I’ve always said these heartless and greedy conglomerates should be held accountable for the damage they cause to global health with their ultra-processed fake food products.
Now, a lawsuit filed in a court in Philadelphia against 10 major ultra-processed food manufacturers — including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez International, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and PepsiCo — might for the first time do just that.
The success of the case hinges on whether Big Food, much like the tobacco industry in the past, is knowingly harming consumers.
And here’s the thing...
Most of the food companies named in the lawsuit were once owned by Big Tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, which dominated the American food supply for decades.
Although Big Tobacco spun off most of its food businesses in the early 2000s, it’s no coincidence these companies still use the same playbook to get consumers hooked on their products.
The lawsuit — which includes allegations of conspiracy, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unfair business practices — claims that Big Food has engineered their ultra-processed products to be addictive, especially to children.
You see, it’s not just their marketing tactics that deliberately try to hook children with cartoon tie-ins, social media ads, toys, and games.
The lawsuit also claims that the foods themselves are addictive and lead to a number of chronic diseases, like diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and more.1
Many dieticians and nutritionists still play directly into the hands of food processing corporations and their life-shortening products, claiming they are an inevitability of our modern world.
This is both untrue and unforgivable.
The lawsuit states that ultra-processed foods are “one of the greatest threats to our health, and the health of our children.”
I couldn’t agree more.
It also correctly noted that ultra-processed foods are “alien to prior human existence” and are “inventions of modern industrial technology and contain little to no whole food.”
Studies show that more than 14% of adults and 12% of children demonstrate addiction-like behaviors when consuming these ultra-processed foods.2
In this article, you’ll learn all about the story behind this first-of-a-kind lawsuit. I’m also going to show you how you can get these nutrition-less, disease-causing fake foods off your dinner table.
It’s time to take back control of your diet from greedy corporations, whose products have nothing to do with your health, but everything to do with power and profit.
How Big Food Directly Contributed To 16-Year-Old’s Deadly Diseases
The suit, filed by personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, concerns the case of Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania high school student who developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by the age of 16.
These diseases were unheard of in children 40 years ago. But now they affect the lives of thousands of American children.
According to the American Diabetes Association, a shocking 352,000 Americans under the age of 20 are estimated to have been diagnosed with diabetes.3
Bryce, who is now 18, says he is a victim of “predatory profiteering” by Big Food corporations and their harmful products. He claims these companies market their unhealthy products to children without any warning of the dangers of repeated consumption.
The lawsuit states that Bryce was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after years of consuming ultra-processed products during his childhood.
The complaint alleges that Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, and others engaged in strategies that directly target children with addictive ultra-processed foods. It cites as evidence internal memos, strategic meetings, and the extensive research they allegedly conducted to leverage our biology and neurology to create addictive substances.
Big Food’s countering argument is that consumers have personal responsibility for their food choices — but how can that be when these companies are peddling addictive products, and much of it to children?
“Alien Foods” Are Loaded With Unhealthiest Ingredients On The Planet
Make no mistake about it, ultra-processed foods — which include most breakfast cereals, pizza, chicken nuggets, sodas, chips and other salty, sweet, and savory snacks, packaged baked goods, microwaveable frozen meals, instant soups and sauces, and much more — are loaded with some of the unhealthiest ingredients on the planet.
Most contain unnaturally high amounts of sugar, salt, processed industrial seed oils, and unhealthy fats, as well as artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, chemical sweeteners, and additives that have been designed to imitate the texture and taste sensations produced by natural foods.
The good news is that science now supports the idea that ultra-processed foods are extremely damaging to your health, despite pressure from Big Food, which still often labels the junk food they make as “healthy.”
Multiple studies show that artificially high doses of “rewarding” ingredients in ultra processed foods — like sugar and other added carbohydrates — are rapidly absorbed by your body and activate the reward centers of your brain in ways that are similar to nicotine, alcohol, or even cocaine and opiates.4
That’s why you’re likely to experience strong cravings for ultra-processed foods.
Researchers have also found that food additives, which may not be addictive in themselves, contribute to the addictiveness of ultra-processed foods because they reinforce addiction to these alien concoctions by adding tastes and improving the texture of the unhealthy food.5
At the same time, the economics of ultra-processed foods reinforce their addictiveness. Sadly, you can buy these damaging processed products cheaper than unprocessed meats, fish, fruit, and vegetables.
As a result, global consumption of ultra-processed products is soaring. These nutritionless concoctions now make up more than half the average American diet. The rates are shocking. Today, nearly 60% of the foods eaten by adults is ultra-processed. The number climbs to almost 70% when it comes to kids and teens.6,7
The problem is not just the damage these foods cause to your organs and organ systems. A steady diet of ultra-processed foods also leaves your body starved of the vitamins, minerals, live enzymes, micronutrients, and healthy fats you need to ward off diseases.
This is exactly why chronic diseases occur after long-term consumption of these products.
A large study from the Netherlands, published recently in The Lancet, revealed that the closer people live near fast-food outlets, the higher their chances of developing diabetes and other chronic health problems.8
And recent research from scientists from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that people who eat ultra-processed foods on a regular basis have a staggering 49% higher risk of developing lung cancer — even if they’ve never smoked a single cigarette.9
The good news is that avoiding these fake foods and switching to a healthy diet is much easier than you might think.
3 Simple Steps You Can Take To Break Free From Big Food’s Addictive Junk
In addition to severely restricting ultra processed foods, here are a few easy tips that will help you break the habits that are lining the pockets of Big Food and destroying your health.
Eat More of the Right Fats. Fat is one of the healthiest things you can eat.
In fact, fats should make up at least 70% of your calories.
You need fat to create energy, transport nutrients, and fight disease.
Fat is so important that if your body senses you’re starving, it does everything it can to preserve your fat stores. This goes against everything we’ve been told for more than 5years. In fact, the diet “dictocrats” did everything they could to ban natural fat from your food because they still say it causes heart attacks and other disease.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Instead, eat the right fats. I’m talking about animal fats from grass-fed meat and organs, wild-caught fatty fish like saturated fats including butter and lard, cheese, coconut oil, and ghee. Your body needs them to absorb vitamins and nutrients, and they are non-addictive.
Fats to avoid include trans fats and seed oils like corn, sunflower, safflower, soy, and canola.
Avoid High-Fructose Corn Syrup. This is one of the most processed and concentrated forms of sugar on the planet. It’s just one more reason to stay away from processed foods or anything packed in a box, can, or plastic container (even if it’s labeled organic). Once you cut this out, your brain’s sugar and carb addiction will be easier to break.
actice Short-Duration, High-Intensity, Progressively Challenging Workouts. Exercise is one of the best ways to retrain your body and brain to eat the right foods. It also helps your body shed fat and resets your insulin response which goes haywire with an excess of carbs and refined sugar.
I recommend my PACE program, which helps your body reset your hormone signals so you can burn off fat. If you want to learn some good PACE exercises, visit my YouTube channel:
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