Maisie S.

Candy Must Go!

Candy lover or not, after reading the truth about candy, you will never want to see a piece of candy again.  According to the article, 42 Awesome Candy Consumption Statics, many candies have over 15 ingredients in them, most of them being different types of sugar. As you can see, candy has many added sugars that are not in anyway improving our health. Believe it or not, discontinuing Mars and Hershey’s candy would not only help people cut down on the amount of sugar that they ingest, but help the environment as well. Keeping candy in production would only have negative effects on people and the earth.

Allergies

Although many people love the classic candies such as Twizzlers, M&Ms, and Reese’s, great amounts of people don’t. A big reason for this is because of food allergies. With food allergies being very severe these days, parents have to watch out for labels that say the candy may be made in a factory that processes nuts or a label saying that the candy possesses nuts in it. If the packaging does say something like this, most kids can not eat the candy. This is becoming a problem because everyday, more and more candy is being made with allergen-related products such as peanuts, tree-nuts, and dairy. Research shows that most people with allergies to tree-nuts have high chances of developing an allergy to other nuts. Therefore, kids with tree-nut allergies are not only limited to candies without tree-nuts, but candies without other nuts as well. Besides nuts, another common allergy children have is dairy. Dairy is a big problem because milk is dairy and milk is often used in the process of making chocolate. This is significant because chocolate is located in many different types of candies. Although most kids outgrow their milk allergies as they get older, candy is most popular with kids. Therefore, by the time the child outgrows their allergy, candy is no longer as appealing to them as it would have been in their youth. While many people dealing with this problem might say, “use clean machines that do not have traces of other foods on it,” or, “do not use nuts, dairy, gluten, etc.,” But in reality, it is not as easy as just saying it. Changes like these cost money so most candy companies do not change the way the make their candy. As you can see, candy companies do not necessarily take food allergies seriously. This proves that candy should be discontinued.

Unhealthy Candies

Unhealthy ingredients in candy is a one of the many reasons why candy should be gotten rid of for good. Sugar is one of the worst ingredients in candy, and there is a lot of it. Can you believe that 15 Strawberry Twizzlers have over 2.5 ounces of sugar in them? According to AuthorityNutrition.com, you should have about 1.5 ounces of sugar a day. In other words, by eating just 15 Twizzlers, which is a small fraction of the amount in a regular-sized pack, you are over your daily sugar limit by about 1 ounce. Sugar can also lead to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can be caused by gaining weight which happens because of eating sugar. Lots of people think that dark chocolate is good for you because it can prevent heart disease and fight off bad molecules in your body. While dark chocolate can be good for you, after it is processed and loaded with sugar, it is not good for you anymore. Many people want dark chocolate in their body because of the good things it does, but there are many healthier alternatives than eating candy. Another harmful ingredient that is often found in candy is red dye 40. Red dye 40 is one of the most harmful types of dye and a commonly used dye as well. It is used in candies such as Twizzlers and red M&Ms. According to Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “Food dyes are simply added for their color to make food fun. They serve no health purpose whatsoever.” In other words, candy companies are putting harmful chemicals in food when it is unnecessary. Along with food dyes being unhealthy, they have recently been known to help with causing hyperactivity and attention problems in kids. This means that kids have lots of extra energy which can be a problem. Scientists also say that red dye 40 can lead to cancer. All this goes to show that candy should be discontinued.

Manufacturing Issues

Discontinuing candy would not only help people be more healthy, but it would also help the environment, save electricity, and stop child labor abuse on cocoa farms. Stopping all manufacturing of candy would help the environment. Have you ever thought about candy wrappers? If you ever see someone walking and eating a candy bar, where do you think the wrapper goes? Probably not a garbage can. And not to mention that most wrappers for candy are over-sized and wasteful. It can not be good for the environment. Stopping candy manufacturing will also save electricity. Big manufacturing buildings are using lots of electricity running all the machines. In other words, if there was no candy being made, the earth that we live in would be in better condition than it is right now. A third manufacturing issue is the child labor abuse on West African cocoa farms. According to the article, Despite Efforts, Child Labor Abuse Hasn't Stopped on Cocoa Farms, “While cocoa brings delight to many children around the world who eat, it can mean hard work and a dim future for those who must work on cocoa farms.” This quote means that children, who are forced to drop out of school or kidnapped have to work in terrible conditions with no pay. Many people and big trading companies such as Cargill Inc. try to stop the way that these children are being treated, but as of now, no change has come to this important situation. Mars and Hershey's companies are only making the kids that work on cocoa bean farms lives more miserable with the high chocolate demand.

Still like candy? People may argue that getting rid of candy would be stopping a great thing, but candy is not a great thing. The negatives of keeping candy such as littering our earth and causing more people to become obese outweigh the good by far. Some candies can cause cancer, tooth decay and more… Is it really worth eating candy after all?