How dangerous are added sugars? Well, there is no
nutritional need for added sugars, and according to Kieron Rooney, “big sugar
could be the next big public health campaign.” Rooney reports that there is not
a single study that shows added sugar is good for you. If it is so unhealthy
for us then why aren’t we doing anything to prevent consumption of it? That’s a
question I don’t know the answer to, but I do believe that there should be some
regulations for companies that use added sugar.
First I think the government should tax companies on the use
of added sugar, and give tax breaks to those that use healthier sweeteners.
This would discourage the use of added sugar, and hopefully encourage companies
to use a healthier option. This will not however solve the problem; the richer
companies will still probably use added sugar because they can afford to pay
the tax.
Secondly, companies should not be allowed to market their
products directly to children. Companies using animated characters like Toucan
Sam or the Trix rabbit to influence kids to buy their products should be more
regulated. It makes sense for companies to target children because they are
easily influenced, but I don’t believe that is ethically right. Preventioninstitute.org
says, nearly all (98 percent) of food advertisements viewed by
children are for products that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. Most (79 percent) are low in
fiber. As a marketer we should be morally obligated to not intentionally
mislead consumers. I believe that’s what many of these companies targeting
children are doing. They are taking advantage of children not understanding
what they are putting into their bodies.
Finally companies should be required to be socially
responsible. Companies that are selling products that are potentially unsafe
should have to provide information on how it will affect you. Some government
agencies are already doing this; one example of it is the New York City Health
departments “Pour on the Pounds” campaign. The campaign shows you how much sugar you are actually
consuming in drinks like soda, juice, and coffee. This shouldn’t have to be
left to health departments to educate people on what they are consuming.
Marketers should be informing us of what we are putting in our body; we should
not have to search for the information ourselves.