Marketing food to children | Anna Lappe | TEDxManhattan

Author, activist, and Project Director of the Food MythBusters, Anna Lappe takes on the billion-dollar business of marketing junk food, soda, and fast food to children and teens. With diet-related related illnesses alarmingly on the rise, pervasive marketing of junk food to kids is downright dangerous. The food industry says its up to parents to raise healthy kids. Lappe agrees, that's why she says leave parenting to her--and the millions of moms and dads trying to raise healthy kids. Learn about the dubious marketing tactics of the junk food giants and the ways you can fight back to promote kids' health.

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[DavidElliottLewis]

Bravo. Great speech. My favorite quote was a statement to be made to the fast food industry - "my children, all of our children are none of your business."

[erikasanchez]

We need more education for the parents too. I have a friend's ex that brought up her daughter to be vegetarian, yet every time I made broccoli, squash, zucchini, the child would ask "what's that?" she would not eat it either. Child told me the mother is never home never cooks for them, child thought mac and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches were vegetarian food.

[rosagorda]

In my school (I am an English teacher), we are studying the effects of marketing to children, and we are writing expository essays about it.

[katimuri]

When my girl attended a public school in DC, we the parents were bombarded by the school, which compelled us to bring Box Tops points. They needed millions of points to get a few hundred dollars. When a parent (obese and diabetic) mentioned in a casual conversation that her son urged her to buy lots of candy so they could bring the points to help the school, I paid attention to which products offered those points. MANY were very unhealthy foods, such as Betty Crocker brownies. Perverse.

[awakened]

Anna.... I HAVE TO SAY I AM BLOWN AWAY!!! This is the first youtube channel I have ever subscribed to. YOU ARE AN AMAZING SPEAKER!!! I AM 42 AND I DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN BUT I KNOW FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY SOUL THAT I WILL LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE WORKING TOWARDS OPENING PEOPLE'S EYES TO THE ATROCITIES OF WHAT THE FDA AND THE PHARMACOLOGICAL INDUSTRY IS DOING TO THE WORLD!!!! THANK YOU!!!

[mollykyb]

It's true that her point is compelling and important without making it personal. Unfortunately, not everyone is as able to see/feel that, and her strategy of trying to make it personal for those who don't already get it is a good one.

[shelleyblade]

This is obviously all true and well spoken and well researched but ... the truth is this speaker's children will be healthy because she teaches them to think critically, not because there aren't logos on their bus. I respect the effort, I truly do. But we SHOULDN'T stop free press and marketing is free press. We CAN teach our children to discern and to think for themselves about anything and everything! They're so wise. They'll save themselves from us. I have hope.

[paperclip]

Kids aren't idiots, they just don't know any better. I saw a car commercial once when I was really little, it convinced me real quick that the car was super awesome with cool gadgets and features, but once I knew that companies just try to fool you into thinking its super awesome so they can make money, I knew better than to believe commercials. You can't just act like showing a kid a coke commercial is gonna make them drink more coke. First, you gotta tell them why companies have commercials in the first place. Then, you gonna tell them why soda isn't healthy. Don't assume kids are all idiots who can be so easily manipulated. There are a lot of smart children out there, but no one has told them that coke and mcdonalds is unhealthy so they have no way of knowing! 
Besides, kids don't even have the money to buy coke, or happy meals. The only way a kid is gonna end up consuming a whole bunch of junk food is if someone gives it to them. Companies should be allowed to market their products. The problem isn't some dumb advertisements. The problem is the lack of education and the fact that people don't have a whole lot of time and money. Its cheap and quick to get fast food. Not everyone has the time and money to get better food. They eat unhealthy because its all they can afford, or because they don't know how to eat healthy, NOT because Ronald convinced them to. Instead of telling people that they can't advertise their product, how about focusing on teaching kids how to make healthy snacks and how often to brush their teeth? Instead of hiding products from kids, how about you educate them about the products? 

[julianchosun]

This is one of the most important TED talks I've ever heard, and I'll be promoting it to the maximum extent.
Given the current push for the TPPA which aims to give corporations even MORE power, we're facing ever increasing problems - problems, not just issues - as raised in this talk, and others too.
I like Anna's underlining and highlighting of the importance of the disproportionate power of the western corporation; it's life or death, and a disgusting indictment of our "civilized" societies.

[janithdemel]

The output of this presentation helped me to get a great idea to make my college presentation perfectly. Additionally, the idea shared by the presenter strongly made my mind to go against for negativity of advertising that affects our children.

[budmoore]

This was a very powerful video! My two daughters who are grown now, never ate much fast food as a kid. I, and my late Mother, who helped me raise them, were cooks. When we did eat out, it was at sit down restaurants, usually where we worked. Now as adults, I and my daughters shun McDonald's. We eat at Burger King, maybe twice a month, if that. They, and I, are very conscious of what we eat. Hell, my daughters eat better than I do. We don't drink much soda either.

[ComprehendRealityNow]

"None of your business"

Brilliant.

[mollykyb]

That's absolutely true. And that's the problem. Their main goal is completely at odds with public health. They shift the cost of their business onto the public, which pays in lost productivity, lost human capital, suffering, and medical costs. It's socializing the risk in their business model, while keeping their profits private. And it's Wrong.

[brianlarson]

Within the first minute I was like "really? I remember my 5 year old niece asking me if dora was stupid and "How can she not notice a mountain right behind her?!"

[KarineCharlebois]

One of the problem lies in the fact that this lack of education in good food, and temptation by food companies to eat the junk, has been happening for a few generations (said brand loyalty due to early age marketing), which means there are a lot of parents who have no idea how to do things better. Many don't know how to cook and depend on the reliability of the processed food you just pop in the oven, or the drive-thru. And they feel powerless to change things because they don't have the tools.

[NellieDeutsch]

Parental modeling is strong, but marketing on the media is stronger.

[lynnshort]

I don't know about that. I feel really well informed by this talk. She had some great examples as to why we should not trust corporate giants who's only interests are increasing profits.

[Cristalitya]

I began watching this video with a bottle of coke and a pack of  oreos. Now the coke's in the fridge, the oreos in the pantry and I have a banana in my hand and a glass of milk on my bedside table. That part about teeth dentures and leg braces really got to me. I already knew about the dangers of sweet drinks and such, but I really need to stop thinking they will never get to me.

[fabricdragon]

1. the legal hoops to homeschool your kids are incredibly hard in some areas. and if you have to work full time you may not be able to homeschool.
2. not everyone can move out to a farm
3. you cannot turn off the TV when its being piped into the pediatricians or the school

[snehalmulajkar]

Need to take care of all the messages children get from the media.