Major Food Giants Sued Over Addictive UPFs Given To Kids
A landmark lawsuit filed in Philadelphia names major food companies: Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post Holdings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Mars, and ConAgra and accuses them of designing and marketing ultra-processed foods (UPFs) with addictive qualities, particularly targeting children. The suit alleges that these practices have led to serious childhood health issues, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The case and its repercussions echo sinister marketing tactics employed by Big Tobacco in decades past. In a similar way it is alleged, global food giants manipulate consumers with misleading health claims and aggressive marketing. A large body of research shows that cutting UPFs could save millions of lives, while palm oil’s role in deforestation and biodiversity loss compounds the crisis. It’s time to reject harmful foods and demand accountability. Choose wholefoods, protect wildlife, and fight for a healthier planet. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife every time you shop.
#FMCG food brands #KraftHeinz #Mondelez 🥫 & #CocaCola 🥤 face lawsuit for using #tobacco 🚬🚭 style tactics to hook kids on #UPF #ultraprocessed foods, causing chronic #health issues 🤮🌎 Resist when you eat #wholefoods and #BoycottPalmOil @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-9E1
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterIn a groundbreaking legal action, some of the world’s largest food and beverage corporations are facing allegations of deliberately engineering ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to be addictive, with a specific focus on marketing these products to children. The lawsuit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, names companies including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post Holdings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Mars, and ConAgra.
The 148-page complaint drawing unsettling parallels with insidious strategies employed by the tobacco industry, asserts that these companies have employed strategies reminiscent of those used by tobacco giants, utilising research on addiction to create hyper-palatable food products that are difficult to resist. This approach is alleged to have contributed to a rise in serious health conditions among children, notably Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease—ailments that were once rare in this age group.
https://youtu.be/EpRiqCVtDRA?si=hNH-aZV0CAY2r25f
The plaintiff, represented by the law firm Morgan & Morgan, contends that the defendants have prioritised profit over public health, leading to a public health crisis characterised by increased rates of chronic diseases linked to diet. The lawsuit seeks to hold these corporations accountable for their role in promoting and distributing products that may pose significant health risks to consumers, particularly vulnerable populations like children.
This case underscores the growing scrutiny of ultra-processed foods and their impact on health, especially among younger demographics. It raises critical questions about corporate responsibility, marketing ethics, and the need for greater transparency in the food industry.
The compliant alleges that these tactics originate from a time when tobacco giants acquired and operated major food brands, using the same addiction research once employed to hook smokers on cigarettes. This same research was subsequently applied to make ultra-processed foods tasty and irresistible to children.
This lawsuit represents a pivotal moment in the fight against corporate practices that prioritise profits over human health and planetary well-being. With childhood obesity rates and diet-related illnesses climbing, the case forces society to reckon with the profound consequences of marketing UPFs to vulnerable populations.
Big Food Taking from Big Tobacco’s Playbook of Deception
The lawsuit alleges that Big Food employs tactics alarmingly similar to those pioneered by the tobacco industry, including targeting children, engineering addiction, and lobbying to obstruct regulation. These claims echo findings from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Bulletin (2021), which likened the palm oil industry’s tactics to Big Tobacco’s playbook. The report detailed how industries undermine health policies through lobbying, greenwashing, and misleading claims.
In the context of ultra-processed foods, companies exploit health-conscious messaging to disguise their products’ true impact. Misleading packaging, claims of “low-fat” or “fortified” products, and cartoon characters lure children into consuming foods with little to no nutritional value. These strategies mirror the tobacco industry’s decades-long effort to obfuscate health risks while marketing addictive products to the public and in particular to children.
The Hidden Danger of Ultra-Processed Foods
Ultra-processed foods, rich in refined palm oil, sugars, salts, and additives, are engineered to override natural satiety signals, encouraging overconsumption. They not only fuel obesity and chronic diseases but also wreak havoc on cardiovascular health.
Dawn Harris Sherling, in her research published in The American Journal of Medicine (2024), highlights the immense influence of multinational corporations producing ultra-processed foods:
“The multinational companies that produce ultra-processed foods are just as, if not more, powerful than tobacco companies were in the last century, and it is unlikely that governments will be able to move quickly on policies that will promote whole foods and discourage the consumption of ultra-processed foods,” said Sherling.
She argues that this corporate dominance makes swift government action to promote whole foods and discourage ultra-processed food consumption unlikely, underscoring the challenges of addressing this public health crisis. (Sherling, Hennekens, & Ferris, 2024).
