The more we know about who owns and controls our food, the more we can support trustworthy companies.
“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” This famous quote by Henry Kissinger is ringing more and more true by the week.
When our children were young (1991-2005), these wonderful (often family-owned) health food companies were often my go-to because I trusted them and the ingredients. So their sell-outs came as quite a surprise. Healthy, environmentally-aware brands have seen huge sales growth in recent years, and big names like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and General Mills all want a piece of the action.
These alternatives cost more but people were willing to pay, in large part because they saw these brands as being smaller, healthier, more responsible choices.
A lot of these “niche” companies are now owned by the very corporations many shoppers are trying to avoid.
As experts like Philip Howard at Michigan State University have stated, big companies tend to tinker with formulas to make them easier to mass-produce and cheaper.
Here are some natural and organic brands that have gone “mega-corporate” in recent years.
Hellbound and Down 