Food Marketing

I honestly never thought about how the Internet has changed how I eat. I never stopped to think about all the recipes I pull off of the Internet daily in order to cook for myself. I still use my family recipes and I still read my cookbooks, but I never thought about how many more recipes I pull from the Internet.

The Internet didn’t change my eating habits the way Twitter had for Brian Stelter, but it did change them in a different way. My family is not vegetarian and since being in college I’ve decided to cut meat out of the food I make, except for special occasions. I wouldn’t have the diverse vegetarian menu without the Internet.

I also think the Internet is so important for the food movement. Without it I would never have seen all of the documentaries that I have. I would still would have read Michael Pollan, because he has great gardening books. But the Internet really is the right platform for the food movement.

I agree that one of the best ways to start making society more sustainable is to start with the food industry. If it really is up to individuals to make decisions, then the government should demand that marketing be completely truthful.

My favorite marketing/PR ploy to sight in this instance is Edward Bernay bending the truth to sell more bacon. He asked a physician that was on the Beech-Nut Company’s payroll to endorse eggs and bacon as a healthy breakfast. He wrote a letter to 5,000 other physicians and told them that their study concluded that everyone should have eggs and bacon in order to maintain a healthy diet. That is not truthful.

Since Bernay was so successful, why not continue to follow in his footsteps? People obviously underestimate the power of marketing and public relations. In another instance, Bernay organized an overthrow of the Guatemalan government to gain favorable export policies for bananas.

So can it really be up to the people to decide? If we were really receiving the complete truth about our food choices, then maybe we can. I don’t count big companies paying for studies to have a certain outcome as truthful marketing. Just because you know that’s it all just marketing doesn’t mean a million other people don’t.