Palm Oil’s Role in the UPF Crisis
Palm oil is a cornerstone of UPFs, contributing not only to their health risks but also to widespread environmental destruction. As detailed on Palm Oil Detectives, the palm oil industry drives deforestation, biodiversity loss, and violations of indigenous rights. The unchecked expansion of palm oil plantations continues to exacerbate climate change and disrupt ecosystems vital to planetary health.
Companies like Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo rely heavily on palm oil, underscoring their complicity in both public health and environmental degradation. Addressing these interlinked crises requires holding corporations accountable and rethinking our food systems.
Take Action!
The evidence is clear: ultra-processed foods are a health hazard, and the industries behind them profit from addiction, environmental destruction, and misleading marketing. Here’s what you can do:
• Boycott Palm Oil: Refuse to buy products containing palm oil to combat deforestation, biodiversity loss, and corporate greenwashing.
• Choose Whole Foods: Opt for fresh, minimally processed plant-based foods to prioritise your health and reduce dependency on harmful UPFs.
To learn more about the dangers of UPFs and the palm oil industry’s impact on health and the environment, visit Palm Oil Detectives. Share your commitment to change with the hashtags #BoycottPalmOil and #Boycott4Wildlife every time you shop.
References
Dawn Harris Sherling, Charles H. Hennekens, Allison H. Ferris. (2024). Newest updates to health providers on the hazards of ultra-processed foods and proposed solutions. The American Journal of Medicine, DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.02.001
Kadandale, S., Marten, R., & Smith, R. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(2), 118–128. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6357563/
LawInc Staff. (2024, December 10). Hooked by design: Landmark lawsuit alleges Kraft, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and others used Big Tobacco tactics to addict kids to ultra-processed foods. LawInc. Retrieved from https://www.lawinc.com/hooked-by-design-landmark-lawsuit-kraft-coca-cola-pepsico-addict-kids-ultra-processed-foods
Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Cutting down on ultra-processed foods could save lives, research reveals. Retrieved from Palm Oil Detectives.
Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Four things to know about cholesterol. Retrieved from Palm Oil Detectives.
Hanley-Jones, S, Wood, L, Letcher, T and Winstanley, M. 5.13 Products and packaging created to appeal to new users. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2022. Available from https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-5-uptake/5-13-products-and-packaging-created-to-appeal-to-n
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Read more about deforestation and ecocide in the palm oil industry
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Take Action in Five Ways
1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.
2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.
Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Health Physician Dr Evan Allen
The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.
https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20
https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20
4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.
5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here
Pledge your support#BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #breakfastCereal #breakfastFoods #childhood #chips #CocaCola #corruption #crisps #deforestation #FMCG #health #KraftHeinz #Mondelez #News #PalmOil #palmOilBiofuel #palmOilDeforestation #sugar #sugarCane #sugarcane #tobacco #ultraprocessed #UPF #vegan #wholefoods
Palm Oil Free Crisps, Snacks, Convenience Foods
Here are some palm oil free convenience food and snack brands that DO NOT use rainforest-destroying palm oil. If you are ever in doubt look for the prefixes: LAUR, STEAR, GYLC and PALM in the ingredients list on packaging – this is most likely palm oil. Another tip is to shop for locally produced products instead of mass-produced convenience foods. Take action for your health and for wildlife when you go #PalmOilFree and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Download all videosThe biggest lie you were never told: “Sustainable” #RSPO #PalmOil stops #deforestation. It doesn’t! So avoid #snacks by #Mars #Kelloggs #Nestle all the big brands. Instead buy #PalmOilFree snack #food. Learn more 🌴🩸🤯🧐⛔️ @palmoildetect #BoycottPalmOil https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/11/palm-oil-free-crisps-chips-and-snack-foods/
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterDid you know that palm oil is one of the world’s most destructive crops, as it can only be harvested in tropical rainforest and peatland landscapes where the highest concentration of endangered species live? The majority of palm oil and soy is fed to farm animals that people eat. This is why palm oil is an animal rights issue. And it is for these reasons that palm oil is NOT considered vegan by animal activists. It may be a plant-based substance, but it is NOT VEGAN. Convenience food megabrands like Mondelez, Nestle, Danone, CocaCola, Pepsi, Hersheys and Ferrero claiming that their products are plant-based AKA vegan but yet still using palm oil are simply greenwashing extinction and ecocide!
Palm Oil Free Crisps, Snacks, Convenience Foods
Califia Farms: Plant-based, vegan dairy and drinks
Dutch Weed Burger: vegan, palm oil free burgers and nuggets.
Liberation Foods: chocolate, spreads, nuts.
