Food Politics

Margo Wootan from Center for Science in the Public Interest and Lori Dorfman from the Berkeley Media Studies Group send the latest request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is asking food companies to say how much money they spend on marketing to kids and for a bunch of other information. And now here is the list of companies that have to provide that information. What is so interesting about this list is that it is not only aimed at Kraft, PepsiCo, and other such makers of junk foods but also at Boskovich, Grimmway, and other vegetable companies that put SpongeBob SquarePants and other such cartoon characters on their product labels. It will be interesting to see how much money goes into marketing carrots as compared to breakfast cereals or junky snack foods. Stay tuned.

• The FTC number: $1.6 billion to market to kids
• Consumer groups complain to FTC about PepsiCo’s digital marketing to kids
• Help! Rescue the government’s marketing-to-kids nutrition standards!
• FTC looks at marketing to children
• FTC Hearing on Kids’ marketing: a preview