Global Junk Food | The Movie

certain images can sum up a city the poor Riverside's of Calcutta the undernourished children and its dilapidated buildings but for the last 20 years scenes from Indian cities have been shaken by the arrival of american-style shopping centers like this one filled by Western brands Oh God [Music] move make Roma the city mayor and a minister have come to the opening with one of the most famous actors on the Indian subcontinent [Music] welcome to the paradise of shopping and gastronomy [Music] upstairs next to traditional foods three West and fast food brands are about to open subway KFC and soon Domino's Pizza the brands 600 point of sale in India how much is it fifty nine rupees sir fifty nine rupees okay fifty nine rupees 80 Euro cents it's a Western product at a very low price the main sales argument of the brand and there are some even cheaper this pizza is a study arranged for Domino's and mum the main thing is like we are introducing this pizza is only at 49 that is the thing now so that smile is most popular the meaning of 49 is little dream comes true I think someone from my centrists and for the guest also industrial food is still the stuff of dreams in developing countries and they are promising markets in France and Europe this fairytale is less of a success safety campaigns against junk food have been shown for 15 years by eating less sugar and fat you can help to protect your health in 2004 a law was voted to limit the effects of food marketing and the adverse for these products will have to contain health warnings by law in an effort to combat obesity for good health avoid eating too much sugar fat or salt under pressure industries reduced the quantities of sugar salt and fat in their products in France but they still find ways to get around this obstacle online where hands are less regulated they target new consumers in countries in the south brands go even further even going into schools and load their products with fat and sugar investigation into the New Territories of the fast food giants in India we moved to no food to bad food it is going to be disastrous for Public Health [Music] when you think of Rio de Janeiro some images always come to mind Copacabana beach sculpted bodies easy living and a passion for sport these common themes are often exploited by Western brands especially for fizzy drinks football favelas and sugary drinks [Applause] but the reality in Brazil is that warning to adults are overweight and one in seven are obese and according to this spokesperson for a consumer association fizzy drink brands cannot consider themselves blameless excessive marketing is one of the main reasons for the rise in obesity here children become addicted from a very early age and then it's much harder to wean them off it they drink a lot of fizzy drinks before the age of two even from their babies bottoms parents get this type of product to their children because they believe that if adverts and businesses promote them so much it can't be harmful Brazil is the third biggest market in the world for coca-cola Oh God the truth is that I love fizzy drink I'm addicted we drink it nearly every day at home and also when I go out it's my grandson who likes them a lot the big bottles are for me and the little ones for him he takes them straight out of the fridge and it's exactly the size of his little hand crisps in Brazil there is no law around food marketing so brands don't hesitate to canvas for clamps from school age Belo Horizonte the sixth biggest city in the country these neighborhoods in the hills and this public college are not the poorest but it has no budget for extracurricular activities but everything could soon change thanks to a famous red brand let's go go on put on your costume these 14 year old children will participate in a competition organized by coca-cola between schools of the city the schools festival general rehearsal the winning school gets 15,000 reals that's right and yes 5,000 reals that would be great we could buy elastic footballs equipment for volleyball whatever the result it will be good for the school these teachers signed the children up she even has the official title of brand ambassador unthinkable in France [Music] [Applause] [Music] college students join 4,000 other teenagers in the largest auditorium and of course the party begins with a coke of course we choose to drink coke they're the best have you given out a lot of water so far 20 bottles maximum and coke a lot all the refrigerators and how much is that about two thousand cans that day the brand is everywhere and yet it's a school event [Applause] you spend a lot of money on this operation yes we've invested a lot because the goal is to make the children dream which is the best gift that we can give them well I don't mean children but teenagers from 12 to 19 years and who are our public don't be stressed breathe it's time for the pupils of the region to go on stage thanks to the well known fizzy drink brand they are able to get their moment of glory [Applause] [Music] are you aware that this is marketing yes well more or less because I don't think coke needs that [Music] you see the brand is already so well-known everybody here knows it [Applause] coke forever today tomorrow coca-cola forever the most powerful fizzy drink brand on the planet has guaranteed the lifelong loyalty of these Brazilian schoolchildren this country is still young and manufacturers aren't waiting until high school to reach the children McDonald's has been selling its trowel Ronald into playgrounds for 27 years a marketing practice that is legal but controversial in Brazil last year a children's protection charity tried to have it banned but at McDonald's they prefer not to talk about it [Music] you can't just answer two or three questions about your show no I can't really nothing at all unfortunately not sorry a school headmistress helps us to find out more here are the children's lunches that's for Ronaldo that's for Julia in Sao Paulo Ana marina fazool e tries to prevent junk food from entering her school a daily battle to protect her pupils aged 3 to 14 in Brazilian canteens in general they serve crisps snacks off and fried bread or fizzy drinks it's really difficult because it's not just the adolescents who want them the younger ones do too we really need to make more effort to educate them in this area at our request the headmistress contacted McDonald's by telephone to get Ronald the club to come and a few days later hey what's up kids everything going ok hello welcome wow what an honor we pass ourselves off as pupils parents hello hello here we go everybody is here I want everybody to clap their hands so I can make my entrance music the sketches are about the environment and sport no reference to the brand only actors cost you the yellow logo has even been covered up by a red cloth so they can't be accused of advertising one two three it's off we all clap loudly but the