Are food giants rigging the system against children's health? Do they use sinister tactics to market unhealthy products to kids? Can we trust them to look out for our planet?

This year we launched Fuel Us Don't Fool Us to uncover how much the biggest food companies impact our health and the health of our planet. Here are the shocking findings from our research and how you can call for change.

RELIANCE ON SELLING JUNK

We found that the majority of the biggest food and drink manufacturers – 7 out of 10 to be exact — rely on selling unhealthy products in the UK. [1] This is at a time when nearly 1 in 3 children face an increased risk of food related illnesses in their futures. The numbers are staggering:

It’s clear that most of these companies are pumping out way too many unhealthy products. They’re filling the system with food and drinks that aren’t good for us and far too often, marketing them to kids (read on for more on how they do that!).

The Top Ten Food & Drink Giants

So, how exactly do these companies show up on your supermarket shelves? Let’s take a look at the household brands they sell:

The Marketing Tactics They Use

What sneaky tactics do these companies use to market unhealthy products to children?

Think of the cartoon characters that peer out at young children from supermarket shelves. Or the bright, colourful graphics. The rainbows and the spaceships, the friendly frogs or the googly-eyed monsters.

Packaging is powerful, there’s no denying that. These companies like to dupe parents too with the free giveaways, the fun games, and the products that seem fun for children.

We took a look at the portfolios of the biggest global food companies operating in the UK and found 78% of their food products that use packaging to appeal to children are classed as unhealthy. [2]

IMPACT ON PLANETARY HEALTH

It’s not just child health that is at risk. Big food companies are using the same playbook to dodge accountability on the health of the planet. Shady tactics, misleading claims, distracting advertising. We’re done letting them get away with it.

In 2022, these same 10 food companies had a collective total of 477 million tonnes of global greenhouse gas emissions, globally – this is more than the whole of the UK’s emissions in the same year! [3]

They’ve all set targets to reduce their global emissions, but many of them aren’t ambitious enough. Few businesses are on track to meeting their own targets and, worse still, some are even moving in the wrong direction: 3 out of the 10 manufacturers — Ferrero, Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo — actually increased their annual emissions in 2022, compared to the year they set their target.

Does all of this make you as angry as we are? Then join our Fuel Us Don't Fool Us campaign and demand action from these companies.

[1] Research conducted by the University of Oxford using 2022 Euromonitor data on packaged food and drink sales. Exclusions apply. Read more in our report: Are food giants rigging the system against children’s health? — Full Report, At A Glance Report

[2] 262 food products from the top 10 global food and drink companies operating in the UK were reviewed. Read more in our report: Are food giants using child appealing tactics responsibly? — Full Report

[3] Research conducted by consultants Hugo Gitton and Corentin Jégo Delacourt. Read more in our report: How far can we trust the food giants with planetary health? — Full Report, At A Glance Report