Some Americans really do care about what they eat. That's the word, at least. In an effort to keep up with this slowly growing segment of the population - the one that is not content to live on Egg McMuffins and Whoppers - several major players in the junk food industry are in the process of reconsidering what they put in their products.

If healthy soda, gum, and chocolate bars seem like too great of an oxymoron to get over - I'm with you. I understand. But this is our reality. According to an article in today's USA Today, market researcher Mintel reports that "health-conscious consumers have made foods and beverages with natural and organic labeling or FDA-approved health claims a $44 billion-a-year business." Junk food manufacturers want in on the action.

• 7Up has just announced that its soda is now "100 percent natural" (i.e. "everything that remains in the can is from a natural source"). Same great taste and same high-fructose corn syrup.
• Reaction to Masterfood's healthy chocolate bar, CocoaVia, have been so strong that a national rollout is on it's way.
• Wrigley, the famous chewing gum manufacturer, isn't changing anything about its products, but it did launch the Wrigley Science Institute last fall to research the effect of gum chewing on dieting, stress reduction, and concentration.

While there is no denying that consuming less saturated fat in our chocolate and less artificial ingredients in our soda is a good thing, I would trade the health(ier) junk food for a greater push towards whole foods [see LIME interview with healthy chef Alex Jamieson]. Instead of chomping Big Red when you're feeling stressed, how about taking walk, or if you must chomp, eating a carrot? Can it possibly be crazier than a bubbly can of "all-natural" 7Up?

[via USA Today]

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