Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss dives into one of the biggest issues facing Americans today, a pattern of unhealthy lifestyles fueled by the major processed food and drink companies. This problem is far deeper than the dietary choices of consumers, it is a problem with the industry as a whole. Specifically, Coca-cola exemplifies a disregard for potentially dangerous practices in the composition of their beverages’ formula and in their marketing strategy. The company’s use of high fructose corn syrup, salt, and fat increase the likeliness of over-consumption, (Reed) and their aggressive marketing strategies are aimed toward increasing their product’s exposure to younger a demographic. In the following paragraphs, this paper will provide greater detail to strengthen the argument of Coke’s direct involvement in America’s obesity epidemic, while validating the importance of addressing corporate involvement at an organization level. To begin with, this book

I would argue that they are harmful. The reasoning behind my claim is that they are knowingly making their product worse for their customers’ health, simply so they can save on production costs. Around 30 years ago, Coke was faced with one of the hardest decisions they’ve had to make. Either keep sugar as their primary sweetener, or compromise their formulaic integrity by substituting it with high-fructose corn syrup. “Coke switched from using table sugar to high-fructose corn syrup, which was less expensive and blended more readily with the flavoring concentrate” (Moss, 2013) From a purely financial point of view, I understand Coke’s motivation to substitute high-fructose corn syrup in place of sugar. However, I believe that because of the ubiquity of Coke’s brand, “1.9 billion servings of Coke consumed daily”(Moss, 2013), they should be held to a higher standard regarding people's health and