Major Companies Sued Over 'Addictive' Ultra-Processed Foods

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed the lawsuit against ten major food companies on Tuesday, accusing them of knowingly "designing, selling, and distributing harmful foods—and relentlessly marketing those foods to children."

The Details: The landmark case accused the companies – Coca-Cola, ConAgra Brands, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, Mars Inc., Mondelez International, Nestle USA, PepsiCo, and Post Holdings – of "deceptively" producing and promoting ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that are linked to diseases such as cancer and heart disease. It drew parallels between the marketing tactics of the UPF companies and the tobacco industry to make products "addictive" to consumers. The lawsuit argued that the tactics violate California's Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute, and it called for civil and financial restitution to support healthcare in the state and prevent further damages. 

For Context: A bipartisan bill passed in California in October that statutorily defined UPFs and moved to ban them from schools. Chiu's municipal lawsuit is the first of its kind to accuse food companies of intentionally promoting harmful UPFs, which "now comprise 70 percent of the American food supply" according to The New York Times (Lean Left bias).

Key Quotes: Chiu's office asserted in the lawsuit, "Defendants' conduct—which has caused a public health crisis and will lead to life-long and life-threatening diseases—is immoral, unethical, oppressive, and substantially injurious to consumers. There are no countervailing benefits to Defendants' conduct. Because of Defendants' deceptive acts, including deceptively and purposefully addicting consumers to unhealthy and harmful UPF, the harms alleged herein could not have been avoided by consumers." Sarah Gallo, a representative of multiple companies named in the lawsuit, argued in defense, "[There] is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods, and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities."

Common Ground: News media across the political spectrum alluded to some level of bipartisanship between the Democratic Chiu and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. New York Times called the case "a rare issue on which the liberal leaders in San Francisco City Hall are fully aligned with the Trump administration, which has targeted ultra-processed foods as part of its [MAHA] mantra." BBC (Center) said, "Concern about ultra-processed foods has emerged as an area of consensus among some left-leaning officials and the Trump administration, even as they remain divided over [RFK's] other positions." The outlet also highlighted the Trump administration's successful efforts to decrease some harmful food additives, such as Coca-Cola's agreement to switch from high fructose corn syrup to real sugar in its US products. Fox Business (Lean Right) reported that the Trump administration "identified ultra-processed foods as a driver of chronic illness in American children."

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