Changing how food is manufactured isn’t gonan do anything but cut into the bottom line of the manufacturers. Take out the preservatives and random sugars. You aren’t forcing anybody to eat anything. You’re making all of their choices healthier. There’s a reason there weren’t many fat people 30-40+ years ago
People like candy and cheeseburgers and sodas, just like people like guns and alcohol and cigarettes. Even if they can afford healthier options, unless those options cease to exist people will still make that choice because freedom (or convenience, or gluttony, or income etc).
The picture is much bigger, and much more complex than simply taking out preservatives and random sugars when it comes to food that is consumed in America. The most grown crop in the US is corn. Not because it is on our plates on the cob every night, but because there is massive subsidy for the crop that is featured in animal feed and goes into corn syrup which is a key ingredient in a ton of other food stuffs. That massive subsidy makes bad food (random sugars) more affordable to produce, more affordable to buy, and for people on a budget possibly the only option to feed their family. People with a comfortable income may own a home with a garden and have a local farmers market, and the money to spend there, however that is not the case for everyone, nor is it the choice they may necessarily make.
You cannot simply change that part of the equation without incorporating a big overhaul to the entire food system, because it renders the most accessible items less affordable (
forcing people to eat something else), would require a complete reimagining of what is grown and how it is distributed, and look what happens when anything inflates in price in this country or pushes up against a high value interest. Remember, the farm bill is north of 160 billion dollars and dictates the food system for many people - price and therefore access, and the reach is further than wether 10 dollars gets you more McDonalds than it does in the produce section. Associated agribusinesses like tractor companies, fertilizer companies, seed companies, transportation companies, the various meat industries, the fast food industry, grocery stores, all have a part in that and are the beneficiaries of high volume, low cost, low quality production.
You simply can't so nonchalantly say something will cut into the bottom line of the manufacturers, partly because what that actually does is cut into the affordability of consumers, but also because they determine the policy through lobbying. Frankly, they don't give a **** how many Americans are over weight, they care about that bottom line and will contribute to politicians campaigns to insure that doesn't change (both sides take money FWIW).
Believe me, I am all the way on board with healthier food - I have a garden, I go to the farmers market, I eat mostly vegetables - because that means healthier people. But that is now a battle that is as strongly entrenched in America as guns and cars at this point, even if it is the youngest aspect of the three.
