Kellogg’s has recently released a new campaign called ‘Give a Child A breakfast’, stating that:
“for many families, skipping breakfast isn’t a choice; it’s a necessity. Rising food costs and everyday pressures are to blame for this growing problem.’Sadly, 1 in 7 children in the UK goes to school without breakfast every day. Together, we can give 2 million kids a better start.”
By following/ tweeting/ buying special packs of Kellogg’s, you will provide one child a breakfast. Unsurprisingly, the breakfast these children will be given is Kellogg’s. On the surface this looks great – breakfast is important and I don’t think kids should be going to school without breakfast, but I don’t think that Kellogg’s cereals should really be considered a healthy breakfast, or a ‘great way to start the day’.
Bellow is the ingredients list on a packet of Cornflakes from the Kellogg’s website:
Milled corn, sugar, malt flavor, contains 2% or less of salt. (BHT added to packaging for freshness). Vitamins and Minerals (in unknown quantities or forms): Iron, vitamin C (sodium ascorbate, ascorbic acid), niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.
So, the ingredients are essentially a load of sugar (in the form of milled corn and sugar) with various synthetic vitamins and minerals. Does no one else see the problem with this? Is this not the exact opposite of what we want to be doing? Feeding children sugar is not fighting childhood obesity, it is feeding it. Feeding children synthetic vitamins instead of fruits and vegetables is not teaching children healthy habits, its destroying them. Eating Kellogg’s cereal for breakfast is not a healthy choice, it is unhealthy.
This campaign by Kellogg’s is nothing more than an advertising campaign to try and encourage more people to feed their children Kellogg’s cereals for breakfast under the impression that it is a healthy was to start the day – which is is not. In fact, Kellogg’s is very expensive! If people really are in such financial difficulty that they cannot afford breakfast, Kellogg’s is not the answer! What happened to the days of having a bowl of porridge for breakfast? Oats are very low cost and are a much healthier alternative to many breakfast cereals. I know in the winter I’ll be having a nice bowl of porridge with berries for my breakfast (I’m looking forward to it!)
While I do support the idea that children should be having breakfast, I DO NOT support the idea that children should be having Kellogg’s cereals for breakfast. It is promoting wrong and unhealthy eating habits.
Image courtesy of alexfel
