The Evolved Podcast

Child's Prey: How Food Addiction, Corporate Values and Indoctrination Shape Our Children's Health Crisis

Manhattan Prophet Season 1 Episode 7

Corporations have systematically targeted our children through manipulative food engineering and marketing tactics, creating addictive patterns that shape habits for life. The Manhattan Prophet reveals how tobacco companies like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds applied their expertise in addiction science to design ultra-processed foods specifically formulated to override natural satiety signals and maximize consumption.

Research from the University of Kansas shows products owned by tobacco companies were significantly more likely to contain problematic levels of fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. These weren't just unhealthy choices—they were deliberately crafted to activate brain reward circuits similar to addictive substances. Through sophisticated marketing strategies including cartoon mascots, bright packaging, and flavor research, these corporations established early brand loyalty programs targeting our most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, trusted health organizations have betrayed public trust through financial entanglements with the very companies they should be regulating. The American Heart Association opposed legislation restricting sugary drinks while accepting substantial funding from PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Their heart-healthy certification program charges manufacturers thousands annually for endorsements—a clear conflict of interest undermining public well-being.

Beyond food manipulation, we've accepted a post-war family structure designed for economic efficiency rather than nurturing development. The modern nuclear family separated fathers from children during critical developmental years and eventually sent mothers into the workforce too, leaving children's consciousness to be shaped by external influences. While most developed nations provide extended maternity leave recognizing the crucial importance of early attachment, the United States stands virtually alone in offering minimal support for new parents.

This episode challenges you to critically examine the systems we've normalized and reclaim your power as parents. Our children deserve protection from corporate predation and ideological manipulation. By recognizing ourselves as spiritual beings in a material world, we can make conscious choices about our values and priorities, breaking free from systemic control to create lives that honor both material needs and spiritual well-being.

What will it take for us to wake up and reclaim our children's future? Join Aaron Scott on this journey toward consciousness and authentic living.

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Let's master your universe together.


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Speaker 1:

Hello everyone and welcome to the ninth episode of the Manhattan Prophet podcast. I am the Manhattan Prophet. Thank you all who have joined with your support in this battle for truth and empowerment. We're standing up for freedom both internally and in the world around us. As a reminder, so that nothing is lost in translation, I'm here to ensure that all knowledge I give you finds meaning in a practical place in your everyday lives. It's only through properly digesting knowledge, in this case, of ourselves and the world around us, that we see things clearly enough to break old patterns of behavior and begin a new path forward to a heightened state of consciousness.

Speaker 1:

Something I believe we as a world community, a collective consciousness, can agree on is that we must protect our children. Children are the most vulnerable. They are coming into this world with a clean slate, naive and without understanding. They are, in fact, deeply impacted by maternal stress, anxiety, depression during pregnancy. These things can negatively impact a child's development, potentially leading to emotional, cognitive and behavioral problems and even increasing the risk of certain disorders like ADHD. If they are this sensitive to what the mother is simply feeling while in the womb, can you imagine what the impact the outside world has? Truth of the matter is there is so much we need to protect our children from. In this episode, we will shine a light on the true nature of industry in this country and how it has shaped the decaying health of this great nation by preying on our children. We will see how these forces were not only the drivers for much of our familial structure and the way we cared for our children historically, but how we do so to this very day, how you do so in your life, how your parents did so for you in their lives, and how we need to learn from our mistakes due to ignorance, lift the veil of deception and pave a path forward to help undo the damage caused to ourselves, but to prevent the same for our children.

Speaker 1:

Let's begin the discussion with something that is not as well understood as it should be food and its regulation. By historical standards, much of what we consider food today would have been seen as an inedible, like a factory-manufactured toy, rather than nourishment, and by most nutritional measures that assessment would be correct. The ultra-processed products stamped with the word food on their labels don't just lack nutritional value. They have lasting behind-the-scenes effects on brain development, behavior and overall health. We now have overwhelming evidence linking high fructose, corn syrup, artificial flavoring and synthetic dyes to conditions ranging from behavioral issues and obesity to diabetes and cancer. A glaring example of this is Red Dye 3, which the FDA banned from cosmetics over 30 years ago after research proved to cause cancer in lab animals. Yet it was only banned in food just this year. How sickening is that? It raises the critical question why do these dangers always seem to go unnoticed by the very government agencies we fund with billions and taxpayer dollars? To protect us? The FDA, the governing agency, itself, claimed a lack of resources as the reason. Red Dye 3 was never further researched or removed from food, even though its carcinogenic properties were identified in the 1980s. But perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that other harmful artificial dyes, like Red Dye 40, remain legal, despite being widely known to affect children's behavior.