children see all too well the link with the product goodbye goodbye does that make you want to eat at McDonald's yes are you going to ask your parents yes what do you want I want Nuggets fries a toy and a fizzy drink a big fizzy drink and you when you get out of here what are you going to ask your parents for fries and ice cream [Music] this type of show has already taken place in hundreds of schools does the brand accept that this is underhand advertising we asked McDonald's Brazil and we received this reply by email [Music] and who is that a clown which clown the clown from McDonald's yes it's Ronald he already came to the crash I was at before [Music] there is no law or regulation that prevents this practice in Brazil however last year the association's complaint led the Sao Paolo prosecutor to act [Music] davia Bardo sent a letter to the state authorities of Sao Paulo in charge of education to warn them as a precaution we recommend not allowing these shows in schools the most effective marketing is not the one that we see subtle and repetitive adverts are much more effective especially with children a child doesn't separate the message from an advert from another message here's what we filmed this morning if we collect the water we use to rinse the washing we can reuse it to water the plants and wash the floor right yes I feel completely helpless I've sent recommendations but apparently the Secretary of State for health hasn't followed up despite two letters to the ministry in Brazil the food giant's count on the weakness of the public administration in other developing countries they offer products that are much worse for public health India 1 billion 300 million inhabitants a priority market for Western brands looking for openings here street fruit is healthy and good value to compete European and American companies play on the majority of consumers lack of information in this huge shopping center in Kolkata among the restaurants it's a brand of fried chicken that has the eyes turn over the American brand has changed its recipe for its Indian source spicy and it's worked the restaurant attracts 3,000 customers on average per day a record in India so what do you want I want that one the world which there's a burger chicken or a rap I want it all in Europe or the United States menus include bottles of water not here only fizzy drinks or juices but the consumers don't complain clean I did I see I can see a meeting being prepared I haven't been sick that's why I trusted yes Eileen the managers are aware that their customers are lacking correct information but aren't authorized to say anything we record this conversation discreetly the current paradox is that while some Indians still suffer from malnutrition another part of the population the middle class is suffering from an obesity epidemic 30% of adolescents are overweight a figure that has doubled in five years Suraj is 15 and at five foot five weighs 15 stone 8 pounds spicy chicken girl the teenager is a fast-food junkie we have like four days of it we go out with friends and family so we have all this easel and stuff and everything we enjoy life I don't think I'm addicted but addicted is different than I'm not doing anything and it's like I'm not smoking I am not drinking so that is called electric this is not addictive yeah I know but what to do now [Music] Suraj has an appointment in this clinic which specializes in stomach surgery serious operations for extreme cases 300 patients per month are operated on here more and more are adolescents now last interview before the surgery so you have about 54 kg extra extra weight which you need to lose it will start from tomorrow after a month be very happy if you join your PT exercise and you can be a very tall handsome boy he's already pre-diabetic his hormones are changed we see that it's it's Trojans in the body are becoming more prominent giving rise to gynecomastia and feminine type of deposition of fat in addition to that his psychosocial comorbidities I tried everything but no control and I'm out so doctors are helping TV advertise main media also play a lot of role in promoting kids to see some film stars some celebrity advertising for something which is ideally not correct and all this with some inclination to be at once like a westerner probably could be a reason for a temptation Suraj is operation who take place the next day what's the matter boyfriend I really want a Mac potato Tiki okay TV adverts offer more and more ultra low-cost offers with one promise international quality you take the freshest highest quality ingredients mix them with a hundred percent real chicken and add our secret herbs and spices to it what you get is just good food is this really true are the products sold in India the same as over here to find out we compared them we chose McDonald's and KFC to Ran's there's a very widespread in India here's what we found at McDonald's a McChicken in India contains two and a half times more sugar than the French sandwich [Music] the fella to fish contains twice as much saturated fat same goes for the McNuggets as for the Indian fries they are off the chart nearly six times more saturated fat the results are no better at KFC the fries in India contain ten times as much salt the hot wings have three terms as much fat in France such levels would be unthinkable because of nutritional commitments made by these multinationals we wanted to show these results to a pioneer in the fight against junk food he runs the Center for science and environment a very respected NGO in India Chandra Bhushan wrote a damning report in 2012 criticizing the nutritional content of products destined for Indian consumers the purpose is very simple if you are more solidly more fatty more sugary it is more tasty people are going to eat more they know it okay and that is the challenge you know junk food will taste good okay but it is really really bad for your health we show him our comparison results these results are actually quite shocking that the same multinational company a selling product in in Europe and India they have double standards for them you know having such a high amount of fat sugar and salt is not a problem in India whereas they will have to meet very strict regulations in France so this is shocking to say the least this is a very very shocking result we brought the sandwich with the most calories in McDonald's in India the spicy paneer wrap a vegetarian cheese sandwich its nutritional composition can be found on the brands website it has 51 grams of fat 25 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of salt if you eat this one wrap then you should be eating anything in the day even a bread if you show it to a mother who is not about aware about these issues the mother will buy this for a child this is the worst kind of corporate responsibility you can think about where they give an image of healthy food but the food is not healthy [Music] it's not just a make