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PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

wsj.com

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Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#11

Post by Spooky23 »

nibs wrote: post #2

It would be easier to make people give up most of their rights and freedoms than it would be to make them stop eating bad food that will make them an expensive burden to the healthcare system. The only solution is to regulate and tax the way cigarettes are. All that Pepsi goes to fund all that diabetes and heart disease. Everyone, including the highly competent managers and researchers at Pepsi, knows it is bad for y…

I never understood why it's ok to tax alcohol, and keep the price of sucrose high for Cuban-American farmers, but anti-freedom to tax it's cousin fructose.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#12

Post by massysett »

Analemma_ wrote: post #5

It's a little dishonest of this article not to point out that junk food is engineered- I mean literally engineered, by teams of scientists running controlled experiments- to be as addictive as possible. This isn't a question of those wacky consumers and their revealed preference not matching their stated intentions; human willpower should barely enter the conversation when this topic comes up. If PepsiCo is genuinely…

When scientists want to engineer healthy food to be healthier and more inexpensive--a.k.a. genetic modification--they are met with superstition and FUD.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#13

Post by nommm-nommm »

chrisfosterelli wrote: post #7
foota wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to engineer healthy and addictive food?

I like to think diet pop can fit into this category... but then there's the backlash of "unnatural chemicals" which sceptics believe must obviously be bad for you.

Diet soda is not healthy. At the very best it's ideally neutral, neither unhealthy or healthy.

However, some research has been coming out lately that suggests diet soda (more specifically artificial sweeteners) may have various negative effects on health. Nothing conclusive but enough to make me avoid artificial sweeteners entirely.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#14

Post by wincy »

sandworm101 wrote: post #8
Analemma_ wrote: post #5

It's a little dishonest of this article not to point out that junk food is engineered- I mean literally engineered, by teams of scientists running controlled experiments- to be as addictive as possible. This isn't a question of those wacky consumers and their revealed preference not matching their stated intentions; human willpower should barely enter the conversation when this topic comes up. If PepsiCo is genuinely…

If the market is incapable, it is time for government to step in. We already have innumerable regulations re food safety and content, would it be inconceivable for us to regulate the salt content of potato chips? Or the calorie content of something labeled a "meal deal"?

This kind of thing scares me. As someone who lost 70 pounds eating bacon and eggs for six months, and eating about 5x the recommended daily amount of salt that whole time, I'm worried the government stepping in will make all our food taste like cardboard.

Sugar is the enemy, but so often fat and salt are demonized when in a proper diet these aren't unhealthy at all.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#15

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

chrisfosterelli wrote: post #7
foota wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to engineer healthy and addictive food?

I like to think diet pop can fit into this category... but then there's the backlash of "unnatural chemicals" which sceptics believe must obviously be bad for you.

It's not a backlash, it's science. See e.g.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/

While there's no conclusive proof diet soda definitely causes weight gain, there's absolutely no evidence at all that it helps with weight loss.

Sugary or not, there's no rational basis for considering sodas of any variety "healthy."

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#16

Post by nommm-nommm »

sandworm101 wrote: post #8
Analemma_ wrote: post #5

It's a little dishonest of this article not to point out that junk food is engineered- I mean literally engineered, by teams of scientists running controlled experiments- to be as addictive as possible. This isn't a question of those wacky consumers and their revealed preference not matching their stated intentions; human willpower should barely enter the conversation when this topic comes up. If PepsiCo is genuinely…

If the market is incapable, it is time for government to step in. We already have innumerable regulations re food safety and content, would it be inconceivable for us to regulate the salt content of potato chips? Or the calorie content of something labeled a "meal deal"?

I don't believe we know enough about nutrition (or we'll ever know enough) to make these sort of policies.

We know humans both survive and thrive on widely different diets.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#17

Post by Qwertious »

sandworm101 wrote: post #8
Analemma_ wrote: post #5

It's a little dishonest of this article not to point out that junk food is engineered- I mean literally engineered, by teams of scientists running controlled experiments- to be as addictive as possible. This isn't a question of those wacky consumers and their revealed preference not matching their stated intentions; human willpower should barely enter the conversation when this topic comes up. If PepsiCo is genuinely…

If the market is incapable, it is time for government to step in. We already have innumerable regulations re food safety and content, would it be inconceivable for us to regulate the salt content of potato chips? Or the calorie content of something labeled a "meal deal"?

Problem is, paid lobbyists have the patience and insidiousness to sabotage regulation time and again (and have done so). Which isn't so much an argument against government regulation as an argument that the current system is rather broken.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#18

Post by zeroer »

The WSJ and Pepsi mention " Quaker oatmeal, Naked juice and Sabra hummus" as "good for you" foods.

I've never tried Sabra hummus, but the others are super sugary. A couple years ago I made a conscious attempt to eat less salt and sugar, and once you do so it's amazing how much sugar you notice added to virtually every processed food you'll find at a grocery store.

Cooking food from scratch is basically the only way to have control over your diet.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#19

Post by KKKKkkkk1 »

Analemma_ wrote: post #5

It's a little dishonest of this article not to point out that junk food is engineered- I mean literally engineered, by teams of scientists running controlled experiments- to be as addictive as possible. This isn't a question of those wacky consumers and their revealed preference not matching their stated intentions; human willpower should barely enter the conversation when this topic comes up. If PepsiCo is genuinely…

In my view this headline is analogous to "Philip Morris wants to sell running gear, consumers want tobacco." Well duh, of course selling human catnip is more profitable, but you're giving your customers diabetes and heart disease.

Re: PepsiCo Wants to Sell Healthy Food, Consumers Want Chips

#20

Post by zeroer »

nommm-nommm wrote: post #13
chrisfosterelli wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to think diet pop can fit into this category... but then there's the backlash of "unnatural chemicals" which sceptics believe must obviously be bad for you.

Diet soda is not healthy. At the very best it's ideally neutral, neither unhealthy or healthy. However, some research has been coming out lately that suggests diet soda (more specifically artificial sweeteners) may have various negative effects on health. Nothing conclusive but enough to make me avoid artificial sweeteners entirely.

The carbonation in soda is bad for your teeth and bone health, regardless of the sugar vs. non-calorie sweetener debate.
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