Speaker 1:

When we peel back the layers of this lack of oversight and deception, we find ourselves staring at the same old song and dance A massive, well-funded lobbying effort by food corporations that hold a stranglehold on our legislative system, by food corporations that hold a stranglehold on our legislative system. Through campaign donations, kickbacks and backroom deals, these corporations ensure that profits come before the public health. They work tirelessly to make control over food policy, protecting their ability to keep harmful addictive ingredients in the food supply. So is there a deliberate effort to create unhealthy, food-addicted children? The unfortunate answer is yes.

Speaker 1:

We, as parents and citizens, must understand exactly what we are putting into our children's bodies, but beyond that, we must recognize veil of deception and ignorance. We are conditioned to trust institutions, to believe that someone is looking out for our best interests when it comes to something as basic as food and medicine, but the basic truth is the opposite. Mainstream food and healthcare industries are built not to promote health but to ensure dependency. The very processed, chemical-laden foods that are making us sick are the same ones being pushed onto our children, and when chronic illnesses arise, the medical system profits off treatments instead of preventing disease in the first place. We assume that we live in the best possible version of reality, never realizing that food we consume impacts not only our physical health, but our mental clarity, emotional well-being and spiritual connection. The preservatives, sugars, chemicals in our diets don't just harm our bodies, they disconnect us from deeper awareness. These addictive ingredients don't just make us crave more food, they dull our ability to experience a greater consciousness, to see the bigger picture of our existence.

Speaker 1:

The fight for better food and honest regulation is more than a public health issue. It is a fight for truth, autonomy and empowerment. We must educate ourselves, because no one else will do it. We must demand transparency from food manufacturers and regulatory agencies. We must reject harmful ingredients by making informed choices for ourselves and our children. This is not just about what we eat. It's about waking up to the forces shaping our reality. No one will save us from the cycle of deception except us. The power to change the future for ourselves, for our children and society rests in our hands. The question is will we take action or will we continue to live under the illusion that someone else is protecting us?

Speaker 1:

Let's turn to the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children, which was developed to identify food addiction in children and adolescents by assessing eating behaviors that resemble substance dependence. What we find is that children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to an obesogenic food environment, increasing their risk of developing food addiction. Population surveys indicate that children's diets are largely composed of ultra-processed foods UPFs. Upfs are industrial formulations containing high levels of refined sugars, unhealthy fats and synthetic additives such as hydrogenated oils. These foods can account for up to 65% of our children's daily energy intake, contributing to an increased risk of chronic diseases. One explanation for the addiction potential of UPFs lies in their high sugar, fat and sodium content. These stimulate the brain's reward systems. Preclinical studies have shown that excessive UPF consumption alters dopamine signaling in reward-related brain areas. This leads to reduced dopamine receptor concentrations. These neurochemical changes drive increased cravings for these foods, they impair regulation of food intake and they reinforce compulsive eating behaviors. This growing body of evidence highlights the urgent need for policy interventions, public awareness and dietary modifications to mitigate the long-term effects of these food addictions in children. Let's now look closely at where these UPFs come from and why children have been so exposed. What we find is the more sinister underbelly of a parasitic industry aimed at forming addiction to children that lasts a lifetime. After all, the best consumers are those with you for life.

