Bryce Martinez, an 18-year-old from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has filed a lawsuit against 11 major food companies, alleging their ultra-processed products caused his Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. The lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, accuses companies like Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, and Coca-Cola of intentionally engineering their foods to be as addictive as cigarettes. Martinez, who was diagnosed with the diseases at age 16, regularly consumed products such as Bagel Bites, Sour Patch Kids, Honey Bunches of Oats, Hot Pockets, Pepsi, Minute Maid, Slim Jims, Chex Mix, Cheez-It, and Starburst.
The lawsuit contends that these foods, laden with additives like salt, sugars, and fats, are primarily made from substances extracted from natural foods. According to the complaint, the consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to numerous health dangers, including the diseases Martinez suffers from. It alleges that these illnesses “did not exist in children” before the widespread introduction of ultra-processed foods into American diets, which began in the 1980s.
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys with the firm Morgan & Morgan, names 11 defendants: Kraft Heinz Co., Post Holdings, Mondelez International, the Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle USA, Kellanova, WK Kellogg Co., Mars Inc., and Conagra Brands.
Teen’s lawsuit targets food companies
The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a news conference, the attorneys likened the lawsuit to the legal battles of the 1990s over the addictiveness and health harms of cigarettes, which resulted in significant policy changes and a global settlement. Rene Rocha, an attorney representing Martinez, asserted that food companies employed the same scientists who worked for tobacco companies to formulate their products and enhance their addictiveness. 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,” Rocha stated.
The lawsuit has been two years in the making, and its timing was not related to forthcoming changes in Washington, attorneys said. Last week, current Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf testified about the addictiveness of ultra-processed foods, noting, “The food industry has figured out there is a combination of sweet, carbohydrates, and salt that goes to our brains, and I think it’s addictive. That’s my opinion.
I think it’s the same neural circuits that are involved in opioid addiction.”
