III. The federal government does regulate foods for safety but plays no role in limiting how much unhealthy foods children eat when in their parents' care. On the other hand, the fact that government programs now make a specific effort to improve the ratio of healthy food choices to unhealthy food choices in public education demonstrates that without some controls, children will make unhealthy choices and eat more unhealthy foods than is good for them.
IV. Children do not develop will power by being exposed to temptation without a specific reward or an immediate consequence associated with making the more beneficial choices (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005). Providing children with the information that eating too much unhealthy foods will have adverse consequences in several decades is not a sufficient motivation for them to eat less unhealthy food than they wish to at the moment.
Decision:
The arguments put forth against the permissibility of advertising unhealthy foods and beverages to children are stronger than the corresponding arguments supporting unrestricted advertising to children.
Rebuttal by Counterargument:
Aside from the question of whether or not commercial speech of the nature at issue is legally protected, there is the moral issue of advertising to children to generate financial profit by prompting them to eat food that is known to be unhealthy. The less unhealthy foods and beverages children consume, the better it is for their health and advertising unhealthy foods to them is, therefore, unethical even if it is legal.
Parents can not control what their children eat out of their presence. Even when parents control what they purchase at the supermarket, children can be very persistent.
Many supermarkets no longer stock candy by the checkout isle, specifically because so many parents have expressed their frustration with this...
Obesity is already at epidemic proportions in American adults and many studies have clearly demonstrated that unhealthy dietary habits in childhood correspond directly to obesity in adulthood. Children are extremely impressionable and even more psychologically susceptible to advertising messages than adults.(Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).
It is already difficult enough for many parents to convince children to eat beneficial foods; when children are targeted by advertising for unhealthy foods, it becomes that much harder to direct them toward healthy dietetic choices. By the time children reach high school, they have usually been exposed to thousands of hours of mass media advertisement (Howard 2005) and they are conditioned to form specific desires for products depicted in advertisements that they would not necessarily ever have known about otherwise.
In principle, advertising unhealthy foods to children is unethical for the same reasons that doing so in conjunction with tobacco products is prohibited by law. In fact, it is perfectly conceivable that targeting children for advertising junk food may eventually be prohibited by law in much the same manner. REFERENCES
Belch, G, Belch, M. (1998) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated
Marketing Communications Perspective. Irwin/McGraw-Hill: New York
Gerrig, R., Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life 17th ed.
Allyn & Bacon: New Jersey
Halbert, T., Ingulli, E. (2000) Law & Ethics in the Business Environment. Cincinnati: West Legal Studies. Howard, M. (2005) We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind. New York: The Disinformation Company
Ogilvy, D. (1983) Ogilvy on Advertising
Vintage Books: New York