Speaker 1:

From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, tobacco giants like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds weren't just selling cigarettes. They were quietly shaping the US food system. Their influence extended beyond tobacco, impacting food marketing, product formulation and consumer habits in ways that still affect public policy today. A study from the University of Kansas published in Addiction reveals that tobacco companies strategically acquired major food brands in the 1980s, maintaining a stronghold over the industry for more than 20 years. Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds used their expertise in addiction science, honed from decades of selling cigarettes, to create highly processed, hyperpalatable foods designed to maximize consumption and profits. Between 1988 and 2001, food products owned by tobacco companies were 29% more likely to be high in fat and sodium and 80% more likely to be high in carbohydrates and sodium. These foods were engineered to activate brain reward circuits, promoting overconsumption and addictive eating behaviors. Tobacco companies didn't just capitalize on the existing processed food industry. They accelerated its transformation, setting the standard for how food is formulated today. In essence, they have designed foods to be addictive.

Speaker 1:

Tobacco companies didn't just sell food. They applied decades of research into human behavior to shape its appeal. They studied how specific combinations of fats, carbohydrates, sodium and artificial ingredients could override the body's natural safety signals, leading to compulsive eating. This strategy mirrored their approach to cigarette sales. They manipulate flavor profiles, they use targeted marketing and they ensure repeated consumption. Their tactics extended to packaging and branding. Employing a psychological trigger to make food products more desirable, especially to children.

Speaker 1:

Tobacco companies brought sophisticated marketing strategies to the food industry using flavor research by applying cigarette flavor enhancement techniques to processed foods. And child-focused marketing using cartoon mascots, bright packaging and fun product formats like Capri Sun, pouches, tang powders, etc. These methods were particularly effective in promoting sugary beverages like Kool-Aid, Hawaiian Punch and Capri Sun. It tested flavors and packaging on children to optimize appeal.

Speaker 1:

The processed food landscape today mirrors the pre-regulation tobacco industry. Highly addictive products dominate store shelves and food companies continue using psychological marketing tactics pioneered by big tobacco. Despite overwhelming evidence linked to ultra-processed foods to obesity, metabolic disease and addiction, there are still no federal regulations addressing their accessibility. Just as cigarettes were once marked as harmless, today's food system is built on profit-driven strategies that prioritize addiction over well-being. Recognizing these tactics is the first step towards reclaiming control over what we eat and advocating for a healthier food system.

Speaker 1:

Now that we have a firm understanding of the manipulative practices of big corporations, let's look into how our trusted government agencies are selling us out and injuring our children for profit. It's the same greed governing these agencies that governs the actions of big corporations. Truly astounding how we don't seem to care. Today, for example, there is a fight to remove sugar sodas from schools around the country. You wouldn't believe who was lobbying to keep that in the schools the American Heart Association. They're presently under fire for opposing a Texas bill that would restrict the use of supplemental nutrition assistance program SNAP benefits for purchasing sugary drinks and processed snacks. This is due to the organization's inconceivable financial ties to major food corporations like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.

Speaker 1:

On March 11th, the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services held a public hearing on Senate Bill 379, which aims to prevent SNAP recipients from using their benefits to buy sodas, candy and chips. Supporters of the bill argued that limiting access to unhealthy foods could help combat obesity and diet-related diseases. Despite the health concerns raised, the AHA opposed the bill. Alec Puente, the AHA's government relations director, testified that the organization was worried the restrictions could discourage overall participation in the SNAP program. Instead of limiting purchases, puente emphasized the need for public education on healthy eating. Why in the world is the American Heart Association even citing concerns about this. They are a health organization supposedly recommending and citing policy over the heart health of the American people. It's like we're living in a twilight zone.

Speaker 1:

In 1997, the Chicago Tribune reported that the AHA had raised millions from companies like National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Conagra and Kellogg's. In 2012, the American Heart Association partnered with Kellogg's to introduce a heart-healthy label on select cereals, including Raisin Bran and All Bran. The AHA Heart Checked Food Certification Program allows food manufacturers to apply for an official heart-healthy label for a fee ranging upwards of $6,000 per product annually. Pepsico and Coca-Cola have also contributed significant funding to the AHA. A 2016 study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sponsored at least 95 health organizations between 2011-2015. In 2015, and this is shocking Coca-Cola revealed it had spent $118 million on health research and fitness partnerships. A University of Cambridge study found that Coca-Cola had contract clauses allowing it to terminate research if they didn't like the findings.

