San Francisco wants to control what you eat

San Francisco targets major food companies in first government lawsuit against ultra-processed foods, demanding restitution and citing public health crisis.

Limiting food choices rarely "result in better options or health for consumers" anyway, says the Competitive Enterprise Institute.  Kerry Jackson is the William Clement Fellow in California Reform at the Pacific Research Institute and the co-author of the forthcoming PRI book, "The California Left Coast Survivor's Guide." 

The defendants are some of the largest players in the food world. Kraft Heinz Co., Post Holdings, the Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle USA, the Kellogg Co., Mars, Inc. and ConAgra Brands now have to defend themselves for choices made by consumers who demand their legally manufactured and sold merchandise.  

"They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body. We must be clear that this is not about consumers making better choices. Recent surveys show Americans want to avoid ultra-processed foods, but we are inundated by them. These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused," said Chiu.