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A group of teen activists are calling out Kellogg’s lack of transparency, with the help of some mud.
Working with Bite Back 2030, a youth-led nonprofit co-founded by Jamie Oliver that campaigns for a healthier, fairer food system, the young campaigners recently delivered mud (yes, real mud) to Kellogg’s factory gates.
But we’re not talking a pile of brown, sloppy stuff. The activists packaged up the mud in beautifully designed packets, and added branding that stated the mud was “high in fiber,” as well as “a great source of minerals,” and “low in fat.” And of course, it needed a fancy name. So they called it Müd (pronounced like “mood”).
All of the claims printed on Müd were technically true, but they missed out on one vital piece of information that would influence buying decisions: the fact it’s made with mud.
The idea behind Müd is to call out Kellogg’s for a lack of transparency around the health claims on its products. Bite Back 2030 maintains that the multinational food manufacturing company is misleading customers, by using marketing to represent its products as healthier than they actually are.
The activists called out Kellogg’s cereal line, in particular. They claimed that the food giant is deliberately distracting from how much sugar is in its cereals, by only printing claims like “high in fiber” on boxes.
It’s a ‘massive con,’ says vegan campaigner
Barakat Omomayowa, a young vegan campaigner with Bite Back 2030, explained: “It was ridiculously easy to copy big-brand tactics and develop a product that, based on health claims alone, people would want to buy. It might seem wacky, but these are the marketing tactics that young people are up against every day.”
“We don’t get told the whole truth when it comes to the food we eat and we’re fed up with it. So today we’ve taken Kellogg’s their own year’s supply of mud in recognition of the massive con they’re getting away with, every single day.”
Bite Back 2030 published a report in 2021 that found one in two young people are influenced by health claims on products.
Becky Odoi, another activist who took part in the Müd stunt, said: “The food system is rigged against our health and whilst it should be easy to eat healthily, it isn’t.” She added that Kellogg’s and other brands like it need to do the “responsible thing” and “be more honest” about the ingredients in their products.
Odoi also noted that the UK’s health secretary Sajid Javid should “introduce clear, mandatory labeling policies that protect our health.”
To assist with Bite Back 2030’s campaign and put more pressure on the government to do more, click here to send an email to Javid.
