Photo by Tom Sharrow/SoNourished.com

Baltimore, Maryland hosted the Natural Products Expo East trade show September 13-15, 2018. Natural food experts and industry leaders came together to share ideas and findings. One of the principal guests at the expo was Hank Cardello, a man with lots of experience in the food and beverage industry.

Hank Cardello’s Call to Action

Cardello is the Senior Fellow and Director of the Food Policy Center at The Hudson Institute. He is also a former food executive who spent over 30 years working with some of the most popular food and beverage brands in the country. His resume includes Cadbury-Schweppes’ Sunkist Soft Drinks, Inc; Canada Dry; Coca-Cola USA; Anheuser-Busch; and General Mills¹. He received praise for his best-selling book, “Stuffed: An Insider’s Look at Who’s (Really) Making America Fat.”

Cardello's expo presentation was “The State of Natural: Disrupting for Good in 2018 and Beyond.” It pointed out that even health-conscious products hide lots of unnecessary added sugar. He asked manufacturers to take a closer look at their ingredients and “low-sugar” products. Cardello used Back to Roots cereal and Zevia, a manufacturer of stevia-sweetened sodas as good examples. These brands continue to stand by their commitment to cut back on added sugars. Moreover, Cardello recognized natural and organic food and beverage companies as leaders in low sugar products.

America’s Sugar Addiction

Obviously, many Americans turn to convenient packaged foods like energy bars and yogurt. These seem healthy, but often pack loads of sugar. Cardello’s mission is to urge public food policies towards a more balanced and healthy approach. His presentation brought new ideas and insights to food and beverage manufacturers. In fact, one of Cardello’s most recent projects was serving as architect for the confectionery industry’s push for reduced portion sizes.

Not surprisingly, sugar is a leading contributor to the nation’s obesity epidemic. For reference, “obese” is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more². BMI is determined by dividing weight in kilograms by height in square meters. The health condition is claiming the lives of thousands of Americans each year.

Positive Changes

Slowly but surely, times are changing. For example, Cardello made progress on some of these initiatives during his time as the Global Obesity Business Forum’s Co-Chair. Additionally, states and cities have been implementing soda taxes to encourage consumers to reach for less sugary, lower-calorie beverages. Sugar addiction is a real thing, and it’s not easy to break this not-so-sweet behavior. The more sugar a person consumes, the more they crave, and sugary drinks provide a quick and easy fix.

Even so, Cardello and others aren’t losing hope. The Natural Products trade show helped bring solidarity and new ideas to this continued fight. Undoubtedly, more changes are bound to come.

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