America will celebrate Food Day on October 24th.  Food Day was created by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to get everyone talking about food and the changes we need to make in order to reduce obesity, food poisoning and diet-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease. The Food Day campaign hopes to promote the whole food movement by: 

• Alleviating hunger & expanding access to food
• Curbing junk food marketing to kids
• Promoting safe, healthy foods
• Protecting animals & the environment by reforming factory farms
• Supporting fair working conditions for farm & food workers
• Supporting sustainable farms & limiting subsidies to big agribusiness

Just in time for Food Day, here are two examples of why it is so important to curb junk food marketing to kids:  Healthy cookies are being marketed to kids as an excellent source of vitamins A, B12, C, D and E, calcium, fiber and iron.  Of course, they neglect to tell parents and the children that the cookies lack whole grains and are also an excellent source of fat and sugar.  In fact the chocolate-flavored healthy cookie contains more sugar than any other ingredient.  It is also thought that we experience greater nutritional benefit from eating foods that naturally contain nutrients.According to another food company, children no longer need to eat whole grains, fruits & vegetables to get the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber.  They can meet their fiber needs by eating high-fiber brownies that don’t contain any whole grains.  Instead of whole wheat flour, chicory root extract is used to increase the fiber.  It still isn’t known if this form of fiber provides any of the heart-healthy, cholesterol-controlling properties of the fiber found in whole grain products. These are just two examples of marketing campaigns sending mixed messages to kids.  On the surface these products sound like good alternatives to other high-calorie, high-fat snack foods on the market, but with a little research it’s clear these products don’t deserve the elevated status of healthy choices. Once again this type of marketing reinforces the need for change.  Join us in the whole food movement and celebrate Food Day on October 24th by cooking a meal at home.  Check out Nutritious Nibbles for a quick and easy dinner idea.