JEM: chocolate and nut sauces
Perfect World Ice-cream (vegan and palm oil free)
Raw Gorilla: Cereals, snacks, chocolate
Santa Maria: Mexican chips, crisps, tortillas, sauces
True Gum: chewing gum, mints, sweets.
Vegan Perfection – vegan meats, ready-made meals
Find Palm Oil Free Products
Big Green Smile: Palm Oil Free Products
Replenish Refill Australia: Palm Oil Free
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#Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #branding #breakfastCereal #breakfastFoods #chips #chocolate #chocolatespread #ConvenienceFoods #crisps #deforestation #food #Kelloggs #Mars #Nestle #PalmOil #palmOilFree #palmoil #palmoilfree #RSPO #snackfoods #snacks #ultraprocessed #UPF
Kelloggs/Kellanova
In late 2023, Kelloggs became Kellanova for their US arm. Savvy consumers have been pressuring Kelloggs for decades to cease using deforestation palm oil. Yet they actually haven’t stopped this. From their website:
‘All of the palm oil that is used in our products is sourced from a combination of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Certified Segregated supply chain, RSPO Mass Balance mixed-source supply and the purchase of Green Palm certificates.’
Read more: Kelloggs websiteThis phrasing above means absolutely nothing. In reality, Kelloggs’ supply chain continues to slash and burn thousands of hectares of forests and release mega-tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. Kellogg’s is therefore involved in the killing thousands of endangered species. Once these animals are gone – they are gone for good. See research on Kelloggs’s palm oil sources including a PDF of their palm oil mills.
View Kelloggs/Kellanova’s recent palm oil deforestation
Data courtesy of Palm Watch, a multidisciplinary research initiative by the University of Chicago.
Look Up Kelloggs on PalmWatch#Kelloggs/Kellanova uses so-called “sustainable” #palmoil yet still causes #deforestation and child slavery for #palmoil in their child-friendly #cereal 🥣 Fight back when you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect 🌴⛔️🧐🔥https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/09/kelloggs/
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter#Palmoil used by #Kelloggs’s brands is so-called “sustainable” yet it still causes #deforestation #ecocide #extinction and #indigenous landgrabbing. Fight back against the greenwash ☠️🧐🌴🤮⛔️ and #BoycottPalmOIl #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/09/kelloggs/
Share to BlueSky Share to TwitterGlobal Witness October 2021 Report: Violence and death for palm oil connected to household supermarket brands (RSPO members)
“One palm oil firm, Rimbunan Hijau, [Papua New Guinea] negligently ignored repeated and avoidable worker deaths and injuries on palm oil plantations, with at least 11 workers and the child of one worker losing their lives over an eight-year period.
“Tainted palm oil from Papua New Guinea plantations was sold to household name brands, all of them RSPO members including Kellogg’s, Nestlé, Colgate, Danone, Hershey’s and PZ Cussons and Reckitt Benckiser”
Read reportKelloggs makes claims of sustainability for palm oil on their website. However these claims do not match what is happening on the ground. This is pure greenwashing.
The brand has a high ranking on the WWF Scorecard and has an RSPO certification. However this high ranking is greenwashing and this mega-brand is purchasing huge amounts of palm oil from four mills that are responsible for 44% of all deforestation: Jhonlin, Mulia Sawit, Tunas Baru Lampung and Peputra Group
Palm Oil Detectives thinks it is wise to boycott all Kelloggs sub-brands until it has been independently verified that they have stopped 100% of their deforestation activities throughout the world.
Sign a petition telling Kelloggs to stop deforestation!
Sign petitionKelloggs own a vast global empire of cereal and food brands…
The most updated list of their stable of brands from their website includes:
All-Bran®
Apple Jacks®
Austin®
Bear Naked®
Carr’s®
Cheez-It®
Club®
Corn Pops®
Cracklin’ Oat Bran®
Crispix®
Eggo®
Froot Loops®
Frosted Mini-Wheats®
Gardenburger®
Honey Smacks®
Incogmeato™
Joybol
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Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes®
Kellogg’s Limited Edition
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes®
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran®
Krave®
MorningStar Farms®
Mueslix®
Nutri-Grain®
Pop-Tarts®
Pringles®
Pure Organic
Rice Krispies®
Smart Start®
Special K®
Toasteds®
Town House®
Zesta®
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The Chain: Repeat Offenders Continue to Clear Forests for Oil Palm in Southeast Asia
Research: Palm Oil deforestation and its connection to retail brands
#Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandMarketing #breakfastFoods #cereal #Cereals #deforestation #ecocide #extinction #Fightgreenwashing #illegal #indigenous #Kelloggs #landgrabbing #PalmOil #palmoil #productMarketing #snackFoods #supplyChain
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