Bribing inspectors and health agencies to deem their product as “safe.”
Dark psychological tricks aimed at gripping and addicting vulnerable consumers.
Collaborating directly with pharmaceutical companies to drive up profits.
In fact, did you know that the food industry was essentially hijacked by the cigarette industry in the 1980s? They strategically shifted their attention towards ultra-processed foods, using the same tactics to get the American population addicted.
Modern ultra-processed food has quite literally become weaponized against the consumer to be hyper-palatable and hyper-addictive, leaving you wanting more.
However, since their food is void in any real nutrition, you’re intentionally left unsatisfied, so you always go back for more. It’s a dark psychological money-making scheme.
How can we continue to trust and support these mega corporations who profit from people’s illness and struggles? The message should be simple: Eat real food!
1. If Toxic Foods Are So “Safe,” Why Does Money Blind the Inspectors?
How do hyper-toxic products keep sliding past safety inspections? The answer isn’t complicated—it’s money. Inspectors and regulators who are supposed to protect the public are often “influenced” by the very corporations they should be policing. It’s not science, it’s lobbying with a paycheck.
2. “Trust the Experts,” They Said… But Who Pays the Experts?
The public is told to “trust the experts,” but more than half of the UK’s official government nutrition advisors receive direct funding from the food industry. This isn’t unbiased advice—it’s a marketing arm disguised as public health. When experts are on the payroll, their recommendations become little more than advertisements.
3. A Handful of Corporations Control Everything
Ten companies control most of what we eat. Another ten dominate pharmaceuticals. Just five hold power over traditional medicine. The overlap isn’t coincidental—it’s a carefully interlinked web ensuring that food, health, and medicine all serve the same bottom line: profit. The fewer players, the tighter the control.
4. The Problem-Creator and the Solution-Seller
It’s the ultimate hustle: the food industry manufactures disease by selling products that make people sick, and the medical industry stands by to sell the “solution.” Chronic illness becomes a recurring revenue stream. Food giants and pharma giants collaborate not to heal, but to hook.
5. Wendell Berry Saw It Coming
As author Wendell Berry put it: “People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.” This is not conspiracy—it’s observation. The modern system thrives when people are both overfed and undernourished.
6. 90 Calories Sells Better Than 30 Ingredients
One of the most sinister tricks in food marketing is distraction. A package might scream “90 CALORIES” in giant letters while quietly listing thirty chemical ingredients in fine print on the back. Consumers are led to believe they’re making a “healthy” choice, when in reality they’re consuming a chemical cocktail designed for addiction.
7. Psychological Warfare in the Grocery Aisle
Bright colors, cartoon mascots, eye-level shelf placement, and strategic wording like “natural” or “low-fat” are not accidents. Food companies use teams of behavioral scientists to engineer packaging and formulas that manipulate psychology. It’s not about nourishment—it’s about triggering cravings and bypassing reason.
Closing Thoughts
The modern food system isn’t designed to keep us healthy—it’s designed to keep us hooked. From bribing inspectors to hijacking expert panels, from engineering “solutions” to the very problems they cause, corporations profit at the expense of human health. The only real rebellion is to break free from their system. Eat real food, eat meat, and choose nourishment over manipulation.
References:
- Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. University of California Press, 2013.
- Fabbri, Adriano, et al. “Conflict of Interest between Food Industry and Nutrition Experts in the UK.” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 21, no. 18, 2018, pp. 3407–3416.
- Clapp, Jennifer, and Radhika Balakrishnan. “Corporate Control of Global Food Systems and Its Impacts on Food Security and Sovereignty.” Globalizations, vol. 19, no. 7, 2022, pp. 1107–1123.
- Stuckler, David, and Marion Nestle. “Big Food, Food Systems, and Global Health.” PLoS Medicine, vol. 9, no. 6, 2012, e1001242.
- Berry, Wendell. Citizenship Papers. Shoemaker & Hoard, 2003.
- Monteiro, Carlos A., et al. “Ultra-Processed Products Are Becoming Dominant in the Global Food System.” Obesity Reviews, vol. 14, no. S2, 2013, pp. 21–28.
- Moss, Michael. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random House, 2013.