On paper, the Smart Choices package labeling initiative was a step in the right direction. Designed to help guide consumers to choose more nutritious food products, it reflected an industry driven solution to the nation’s overweight and obesity crisis.

The program began by highlighting the total number of calories per serving AND the number of servings per package right on the front of the label.   This allowed consumers to immediately determine the caloric merits for each product. Unfortunately, the Smart Choices effort quickly derailed by trying to accomplish too much.  In addition to communicating calorie and serving information, it complicated the matter by grading each item on its relative “healthfulness” according to interpretive nutritional criteria. Against all sensibility, items such as Fruit Loops and mayonnaise were bestowed the “Smart Choices” label, sending mothers and nutrition activists into a frenzy, resulting in an early death for the program and damage to the industry’s credibility.

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Here’s a press release outlining my position on why tax incentives make better sense than taxing soft drinks in order to lower rates of obesity:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2009
 
Author Stirs “Fat” Tax Debate with Controversial Proposal
Anti-Obesity Advocate and Former Food Executive Says Tax Incentives for Food Corporations a Better Way to Trim the Fat
 
Chapel Hill, N.C. – (September 22, 2009) Hank Cardello, a well-known author, advocate for addressing America’s obesity epidemic and former food industry executive has spent more than thirty years as a senior executive for some of America’s largest food and beverage manufacturers. While Cardello is the first to admit that the food industry has played some role in the proliferation of obesity in America, Cardello’s position highlights the importance of engaging the food industry to solve the problem – through incentives rather than ineffective taxes on select products deemed “unhealthy” by government and health advocates. Cardello also wants to tap into the marketing power of the food industry to help educate consumers about portion control.

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