To: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD
From: Search for the Cause, Not Just the Cure
Re: Food Labeling
Much of what is sold in this country as food barely qualifies.
Manufactured goods, void of nutrient value and without support for the body, are labeled and advertised as meals.
These less than adequate replacements for food are causing the worst health conditions we have seen in generations, yet the practice continues. Conditions of poor health are at crisis levels in America.
I just published the ingredients for Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. There are 8 sources of sugar, fats and white flour which should also be considered sugar. People feed this to children believing it is not only food, but breakfast. When those same children act out due to their chemical and sugar based diet, we feed them pharmaceuticals.
The dictionary claims "food" is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat to sustain life and growth. Much of the American diet does not meet this criteria, yet manufacturers are not challenged by our FDA.
Why don’t we have standards for “food” products? It is time. Products that do not meet requirements as “food” should be labeled as “Non-Food Edibles," identifying their inability to sustain life and growth.