I did my walking tour project in none other than the place that provides families with everyday low prices, Walmart. Given that employees working at this superpower become suspicious when customers start to take pictures of their products, I managed to sneak a few in the cereal aisle without receiving too many odd looks.I wanted to know what America was promoting families to eat for breakfast. As we all know, breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. And the staple item present on a typical breakfast table is a bowl of cereal. An ethical dilemma that came up when I roamed the area was the common theme of chocolate throughout the selection. As you can see in the picture, even the popular name brands that previously had no traces of chocolate are now coming out with new versions that have chocolate. Lucky Charms and H
oney Comb are two examples, however there were at least fifteen more. I just couldn't help but ask: is chocolate an essential part of a healthy breakfast, or at least a healthy ingredient to start your day off? Or is it just a motivator for the kids tagging along with their grocery-list-driven mothers to beg them to buy the delicious looking cereal. It subliminally makes the kids think that they are getting away with something, because they feel like they're eating candy for breakfast. There are even some cereal boxes that are named after unhealthy snacks, such as Kellogg's S'Morz. Chocolate usually involves high sugar contents, which is unneccessary for breakfast. As quoted from Wikipedia in its history on breakfast cereal: "Cereals with relatively high sugar content are also produced. Sugar-laden breakfast cereals have been extremely popular with children for decades, and many adults also buy them." Thus, I conlcuded that the chocolate theme must just be a ploy to get the sugar-addicted kids to buy their product. Understandable. But ethically moral? Not sure.
oney Comb are two examples, however there were at least fifteen more. I just couldn't help but ask: is chocolate an essential part of a healthy breakfast, or at least a healthy ingredient to start your day off? Or is it just a motivator for the kids tagging along with their grocery-list-driven mothers to beg them to buy the delicious looking cereal. It subliminally makes the kids think that they are getting away with something, because they feel like they're eating candy for breakfast. There are even some cereal boxes that are named after unhealthy snacks, such as Kellogg's S'Morz. Chocolate usually involves high sugar contents, which is unneccessary for breakfast. As quoted from Wikipedia in its history on breakfast cereal: "Cereals with relatively high sugar content are also produced. Sugar-laden breakfast cereals have been extremely popular with children for decades, and many adults also buy them." Thus, I conlcuded that the chocolate theme must just be a ploy to get the sugar-addicted kids to buy their product. Understandable. But ethically moral? Not sure.Some ethical aspects that I found to be positive were the cheaper versions of the popular name brands that Walmart
made available to the consumers. Frosted Mini-Wheats, Smacks, Cocoa Puffs, and Honey Grahams are all examples of popular name brands that Walmart and Hannaford have replicated, packaged differently, slapped on a different name, and then sold them at cheaper prices. They taste the same too, as I have tried many of them. I am glad that Walmart provides this alternative to the consumers because it is frustrating sometimes to see an overpriced monopoly-product make most of its profit due to its popularized name. I enjoye
d seeing General Mills advertise its whole grain theme. Whole grain, as opposed to chocolate is a healthy ingredient to start your day off with. It was also nice to see Wheaties still associate itself as the "breakfast for champions", as it blatantly displays an athlectic star on its cover to try to persuade kids into thinking that they'll be able to succeed too.
One of the common misconceptions that a consumer might have while walking down the cereal aisle is that cereal is all you need in the morning. They think that you can just buy a box of cereal and you're good to go in the morning. But even when looking at the cereal commercials, you realize that there are more factors to a full and healthy breakfast. You know that image; the manicured hand pours the milk into the cereal, sets it down on a place mat that is also weighted down with a glass of juice, a saucer with two slices of wheat toast and jam, and an orange on the side. Maybe the cereal aisle at Walmart, which is misinterpretted as the "breakfast" aisle, needs to somehow direct the consumers to the other essential breakfast ingredients. Of course, any American that makes the time to at least sit down and have a bowl of cereal as opposed to nothing is making a good start (studies show that some breakfast is healthier than no breakfast). But then again, when we are mislead into thinking that sugar-laden cereal with milk poured over is all that we need to start our day, we are consequentially starting the day off with an unhealthy mindset.
made available to the consumers. Frosted Mini-Wheats, Smacks, Cocoa Puffs, and Honey Grahams are all examples of popular name brands that Walmart and Hannaford have replicated, packaged differently, slapped on a different name, and then sold them at cheaper prices. They taste the same too, as I have tried many of them. I am glad that Walmart provides this alternative to the consumers because it is frustrating sometimes to see an overpriced monopoly-product make most of its profit due to its popularized name. I enjoye
d seeing General Mills advertise its whole grain theme. Whole grain, as opposed to chocolate is a healthy ingredient to start your day off with. It was also nice to see Wheaties still associate itself as the "breakfast for champions", as it blatantly displays an athlectic star on its cover to try to persuade kids into thinking that they'll be able to succeed too.
One of the common misconceptions that a consumer might have while walking down the cereal aisle is that cereal is all you need in the morning. They think that you can just buy a box of cereal and you're good to go in the morning. But even when looking at the cereal commercials, you realize that there are more factors to a full and healthy breakfast. You know that image; the manicured hand pours the milk into the cereal, sets it down on a place mat that is also weighted down with a glass of juice, a saucer with two slices of wheat toast and jam, and an orange on the side. Maybe the cereal aisle at Walmart, which is misinterpretted as the "breakfast" aisle, needs to somehow direct the consumers to the other essential breakfast ingredients. Of course, any American that makes the time to at least sit down and have a bowl of cereal as opposed to nothing is making a good start (studies show that some breakfast is healthier than no breakfast). But then again, when we are mislead into thinking that sugar-laden cereal with milk poured over is all that we need to start our day, we are consequentially starting the day off with an unhealthy mindset. 
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