An 18-year-old from Bucks County has taken a significant step by suing 11 major food manufacturers. The lawsuit alleges that his Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease were directly caused by ultra-processed foods. These are the very foods that the companies, it is claimed, intentionally engineered to be as addictive as cigarettes.

A Battle Against Predatory Food Profiteering

Diagnosis and the Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods

Bryce Martinez, of Warrington, was diagnosed at 16 with fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes. This diagnosis came after a regular consumption of various ultra-processed products throughout his childhood. Bagel Bites, Sour Patch Kids, Honey Bunches of Oats, Hot Pockets, Pepsi, Minute Maid, Slim Jims, Chex Mix, CheezIt, and Starburst were among the foods he frequently ate. These foods are filled with additives like salt, sugars, and fats and are mainly made from substances extracted from natural foods. Studies have shown that people consume more calories when eating such ultra-processed foods. And there is a long list of harms associated with them, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and cognitive decline. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes, which Martinez suffers from, "did not exist in children" before the rise and spread of ultra-processed foods.

The Proliferation of Ultra-Processed Foods in American Diets

Since the 1980s, these ultra-processed foods have become common in American diets. One study cited in the lawsuit estimates that by 2018, the majority of the calories consumed by U.S. youth was from ultra-processed foods. This shows the significant impact these foods have had on the health of the younger generation.

The Tobacco Analogy and Marketing Tactics

In a news conference on Tuesday, attorneys with Morgan & Morgan compared this lawsuit to the litigation against tobacco manufacturers in the 1990s. They claim that food companies used the same scientists as tobacco companies to formulate food products and make them more addictive. They also applied the lessons from cigarette sales to get these foods into the hands of children. Rene Rocha, an attorney representing Martinez, said, "They used the same kind of marketing tactics that they had used to sell cigarettes to children and converted that to sell these types of foods to children as well. And unfortunately, despite warning after warning, our food environment continues to deteriorate and our children continue to get sicker and sicker."

The Timing and Related Events

The lawsuit has been in the making for two years, and the timing was not related to the upcoming changes in Washington, D.C., attorneys said on Tuesday. Last week, the current Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Robert Califf, testified about the addictiveness of ultra-processed foods. He noted that the food industry has figured out a combination of sweet, carbohydrates, and salt that goes to our brains and is addictive. He believes it is the same neural circuits involved in opioid addiction.