Discuss the marketing directed at American children by the food and beverage industries

Answer 1

The United States lags behind other countries in regulating marketing directed at children, and the industry defends its right to market to whom it pleases, as it claims advertising is commercial speech protected under the First Amendment. The food and beverage industries have huge marketing expenditures (˜$2 billion/year), and the placement of these advertisements makes it clear that children and teens are two main targets of their efforts. As young people have migrated from television to social media, food industry expenditures have followed: television expenditures have decreased by 19.5% and been replaced by a 50% increase in new media (online, mobile, and viral) marketing in 2009 (Federal Trade Commission, 2012). Brand placement in movies is another prevalent and largely overlooked source of marketing. Food marketing influences children's stated preferences, their requests to parents, and the foods that they consume (Federal Trade Commission, 2012). Almost all food ads (98%) targeting children are for products that are high in sugar, fat, or sodium; most ads (79%) are for products that are low in fiber (Larson, Story, & Nelson, 2009).?