Food Politics: How the Food Industry Infl uences Nutrition and Health 333tion of marketing expenditures relative to dietary recommendations. Although
the costs of marketing may appear huge, they amount to just a small fraction of
sales.
Advertising costs for any single, nationally distributed food product far exceed
(often by 10–50 times) federal expenditures for promotion of the Pyramid or to
encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables. Of the more than $300 million
that the USDA spends annually on nutrition education, most goes for research
projects, the educational components of agricultural extension and other activities
that target relatively few people. Despite protestations by marketers that advertis-
ing is a minor element in food choice and that the ubiquity of advertising dilutes
its impact, they continue to use it to sell products. Successful campaigns are care-
fully researched, targeted to specific groups and repeated frequently. Advertising
promotes the sales of specific food products and in proportion to the amount
spent, as shown for commodities such as milk, cheese, grapefruit juice and orange
juice. Food sales increase with the intensity, repetition and visibility of the advertis-
ing message.^24 Promotion of nutritional advantages (low-fat, no cholesterol, high-
fibre, calcium-added) increases sales, as does the use of health claims (lowers
cholesterol, prevents cancer). Cigarette company-owned food advertisers are par-
ticularly adept at using charity to sell food products, as shown in Figure 14.5.
Advertising sells food to children, a phenomenon well understood by advertisers of
tobacco and beer. Advertisers deliberately promote food brands among children
and more active demands for advertised foods.
Introduce new products
To food and beverage companies, added value and convenience are driving forces
for new-product development. Whether the industry creates new products in
response to consumer demand or generates demand by creating the products is
difficult to untangle; most likely, both interact. Regardless, new-product introduc-
tions have increased greatly since the mid-1980s when there were fewer than
6000 annually. In the peak year of 1995, manufacturers introduced 16,900 food
and beverage products but the number has since declined. All told, 116,000
packaged foods and beverages have been introduced since 1990, and these joined
a marketplace that now contains 320,000 items competing for supermarket shelf
space large enough to hold just 50,000.^12 The glut of food products means that
only the most highly promoted products will succeed; even these may encounter
difficulties if they do not taste good, raise questions about health or safety or cost
too much.
In 1998, manufacturers introduced slightly more than 11,000 new products
(Table 14.4). More than two-thirds of those products are condiments, candy and
snacks, baked goods, soft drinks and dairy products (cheese products and ice cream
novelties) – foods largely allocated to the top of the Pyramid. Slightly more than
one-fourth are ‘nutritionally enhanced’ so that they can be marketed as low in fat,
cholesterol, salt or sugar or as higher in fibre, calcium or vitamins. Some such