consumers addicted that certain brands sell food that is so high in sugar and fats that's what this former consultant had Domino's Pizza the most developed fast-food brand in India explains to us this former chef prefers to stay anonymous can we get one garlic bread he wants to show us products that illustrate the deceptive marketing of the brand it's for 20 rupees which is like nice and cheap yeah it's basically bread with the filling and that's the sauce you know that's the sauce which and there's so much oil it's not three a little more spread love and inside it's supposed to be cheesy little like a cream emulsified meal right this now it gives you an effect often of a real team but this is basically like a sauce so it's definitely no dearie it's expensive after six months of working for the company the chef decided to resign sickened everything is superb to make money and as long as money is getting made so there is no right or wrong they had a lot of problems with me because I used to give food as food not as chemical construction of something but all my ideas in all is rejected because they were extremely expensive because I can't make a pizza for thirty rupees I mean I can't which has to value people at the end of it it's not right you know because at the end of it you just it's a cycle which will come back to you so yeah in India Domino's doesn't provide any nutritional information it's legal in India but would be illegal in France we had these products analyzed in a laboratory starting with the pizza filled with fake cheese it contains 52 grams of fat the equivalent of 5 soup spoons of oil and effectively not a single gram of cheese as for the 30 cents garlic bread it contains 11.6 percent saturated fats and nutritional nightmare [Music] we approached Domino's McDonald's KFC but to no avail none of them responded to our interview requests so he went to an event that was open to the press the General Assembly of the Association of Indian restaurants in a trendy bar in New Delhi all of the heads of the major brands were there having a drink including the director-general of Domino's Pizza in India the head of HR comes to the rescue absolutely there is so many other other problems also yes it responds to publishing details they are not authorized to speak that's been saying whatever questions you have you will get all the answers and we will we will send you all there is obesity is just one problem among others - Domino's we never receive a response despite trying multiple times only the American headquarters sent us an email redirecting us to the Indian branch in countries in the south the junk food Giants take advantage of the lack of legislation elsewhere where these rules exist others managed to get around them 5:30 p.m. in France a time when many families are having their after-school snack for Nathan and his sisters it always ends the same way everyone on their tablets while television usage is diminishing the internet is skyrocketing for children [Music] I put that there like that and like that so for ten years businesses have created Facebook pages and worked out how to make themselves popular of the twenty most followed brands in France half are from the food industry above all they've developed advertisement games on the Internet to put forward their brand they're known as advocates Oreo Fanta harrybo the products are the center of these games and unlike the TV adverts no health warnings neither is there any obligation to indicate that it is an advert only the Nestle group stayed this for one of its games but it's written in very small type this is an advert why do you think they make these games in your opinion they added the game because they think it's fun for people to play think it's an ad the game no it's a game the mother comes to see what's happening so what are you doing you have to kill these bugs it's hard you have to click on them it's a bit idiotic as a game the deceptive side is that it doesn't look like an advert they don't say eat Oreos buy Fanta have X or Y cereals for breakfast so I think it's a bit disguised now it's up to them to separate the two it's really a first for me I didn't know this existed what are the consequences of these games on children what are the differences from a television advert [Music] a researcher just wrote a report on marketing in the food industry destined for children and she focused on these advergaming the images of the food make you want to eat it and the main thing with digital is that it's more interactive and fun the child isn't passive like in front of the television he's really the player in the game on the Internet or when interacting on social media also we have whirring figures that show that up until the age of 15 children don't recognize that it's a brand that has created this game and they don't realize the marketing intention we show her some of the games that we have selected [Music] don't assume it's important to keep an eye on the time that the child spends on the game since they will be encouraged to play very often to improve their performance and it's a very fun world and all the time they are playing they are being encouraged to follow the brand and the product ideally I'm not quitting games to keep a close eye on especially as their effects on public health are worrying notably for those who are overweight in this hospital in the Paris region an obesity specialist has to battle more and more with digital marketing hello Audrey on let's go how are you take off the shorts so we can weigh you 5 for 8 and 14 stone 13 pounds Audrey on 15 has been followed for a year in his battle against his weight but he is constantly being solicited do you have games on your phone a phone yes and have you noticed the ads the publicity and yes food and fizzy drinks what brands McDonald's also McDonald's and Coca there sometimes they just come up but you can't block them with 7 kilograms lost already Audrey on he's on the right path well done enjoy the holidays others find it harder to resist temptation Chloe is 11 and is slightly overweight as the appointment starts her little brother entertains himself with the McDonald's games application no burger or fries to be seen but the Happy Meal mascot is very visible which gets the doctor's attention so have you finished the games no I'm just in the middle I'm in the middle of doing them all as soon as he wants to download an app I have to check so I've given the ok because McDonald's is pretty harmless harmless yes it's just coloring in and for you is advertising no they already know McDonald's they don't need ads does it make you one to go yes it makes me want to it's exactly probably more so you don't sit no that is what is underhand in this non ad which really is one having them at Donald's app right in front of your eyes it can make you think we haven't been for a while why don't we go tonight targeting the weakest consumers however these brands had committed themselves