San Francisco sues major food makers over widespread ultra-processed product harms.
San Francisco’s lawsuit against some of the country’s biggest food companies marks a sharp shift in how one city is choosing to confront the long-standing flood of ultra-processed foods that have filled grocery aisles for decades. The filing lays out the story of how foods once made from simple ingredients slowly turned into products packed with additives, colors, and lab-made fillers that change how the body reacts to them. These products have been tied to a steady rise in illnesses, and the lawsuit argues that the companies behind them knew the harm but kept pushing new versions to keep sales high. City leaders say families have been surrounded by these foods for so long that it hardly feels like there is any real choice left, especially with shelves filled with many brands that are ultimately owned by the same small group of corporations. The case lays out how these foods took over the national diet, starting with early steps during wartime when long-lasting meals were needed, then expanding rapidly as major companies realized they could turn a strong profit by selling packaged foods as quick and modern. What looked like a convenience boom soon became a way for the industry to control most of what ends up in the average shopping cart.
As these products spread, health data took a troubling turn. Rates of obesity rose year after year. Young adults saw an increase in colorectal cancer. Diabetes and diseases connected to long-term inflammation climbed sharply. Studies tracked how heavy intake of ultra-processed foods affects digestion, metabolism, and mental health in ways that go far beyond simple counts of sugar or fat. The lawsuit points out that the physical structure of these foods changes how the body responds, leading to overeating and long-term harm. Many of the companies named in the suit are the same ones that used tactics borrowed from the tobacco industry. Internal records show that tobacco executives moved into leadership roles in food companies decades ago, and the approach they brought with them focused on boosting repeat use, shaping habits early, and presenting their products in a way that hid the risks. Advertising aimed at children became a major part of the strategy, using bright colors, cartoon characters, and cross-promotion with well-known brands that kids trusted. These companies also aimed a large share of their ads at low-income communities and communities of color, where rates of diabetes and related illnesses have climbed faster and hit harder than in other groups.
The lawsuit also includes details about a meeting in 1999 where top industry executives were warned by their own leaders that the products were causing a level of harm that could grow into a crisis similar to the one linked to tobacco. Instead of slowing down, companies continued developing foods built to trigger cravings. As health care costs rose in cities across the country, states and local governments took on a growing share of the expenses tied to chronic diseases linked to diet. San Francisco leaders say the public has been left paying both the financial and personal price for an industry that stayed quiet about what it knew. The case asks the court to order changes in marketing and production and to require companies to help offset the heavy financial toll linked to years of illness tied to these foods. City officials say the action is an effort to protect families and hold the industry responsible for the part it played in shaping a national health problem that continues to grow. At the same time, local leaders are reviewing the presence of ultra-processed foods in programs and departments across the city to reduce harm and set an example for other communities looking to do the same.
Sources:
San Francisco files landmark lawsuit against companies over ultra processed foods
San Francisco City Attorney Chiu sues largest manufacturers of ultra-processed foods
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