Tell PepsiCo and General Mills: Stop Targeting Our Kids!
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Tell PepsiCo and General Mills: Stop Targeting Our Kids!
Major corporations like PepsiCo and General Mills are spending over $100 million a year to pump Black kids full with artificially flavored and chemically filled junk food--and we need to come together to stop it.
These food companies are aggressively advertising processed snacks on children’s TV shows with high Black viewership, but they are not showing similar ads during shows with white viewers. Research shows that Black kids are twice as likely to see an advertisement for candy or soda on TV than their white classmates.
PepsiCo and General Mills know how dangerous junk food advertisements are. That's why, in 2006, these corporations pledged to advertise exclusively healthy food to children. But they broke this promise to Black kids-- spending millions to advertise junk food, while almost never advertising healthy foods like yogurt, fruits, and vegetables.
This manipulative ad strategy is having devastating effects on Black kids' health with them now having a 50% chance of developing diabetes in their lifetime.
That's why we're demanding that PepsiCo and General Mills stop pushing junk food on our kids. Major food corporations cannot continue to play both sides of the coin--preying on Black youth to increase their profits while insisting they care about the health of our kids.
Below is the letter we'll send to General Mills and PepsiCo on your behalf:
Dear PepsiCo and General Mills,
I am writing to ask you to keep your promise and stop advertising junk food to Black children. You, along with other major food corporations, pledged to exclusively advertise nutritious foods to youth under the age of 12--but you have broken that promise. Now, Black kids are twice as likely to see junk food ads on children's programming as their white classmates.
Junk food advertisements are dangerous because they teach children that unhealthy foods are necessary to their diets. As these children grow, they become accustomed to consuming foods that are filled with artificial flavoring and unnatural chemicals. This is dangerous for youth, their families, and communities.
Your decision to push junk food on Black children is having devastating effects on their health-- Black kids now have a 50% chance of developing diabetes in their lifetime. Excessive junk food consumption has also been linked to nutrient deficiencies, hypertension, and even depression. It's time for PepsiCo and General Mills to put an end to this discriminatory practice--Black children deserve the same protections from predatory advertising as white kids.
Thank You,
[Your Name]