Reflections on Swedish food packaging, Week 3 Post 2

I would like to comment on a big difference that I see in packaged products in Swedish markets vs. American markets. After shopping for several weeks in the store I noticed a big difference in control over the decision making process of purchasing food. Packaged food here lacks the target of children and seems to be more plain. I have not seen any food products that are appealing specifically to children with characters or color/font choices. This dawned on me when I received a package from home that had Kraft macaroni and cheese in it that was shaped like Spongebob Squarepants and Scooby Doo. This is shaping the culture in a very different way from American culture. In America, when specifically targeting a child, the child feels that the product is for them and they control the grocery list. This also goes for Eggo waffles with Barbie stamped on them, or ice cream treats shaped like cartoon characters. All of these are very common in America, but not here. With the treatment of packaging set different, parents here have more control over what the family eats. Childhood obesity is a rising concern in American children and much blame has been put on food packaging tailored to children. It is an ethical issue and I am beginning to see how much of a change it makes when this type of marketing is omitted from a culture. Children in Sweden seem much more calm and reserved, and this might have to do with their diet and excercise. With a healthier diet, children are more likely to act in a balanced, normal way. It is typical in America to see children who are given foods with more sugar to act out of control, wild, and controlling of the parents. I have experience working at an American supermarket for two summers during my college years and I observed many instances of mothers shopping with children purchasing fruit snacks, ice cream, cookies, and even sugar packed cereal solely because the child's favorite cartoon character was featured on the package. In many cases, the child would be holding the product, and would expect to carry it out themselves rather than let it get bagged with the rest of the food. In these situations, the parent is not even making the decision of what kind of diet the child will have, the marketers are. In a society where children are the driving force behind marketing, things can spin out of control. Sweden is unique in this way because censors this behavior. The prevention of marketing bad foods to children has been taken, similar to the ad dealing with car emissions. It seems this culture has a theme of deep reasoning before allowing certain products to be available for purchase.