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STANDARDS
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change • Power, Authority, and Governance • Production, Distribution, and Consumption • Global Connections
Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.6, RH.6-8.8, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.9, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.6, RI.6-8.8, W.6-8.1, W.6-8.4, W.6-8.9, SL.6-8.1, SL.6-8.3, SL.6-8.4, SL.6-8.6
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DEBATE
Pick a Side
Should Snacks Have Warning Labels?
Eating too much of certain foods can lead to serious health problems. Should the packaging highlight those risks?
Around the world, versions of your favorite snacks often come with warnings about their ingredients. In Mexico, a can of Coke has a stop sign that warns of high levels of sugar. In Israel, a bag of Cheetos cautions about high levels of sodium, a mineral found in salt. In Chile, a package of Oreos points out high levels of sugar, saturated fat, and sodium.
Last year, lawmakers in
67%
Portion of American kids’ and teens’ diets that is made up of ultra-processed foods
SOURCE: JAMA, 2021
Such foods and drinks typically contain artificial ingredients that improve flavor and make people crave them. But ultra-processed foods have few
A study published in 2021 found that ultra-processed foods make up 67 percent of American kids’ and teens’ diets. Lawmakers say that is a problem because research has shown that consuming too much of those foods can lead to serious health problems.
But not everyone agrees that adding warning labels to foods and drinks is the right response. Many people say such a move is too extreme because those products are fine to eat in moderation.
What do you think? Read on, then decide for yourself.
Supporting Consumers
Illustration by Eddie Guy
People’s health should be a top priority—and ultra-processed foods carry serious health risks, many researchers say. Diets high in ultra-processed foods are linked to more than 30 health conditions, including cancers, mental health disorders, and heart disease, according to a 2024 report published in The BMJ, a British medical journal.
But figuring out which foods are ultra-processed can be difficult, some lawmakers say. Most products already have nutritional information listed on the package, a development that was started by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the 1990s. But that information can be easy to miss, tucked away on the side or back of the package.
It can also be complicated to understand. For instance, a 20-ounce bottle of a standard sports drink might list 30 to 35 grams of added sugar per serving. But people may not realize that this amount exceeds the recommended daily sugar intake for teens. The American Heart Association says people between ages 2 and 18 should consume less than 25 grams of added sugar per day.
9
Number of nations that require warning labels on high-risk foods
SOURCE: Global Food Research Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kat Morgan is a researcher who studies food and the effects of warning labels. She says clear warnings on the front of packaging make it easier for consumers to tell whether a product should be eaten in moderation. “The labels are very simple and help people see when a food is loaded with too much sugar, salt, and fat,” Morgan explains.
Those labels may also have another positive effect, she points out, by encouraging companies to reduce the sugar, sodium, and saturated fat in their products. “They may change the composition of their foods to be healthier or less harmful,” Morgan says.
In Chile, food warning labels were introduced in 2016. Within two years, companies had reformulated about 20 percent of food products sold in the country in part to avoid having black stop sign labels on their packaging.
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Chile: This label appears on products high in sugar.
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Germany: This voluntary label ranks food on a nutrition scale.
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Israel: This label flags high-sodium foods.
Oversimplifying Nutrition
Not all health professionals are convinced that warning labels are the best way to get people to eat more nutritional foods. One reason? It hasn’t been proved that the labels make people change their behaviors, some experts say. A 2023 study published in the journal BMC Nutrition found that children in Chile chose to keep consuming the warning-label products they enjoyed the most, such as sugary soft drinks, even though they recognized that those products were unhealthy.
39 grams
Average amount of added sugar in a 12-ounce can of cola. That is nearly 10 teaspoons.
SOURCE: The Nutrition Source
Critics of warning labels also argue that the messaging is overly simplistic. Such labels could send the message that certain foods and drinks are “bad,” which can make people feel guilty or ashamed about eating them, they say. But nutrition experts say it’s OK for people to eat sweet or salty treats sometimes, as long as those items are part of a well-balanced diet.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking the types of foods that might have warning labels on them,” says Therese Bridges. She’s a registered
Besides, warning labels alone won’t actually teach people about nutrition, Bridges says. To encourage people to make healthy food decisions, she explains, it would be more effective to teach them about how to have a balanced diet. “When we’re told ‘No, you can’t eat that,’ it doesn’t actually tell us about all the options we can eat,” she says.
YOUR TURN
Speak Up
Should certain snacks have warning labels? Make a list of reasons that support your opinion. Then prepare a short speech making your case, using information from the article, personal experience, and your own research.