Speaker 1:

This stuff is remarkable. How is this overlooked? Why don't we care? What does it take? While we all, on a typical day, get up, shower, brush our teeth and head out the door to work 8-10 hours a day, then rinse and repeat like a robot, never thinking about the absurd, vapid nature of this life, just as easily misunderstand how these actions impact the familial structure and hence our children and their learning and growing up in this environment.

Speaker 1:

In order to fully understand what is going on, we need to first understand what the traditional family truly was and how the nuclear family came into existence in the first place. The nuclear family model, where the father goes to work while the mother stays at home with children in a suburban household, is not some timeless natural structure, but rather a product of shifting societal values. This model, which became the norm in America and other parts of the world after World War II, was shaped by an increasing emphasis on economic productivity over family cohesion. As a result, the physical layout of vast suburban landscapes reflected this refined concept of family life, with homes disconnected from workplaces, schools and places of worship, all accessible only by car, train or bus. In this new reality, the home ceased to be the center of family enterprise. Fathers went to work separating from their families most of the day. Children were sent off to schools, detached from parental influence during their formative years. However, we as a society assume that this modern version of family was traditional. In reality, it was a post-war construct designed more for economic efficiency than for nurturing deep familial bonds. Designed to further accommodate the left-brain dominant world that governs us all to this day. As more women joined the workforce, mothers, fathers and children alike left the home during the day, completing the transformation of the nuclear family into something fragmented and disconnected.

Speaker 1:

A century ago, the household was not just a place to sleep. It was a center of shared work, education, religious practice and care for the elderly. It was a cornerstone of community and culture. But with the loss of these responsibilities, the house became an empty structure, lacking both purpose and stability. Above all else, children need two actively engaged, loving parents who are consciously involved in their upbringing. They need to feel love, develop self-confidence and learn how to navigate the challenges of an increasingly harsh economic and social landscape, one where the vast majority are left struggling under a system that disproportionately benefits the wealthy few. All too often, parents are too busy to ensure their children receive proper nutrition, education and a deep understanding of themselves and their worth. Instead, children's consciousness and understanding of themselves is left to be shaped by movies, television, social media influencers, all of whom impart specific worldviews and values. Whether we acknowledge it or not. The result is a generation learning more from screens than from their own families.

Speaker 1:

If we want to restore a meaningful family structure, we must rethink the modern household, not as an isolated unit, but as a space of connection, purpose and shared responsibility. The question is not simply how to preserve the family, but how to build one that truly supports the well-being of all its members, not one where we all prioritize profit over people. In truth, more times than not, children endure a parent less upbringing, neglect and, in the worst case, abuse. In fact, in today's world, we have no problem showing how little we care about our children's well-being. Let's have a glance at the maternity leave policy in this country. Here we see point blank who is truly in control of our families and the well-being of our children. Whether we recognize it or not, we have gone along with this structure in place and have made this way of caring for our children another normal way of living.

Speaker 1:

The United States is the only country in the world, other than Papua New Guinea, that does not have carte blanche paid maternity leave. If we truly cared about our children, our tax money would be going to ensure paid leave for mothers, not for three months, not for six months. For at least a year. Slovenia, slovakia, estonia has three years. Hungary has two years of paid maternity leave, sweden 14 months. This should be standard and based on medical research pertaining to the health and development of children. The longer we can care for them, especially at the early, early years, the longitudinal attached research shows that children who are insecurely attached at 12 months of age, 20 years later, 80% of them suffer from mental disorders. For children to be mentally stable and happy in the future, parents must be emotionally present, particularly in the first of the two main periods of brain development, which is zero to three years of age.

Speaker 1:

Maria Montessori in discussing the first few years of a child's brain function stated, and I quote," from birth to approximately age six. A child's brain works in a very different way than an adult's does. At this stage, the mind is like a sponge silking up huge amounts of information from the environment. The child is absorbing everything effortlessly, continuously and indiscriminately. The child has a different relation to his environment from ours. The child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered, they form the roots of the child's first six years is enormously important. Children develop 85% of their core brain structure by the time they are five years old. A child builds upon the score foundation for the rest of his or her life.

