Join NYU Libraries for an insightful discussion with some of our most esteemed panelists about how the conversation, study, and action around food has evolved over the last two decades. Together, we’ll reflect on 20 years of the Critical Topics in Food event series and examine the role that thoughtful community gatherings like these have played in shaping our collective dialogue about food. The Critical Topics in Food event series is a partnership between NYU Special Collections, NYU Steinhardt Department of Nutrition & Food Studies, and Clark Wolf.
by Marion Nestle
Jan
8
2008
Chocolate health claims: an explanation?
A comment on the previous post about chocolate asks why chocolate manufacturers think they have to put health claims on candy. The simple answer is that health claims are the only things that sell food these days. And chocolate candy is in trouble–you aren’t eating enough of it to keep these corporations growing fast enough. And on top of all that, the companies are all being sued for price fixing which, alas, is illegal. Health claims are an “eat more” marketing strategy. I think health claims–all of them–should be illegal. That isn’t going to happen but we could make our displeasure with such misleading marketing known to the companies.