to no longer do this in 2008 the 20 biggest food groups worldwide had signed the same promise that of limiting advertising aimed at children under 12 years old this commitment also applied to the advocates but no sanction was any effect however we discover that most of the games are available on iTunes or Google Play for children over for free and with no mention of parental permission we contacted these brands some of them replied to us exclusively by email none of the companies all the communication agencies would reply to our questions on camera to understand their marketing strategy we had to do a little roleplay we passed ourselves off as a fizzy drink manufacturer we started by creating a fake brand with the help of a graphic artist a very sugary fruit juice called swag a little cutting and pasting workshop a first test to the target audience [Music] we're going to need an advocate to sweeten the pill we get in contact with several specialized ad agencies they made some very popular games for well-known brands now shoot for the brand oasis downloaded 2 million times they serve on tier mm which gives center stage two crisps in a world of cheese and the site for children tasty comics by KFC two million regular visits this game involves collecting the most fries to spice up the exercise we add sugar to the fruit juice the bottle is displaying a particularly high level we film with a hidden camera first agency hello we have a meeting with burp we show them our fruit juice we want to compete with Oasis Fanta we have the budget for the app the idea is to be in another world that is fun and can speak to a child ok children as in children children yes that's our main target ok that's very clear the ad executive shows us the last game created by the agency the client one of the top five food groups worldwide it's a very very simple game because it children who will play it and you play with the hero who is on the packaging in a universe which is that of the brand the client of the agency had committed to not advertising to under-12 however the game is clearly aimed at small children what I'm telling you and the strategy were not allowed to publish we can't say that we're targeting children in fact we can't target children that are under 11 it's tea time no comment on the amount of sugar to find out more a second meeting with an agency that claims to be the leader in advertising games in France this company director has just created an app for a chocolate company that has been downloaded several million times they've increased their revenue by 30 percent on their biscuit range 27 percent I think do we know what age range this is for no but it's tea time for children so they're very chocolate flavored muffins really for kids so I think it matches with your target we are going to be given some trade secrets based on psychology generally we manage to put the brands in at places which give the most pleasure in the game they're going to be exposed to the brand five to ten times per session it's thanks to the brand that you progress that you win a bonus and that generates pleasure hormones that make you happy and it's associated with the brand it's very effective we requested an interview on the marketing effectiveness of Advocates with these agencies and their clients no response [Music] we wanted to show these images to dr. Fidalgo the child or obesity specialist [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's thanks to the brand that you progress and that generates pleasure hormones that make you happy it's impressive in its pertinence we know that video games are addictive for children so there's this connection of to addictions games and sugar and I think it's infuriating for us professionals we struggle daily trying to get across a message to the children that as soon as they get home and play a game it will probably make them disappear I hope that we'll manage to legislate against that and I'll support it as a health professional or fraternal office and into something exactly that legislate in France food advertising is supposed to regulate itself through the regulation of advertising Authority the AR PP it's led by businesses and television channels Stefan Mata is the general manager welcome it has just written a report that concludes that ninety-nine point eight percent of the ads broadcast in 2014 respected ethical obligations including those online but the advert games are not taken into account we show him the game created by the brand Oreo so you get points by consuming yes but that's the principle of reward it's Universal either with points or gold bars or of its food the product so if I have a poster in the street I have to feature a health warning but not if I'm making a children's game awful she said to me yes you tell us that yes because it wasn't foreseen there's no obligation nothing has been foreseen even though obesity levels continue to rise in France especially in poorer families to some people nothing has happened simply because the public authorities know the economic impact of the food industry actually more and there is currently a lack of political courage to change things but it's true that currently in the public sphere it's not a question that is particularly present in France awful and nothing in France will change soon there is no project to change the laws relating to advertising on the Internet even though this is dramatically on the rise back in India the country where everything is allowed we're disclosing what is in your product is concerned we find Suraj the adolescent one hour before his operation to reduce his stomach not scared I'm excited oh my I that pack will get too close enough but but I have to take up and turn on Eva control means have to not it all the young foods Pepsi and on do not drink yes general anesthetic the surgeon begins the operation [Music] this looks like the liver which has become so big all because it's fat lead and if I touch you can see a yellow discoloration which means the liver is fat-laden and very large the doctor is going to entirely remove the adolescent stomach before replacing it in the abdomen smaller and tighter it went very well he's doing fine nothing to worry about [Music] four months later we find out that Suraj has lost more than four stone ten pounds this adolescent needed a surgical operation to get over his addiction to junk food a few months ago the 20 biggest food multinationals made an announcement nutritional standards that will apply worldwide but again there are no sanctions if the criteria are not respected and the companies are left to regulate themselves date of application 2018 until then in two years time obesity would have killed 5.6 million people worldwide [Music] the girl from Primanti should take her my fancy I wanted to take her back home Johnny or what a party until she bumped into Fredo problem she was put to me hardies be I seem to be bad [Music] ding dig around [Music]

