Bianca J.

Discontinuing Hershey’s and Mars Candies

   Can you believe that the average American consumes up to 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar every 7 hours? Or that the average American eats 130 pounds of added sugar each year? According to sources, candy is one of the top foods you can eat with sugar in it that can give you the problem of getting heart problems, diabetes, cancer, or more risks. Executives of Hershey and Mars will probably disagree with this statement, but after a lot of research, this 5th grader definitely disagrees with Hershey and Mars and agrees that you should not eat candy because it is high in sugar. Did you also know that sugar can change the way your heart pumps and can also increase the risk of getting heart disease? Now since you know, it’s clear: Hershey and Mars should STOP making their candies, and that it is unhealthy for your body.

    One reason Hershey and Mars should discontinue their production of candy is because of the candy’s high fat and sugar content. To start off, fructose which is in chocolate and other sweet treats, behaves like fat in the liver. This means that if you have a lot of candies your liver can be filled with fat which is unhealthy. In particular, dark chocolate is said to be healthy, but it also has a lot of fat and sugar in it. In other words, dark chocolate is fatty and full of sugars that can give you a lot of sickness risks. Dietitian Cassie Bjock from Healthy Life says, “When you eat processed carbs like breads, pasta, cakes, some candies and cereals, your blood sugar spikes much faster and higher, causing inflammation in everything from your blood vessels and brain to your joints and guts.” This states that having processed carbs can lead your body into being in danger. Next, having a lot of sugar is bad for the heart and can cause heart risks. Finally, sugar and candy have a chemical that makes you want more, just like nicotine. To follow, when you have more and more candy, sugars and fat can take over your body causing your body to be unhealthy too.

    Another reason that Hershey and Mars should discontinue their candies is because huge amounts of money have been spent on candy. First, for 2012’s Halloween, $12.6 billion were spent on chocolate. That’s a lot for a couple dollar treats, but that’s not all!  In addition, even when people don’t have enough money to spare, they buy candy. This shows that people sure love candies enough to spend their lasts bits of money on it, even though they know it’s filled with fat, sugar, and more unhealthy substances. Also, even when people reduced their overall spending, and the economy was in a recession, candy businesses still earned lots of money. In other words, even in a difficult economy, people are still spending money on candy, and candy companies are still making money. Lastly, Halloween and Valentine’s Day are the two holidays where candy is purchased in the highest quantities. Millions of dollars are spent on these holidays. The reason for this it that people spend a lot on non nutritious foods on these two holidays.

    The next reason that these candy companies should discontinue their products is because the manufacturing on cocoa farms includes irresponsible practices. Can you believe that 1.8 million children are forced to work on cocoa farms in Africa? Well, believe it. This is important because many kids are working day and night just so we can eat sugary chocolate. In addition, these children who work on the farms are either helping families do the job or they are being separated from them. This proves that every child wouldn’t want this to happen to them and that this is child labor. Also, they might have even been kidnapped or departed from their education just to work on cocoa farms! The poor children aren’t even given any pay! Working all day for no pay? Fortunately, progress has been made in stopping child labor on the farms ever since the Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed in 2001. “But, it hasn’t come quickly enough,” said Tom Harkin of Iowa. This concludes that it will probably take a long time for child labor on the cocoa farms to stop.

      Critics argue that candy such as dark chocolate has many health benefits and can help you from getting heart risks or cancer. Even though this may be true, dark chocolate and other candies are high in fat and sugar. Additionally, candies have many unhealthy ingredients such as fructose, which is in candy and other sweets, and which behaves like fat that sits in your liver. Who would want that inside your body just from eating candy? Personal, insider experience supports this claim. Whenever this fifth grader eats candy, she look at the nutrients and ingredient label to see how much sugar is in it and how much saturated and  trans fat is in it. There’s a lot! Additionally, a chemical in sugar as powerful as nicotine sets off and makes you want more even though you know it’s unhealthy. After this expert eats a lot, she  has stomach aches. This concludes that candy is very bad for you, and that Hershey and Mars should, again, STOP making their products.