These 10 companies control all of the food you eat. I will teach you how we can fight back.
You may not realize it, but there's a war going on.
No, I am not talking about a physical war like Russia v. Ukraine.
I am talking about a war against your metabolic health.
You may be unaware of the abysmal health statistics that currently encapsulate the United States.
Currently:
- 🔴 70% of Americans are overweight or obese
- 🔴 7 out of 10 deaths are currently caused by Chronic Illnesses
- 🔴 The annual cost of obesity is $147 Billion
Out of the millions of species that reside on the Earth, humans are the only species that has shown the inability to regulate our own bodyweight.
Seriously, take a look out at nature.
Show me a wild animal that struggles to maintain its weight. I'll wait.
"But why humans?" You may ask. After all, we have the most evolved brains out of any species and an over-abundance of technology and resources.
The problem stems not from a lack of intelligence or a lack of resource, but rather a lack of morality behind "Big Food" suppliers.
In this thread, we are going to refer to Big Food as a collection of 10 companies that effectively control 80% of all food products sold for consumption in the US.
Chances are, if you are in the inner aisles of a grocery store, Big Food controls almost all of those products.
These 10 companies are:
- General Mills
- Nestle
- Coca Cola
- Unilever
- Pepsico
- Kellogg's
- Associated British Foods
- Mondelez
- Mars
- Danone
Collectively, they do over $1B of revenue per day.
These companies are all publicly traded, which means they have a fiduciary responsibility to deliver maximum value to their shareholders.
Translation: They are trying to make as much money as possible.
As profit-maximizing machines, these companies are geniuses at finding cheaper and industrial ways to make food.
They are able to inject cheap & refined vegetable oils & sugars into their products.
These products are not only addictive but also incredibly inflammatory.
Studies have revealed that almost 80% of products in a grocery store are sold by 4 Big Food companies.
- 🔴 93% of the sodas we drink are owned by 3 companies.
- 🔴 73% of all breakfast cereals are owned by 3 companies.
- 🔴 80% of all beef processing is owned by 4 processors.
What they have done is create an assortment of hyper-palatable foods that are designed to make you addicted and turn off your hunger signals.
They are putting together the perfect combinations of sweetness, saltiness, umami, and various textures.
Seriously, you know how you can eat an entire bag of chips and be ravenously hungry just an hour later?
That is your body signaling to you that it did not get the nutrients it was craving from those chips. CC: @CarniClemenza
You may have the best willpower and discipline known to mankind, but try walking through the average supermarket without a plan.
Before you know it, you will have a few bags of Doritos, a couple liters of cokes, and some ice cream without knowing what happened.
These companies are also able to spend hundreds of millions on marketing to program your subconscious minds to believe that their products are healthy.
We have seen this with the demonization of Saturated fat and the overabundance of "heart-healthy" vegetable oils & sugars.
I have a very simple solution. It's simple, but that does not mean it's easy. However, it will work.
My solution is a Hyper-Localized approach to eating.
Hyper-Local Food is the conscious decision to buy food that is grown very close to where you are currently living.
These foods will typically be grown and created by your local farmer or rancher.
You see, your local farmer actually cares about your health and wants to help you thrive.
Farmers are incentivized to nourish you with REAL FOODS such as pasture-raised meat, fruits, vegetables, and eggs.
Why are these farmers incentivized? Simple.
They know that if they do not supply you with nourishing food you will consciously choose not to buy their food.
Contrast this with Big Food, that is making billions of dollars per day. They could care less if they lose you.
By choosing to eat hyper-local, you are also eating REAL FOOD. My definition of real food is no ingredients labels - just the single source ingredient itself.
There are many different variations of real food diets that you may come across:
- Paleo, Ketogenic, Carnivore, Animal-based, Gluten-free, etc.
I am not here in this article to tell you what foods to eat but rather, how you choose to source that food so you can thrive.
When you start to incorporate a hyper-localized approach to eating it won't take long to feel the incredible effects.
I predict that you:
- ✅ Will lose weight.
- ✅ Have far more energy.
- ✅ Will truly taste & savor your food.
- ✅ Feel better than you ever did on a standard American diet.
You will no longer be hindered by cravings and addictions to food that is zapping your vitality & quality of life.
You will also be able to support a system that incentivizes your farmer to grow the best quality food possible that is in turn nourishing your body.
In addition, the Hyper-Local philosophy does not merely satisfy what’s best for you nutritionally. It's also what's best for the planet.
This approach incentivizes less of a reliance on fossil fuels in the food system which makes it a more environmentally attractive solution.
Farmers are able to deploy regenerative practices that:
- ✅ Improve water & soil quality
- ✅ Enhance biodiversity of local ecosystem
- ✅ Produce more nutrient-dense food
- ✅ Store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
CC: @SustainableDish @robbwolf @jamesscophoto
This is a reminder that the decisions you make truly matter.
Every dollar you are spending on food is truly a vote for your preferences.
Do you choose to incentivize your local farmers or small businesses? Or do you choose to incentivize Big Food, who profits on your obesity?
I will let you determine how you spend you money but I am here to remind you that you truly have a choice.
Eat hyper-local and watch the way your life changes.
You deserve to thrive and become the strongest version of yourself.
Thanks for reading! If you want to see me breakdown more Animal-based nutrition hit the follow button @MrSollozzo and @carniclemenza and subscribe to our newsletter.