Junk Food Companies Target Developing Nations

Some of the biggest junk food companies are making at least a PR effort to tackle obesity in the U.S. Following new efforts from the White House to make kids healthier, 16 food and beverage companies said they would cut 1.5 trillion calories from their products in the next five years.

The real health impacts of, say, reduced-calorie Cheetos, are likely negligible. But what is important, as Amit Srivastava of India Resource Center recently wrote, is that the role that fast food and junk food companies play in contributing to Americans' obesity  is now being widely acknowledged by policymakers and the public. Conquering the epidemic of overweight Americans has now gone mainstream as people are beginning to understand that tons of processed foods laden with sugar, fat, and salt can be dangerous.

But while these companies are pledging to improve the healthiness of their products for Americans, they're ramping up the distribution of gut-expanding goods in the developing world, particularly in India and China.

According to Srivastava, PepsiCo is set to make a $2.5 billion investment in China and a $200 million investment in India. Coca-Cola is looking to spend $250 million in India, and McDonald's will fork out $20 million annually to open 30 new restaurants in India each year.

"But if high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods are bad for the health of Americans, are they any good for people in India and China?" questions Srivastava. "The answer, obviously, is a clear no."

The problem with this double standard is that both China and India are already saddled with health problems and over-burdened health care systems. In India, 20 percent of the urban population is overweight or obese. The country was the world leader in diabetes until recently being superseded by China, where an estimated half-billion people will have diabetes by 2030. In China, obesity has now reached 30 percent of the adult population. Add in a sudden schmorgasbord of sugar and fried fare and it's easy to see just how dire the situation could quickly become.

Of course these grim statistics can't be blamed on fast food companies alone, but new efforts to boost sales of unhealthy foods can only make a bad problem even worse. Srivastava writes: "If these food companies were serious about the social responsibilities that they so often tout, they would approach the growing obesity rates in India and China just as they have pledged to do in the U.S.—by not adding any more calories and in fact, reducing calories in the developing countries."

The situation seems oddly reminiscent of the 'green revolution,' where we exported industrial agriculture to India and other developing countries, addicting farmers to expensive chemicals and corporate-owned seeds. Activists in India have been fighting to reverse the ill effects of this for decades. Now the country has major corporations like McDonald's and PepsiCo bringing on more troubles.

As America's sustainable food movement continues to grow, let's hope that we have the foresight to extend our vision beyond the borders of our own country and work for equitable, healthy, and sustainable food for the global community.

Photo credit: Ivan Walsh