Speaker 1:

The child's formative years are so delicate and it is crucial we take an overly active role in ensuring that they are being guided down the right path so that they can live both grounded and within the capacity to evolve consciously. Part of this active role comes with the responsibility of protecting our children from the world around them, many times from things we cannot see at face value as threats to our children. Being a parent is a great responsibility and it is so very difficult. We are stretched so thin, as it is, due to the nature of this reality, due to the requirement to make money to afford our lives, to thrive in the system. Most families have two working parents who are out of the house and not back until dinnertime to spend maybe a couple of hours a day with their children.

Speaker 1:

The truth of the matter is we depend on schools and outside influences to raise our children. It is for this reason alone that it is crucial we take a proactive role in the education system our children are learning through. It is through this system, mostly, that they learn not just math and science, history and societal norms, but, more recently, gender identity and sexuality. These last two topics are the two that must be scrutinized diligently, not just because there are only and there will only be two genders, but because these topics and the way they are being taught have no place in a child's education. Taught have no place in a child education. This goes for all sexual-related topics heterosexual, homosexual, lgbtq+ or otherwise, it doesn't matter. We should not be sexualizing our children. We are forcing a sexualized nature upon them, confusing them at ages where they are still figuring out things for the first time. They need to discover who they themselves are. But sexualization agendas rooted in gender fluidity has created child abuse not seen ever in this country.

Speaker 1:

We in our present day, where we believe we are living in the apex of human civilization, are living in a time where teachers and health workers at schools are providing puberty blockers to young children who have been brainwashed by those we trust to protect and nurture them. How can a sane society accept this as normal? How can this be the standard of care for our children? As noted above, it's not just good business to start addiction through food consumption at a young age. It's also sound manipulative practice to push agendas and ideology at as young an age as possible. Where better to do this than in school? After all, children are taught to listen to the teacher, trust the teacher and follow the rules. They assume everything taught to them in schools, in their textbooks and that comes out of the mouth of those who teach them, is pure, not tainted, not formed by agenda. I know I certainly did. It is our responsibility as parents to advocate for our children, even in school. If there is something going on that doesn't sit well with you, don't assume that the school is doing the right thing. Read up on both sides of the issue and decide critically for yourself. Your opinion is just as good as those who you assume are the ones who should know.

Speaker 1:

Let's look at some of the methods of child indoctrination and abuse that have taken place across our great nation today. Just last year, new York has been showering taxpayer funds on a group that sends drag queens into city schools, often without parental knowledge or consent. Drag Story Hour NYC, a nonprofit whose outrageously cross-dressed performers interact with kids as young as three, earned $46,000 from New York City contracts for appearances at public schools. In 2024, the group has organized 49 drag programs in 34 public elementary, middle and high schools. It boasted this on its website. Since 2018, the group has received a total of $207,000 in taxpayer dollars.

Speaker 1:

In April, the elaborately coiffed Harmonica Sunbeam wore a slinky gown to meet with kindergartners at Star Academy, manhattan and color pages from the Dragtivity book, which encourages kids to choose their pronouns and invent drag names. Then we have drag queen Bella Noche, who wore a scantily mermaid-like bra getup to travel with second graders from Manhattan's PS34 on a May field trip. And then we have Flame, who taught middle schoolers all genders on how to apply drag eye makeup at a school and park slope. Mind you, this is taking place without parents' consent, without the knowledge of parents.

Speaker 1:

The Department of Education did not respond specifically to questions of parental notification and refused to say whether the drag queens must pass background checks, but defended the program. As and I quote life-saving Spokesperson for the DOE, suzanne Sumer, said, and I quote "Last year, 50 transgender or gender non-conforming people were killed in the United States due to their identity. We believe our schools play a critical role in helping young people learn about and respect people who may be different from them. End quote Again on what planet is this the appropriate and normal response to 50 transgendered people being killed in the United States? Why does the Department of Education need to combat this through indoctrination campaigns targeting our children. This behavior is insane.

