruits and vegetables that are consumed by citizens. Most (almost 70%) goes to corn farming. The corn is used mostly to feed animals that are eaten by the public. The rest is used to make oil and high-fructose corn syrup; the ingredients that make processed food so high in fat and sugar. The government basically endorses, with its funding, unhealthy ingredients in food, and spends no time or money developing a surplus of healthy fruits and vegetables. It is estimated that if every American ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by the government-endorsed Food Guide Pyramid, the number of acres used to farm them would have to double. That kind of under-production is unheard of in a country that produces more per person than any other country. .
Why is this so? The only reason any policy exists without challenge or change: money.