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 532,237

Rating: 4.8271565 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, full, food, bio, organic, junk food, fast food, diet, healthy, documentaries, artificial colour, sugar, fat, preservatives, saturated fat, food manufacturers, artificial colors, artificial flavors

Id: zbKnJOroNWU

Length: 51min 27sec (3087 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 21 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/bertiebees]

They learned from the tobacco industry. Avoid legislation by heading to market were governments are weaker and sell the hell out of your products.

[u/sec0nds_left]

They act like companies coming to schools is something new. I remember back in the 90s we would do the stupid candy fundraiser stuff for school. Its no different.

[u/irasleepsover]

Of course there is going to be more salt, sugar, and fat, they have to catch up somehow.

[u/Angry_Robot]

On the one hand, this is pretty horrible, because unhealthy food makes unhealthy people. On the other hand, living in the only human era where cheap abundant calories are a problem is pretty great.

[u/shinylilfrog]

just watched this, so fascinating. absolutely floored by the comparisons of the amount of saturated fat in junk food in france and india

[u/soulless_ape]

From what I've seen in the third world countries I've been in, it is more expensive to eat McDonald's then to have a real meal at any restaurant, bar or fast food joint. So not only real food is better but cheaper.

[u/[deleted]]

Fuck McDonald's and Coca-Cola. I stopped drinking soda years ago and have never missed it. I am still guilty of a trip to McDonalds every now and then, maybe once every 4 months. I really need to stop all together.

[u/TotesMessenger]

I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:

• [/r/brasilonreddit] [r/Documentaries] Global Junk Food (2016) The marketing tactics of brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Domino's pizza, in Brazil, India and France. Showing even higher levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats than US, and marketed to children of the world. [51:27]

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[u/grapesodatoday]

If this stuff interests you - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salt-Sugar-Fat-Giants-Hooked/dp/0753541475 is a fantastic read/audio book. It is amazing and terrifying how these brands conquered us.