USA | San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against some of the largest manufacturers of ultra-processed foods.
The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court against Kraft Heinz Company, Mondelez International, Post Holdings, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle USA, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated, and ConAgra Brands.
The proliferation of ultra-processed foods in the American diet has been linked to a host of severe health conditions, imposing untold health care costs on Americans, as well as cities and states across the nation.
The lawsuit alleged the food industry knew that their products were making people sick, but they continued to devise and market increasingly addictive and harmful products to maximise profits.
“These companies created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of ultra-processed foods. They took food and made it unrecognisable and harmful to the human body. We must be clear that this is not about consumers making better choices,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu.
“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.”
While the seemingly infinite number of products that line grocery aisles today gives the illusion of consumer choice, Americans are essentially “choosing” between different configurations of chemicals that are making them sick. Most of these products are engineered by a handful of mega corporations.
Recent studies have linked overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to a multitude of adverse health outcomes, including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, and depression.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the People of the State of California in San Francisco Superior Court, alleged Defendant’s unfair and deceptive acts in connection with the sale and marketing of ultra-processed foods violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute.
The People seek an order, among other things, enjoining Defendants from deceptive marketing and requiring Defendants to take action to correct or lessen the effects of their behaviour.
The lawsuit also seeks restitution and civil penalties to remedy the public nuisance and help local governments offset astronomical health care costs associated with ultra-processed food consumption.
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, Andrus Anderson, DiCello Levitt, and Morgan & Morgan are representing the People in the lawsuit.
The case is People of the State of California v. Kraft Heinz Company, Inc., et al., San Francisco Superior Court.
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