Speaker 1:

By the time we are adults, we go about our lives business as usual, never questioning where we learned and why we feel what we do. If only we were aware enough to seek an alternative path, with diets, to consumption, including entertainment, to satiating our limitless appetites. We are creating the same limiting consciousness, the same controlled, manufactured victims of a corporate, profit-driven world order, with our children. It is not, on any measurable level, normal, and the byproduct of this way of life has not only punished us as adults, it is attacking our most sacred of all, our children. When do we care? What has to happen for us to snap out of it? All of these appetites that you feed, that you have become addicted to, that your children are unknowingly becoming addicted to? Don't touch what's inside of us. They move our attention, our consciousness, to focus on the external only, our sensory experiences.

Speaker 1:

We perceive ourselves, and hence the world around us, as material beings living a myopic existence. We think everything is all good, after all, since everyone else is living a materialist-driven life, why should you waste your time thinking about it critically? Well, what if everyone thinks the same way as you do and follows the herd as you do? When everyone thinks that way, no one looks critically at everything, no one questions anything and history repeats itself.

Speaker 1:

The truth is, you have been following a mold blindly and have put your children into that system without question. You have assumed that the ordering of society, which has been assembled consciously for you by corporations and the government for their interests, is normal. What you don't see is that you live day-to-day as part of a system, a system that you have bought into, consciously or not. A system that has not only taken over your day-to-day as part of a system. A system that you have bought into, consciously or not. A system that has not only taken over your day-to-day waking hours, requiring you to work most all of your life for money. A system which has hijacked your food for profit, no matter the health implications. A system that has lied to you about your own divine connection to God through religions created to block any real spiritual connection.

Speaker 1:

You think maybe you need to condition yourself better to withstand the ungodly work week and better prepare your children for a life full of servitude to serve the very system that bends you physically and mentally. If that's how you want to live your life, that's great, but do it consciously. Understand it for what it is. Understand what you're giving up to live in the system. Don't just assume there's nothing else out there or nothing more to you internally. If you think there's no other way, well you are wrong. Another way to live your life, for example, would be moving you and your family to a farm with other families in the community. It's an extreme one, yes, and not one I'm advocating for, but the point is that there are other ways to live life.

Speaker 1:

You do not in fact, need McDonald's, 10 pairs of shoes, eating at restaurants, choking down Adderall to keep up, worrying about what other people think all the time. You need to simply see your life for what it is and understand in truth how you have elected to live your life. You should be ordering your life based on the things that you value the most, not the things the system values the most. But you need to come to see what you value most first by experiencing in truth the complete being you really are. You need to come to understand that you are, in truth a spiritual being living in a material world. You need to experience what that means for yourself. If you cannot commit to taking that step, then you are unfortunately selling yourself and submitting to a reality that is illusory at best and slavery at worst.

Speaker 1:

It is through a shift to a balanced approach to living your life that will not only improve your own experience but that will improve your children's lives. We all individually make the change internally and we change the world. It happens slowly with each one of us. We are, in the purest sense, gods here living this life to manifest a life that exemplifies a balance of the left and right brain consciousness. We are not here to serve the interests of corporations and fall victim to their agendas, their manipulation of our children or their methods of increasing profit at all cost. We are here for such a short period of time and those who can see through these veils of deception know without a shadow of a doubt that our purpose is to live our lives aware of our link to the universe. We are the universal consciousness, experiencing this realm. It's a gift and it's short-lived. Don't throw it all away for profit and indoctrinate your children with the same misunderstanding you inherited. You deserve better, and so do they.

Speaker 1:

As you continue listening to the Manhattan Prophet podcast, I'm going to unveil the true nature of the world that exists right under your nose. I'm going to analyze with you, out in the open, the systems at play here and the ways we can grow together and evolve. I'm going to provide you with real-world, conscious ways to touch higher levels of consciousness and understand through truth and knowledge. I want to make this clear I do not own these truths. I do not own this knowledge. I'm simply extracting it and distilling it for you in an accessible form. I ask not that you follow me blindly, but rather that you follow me with your open mind and heart, a following of truth and safety and freedom through this truth. I'm proud of you for taking this next step and trusting me as your guide.

Speaker 1:

Episodes are updated weekly. If you believe and want to change your world for the better and support this evolution of consciousness, please show me by following and sharing this channel with those you love and leaving me a review If you enjoyed our time today. Please donate on. Buy Me a Coffee. Link in the show notes below Until next week, let's level up and master your universe.