Cereal Has Strayed Too Far

Breakfast cereal boxes offer a glimpse into the intersection of politics, food, and American culture. In 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the secretary of health and human services, called for the removal of artificial dyes from breakfast cereals, expressing concern about their impact on children's health. Companies like General Mills and Kellogg responded promptly, transitioning their cereals to all-natural dyes made from fruits, vegetables, and spices.

Target also stopped selling cereals with artificial colors. However, the issue of sugar in cereals remains a significant concern. Nearly all ready-to-eat breakfast cereals sold in the U.S., especially those marketed to children, are presweetened. The practice of adding sugar to cereal began with Jim Rex, a heating-equipment salesman who in the early 20th century created a honey-coated wheat cereal called Ranger Joe Wheat Honnies to discourage his kids from adding sugar to their breakfast.

Despite initial success, Rex's strategy backfired in the 1950s as other companies introduced sugary cereals that became best sellers. General Mills launched Sugar Smiles in 1953 and added sugar and artificial colors to Kix cereal the following year, creating Trix. By the 1970s, only 5% of cereals sold were presweetened, but by the mid-1970s, children consumed nearly 40% of all cereal.

The high sugar content of breakfast cereals has been a long-standing complaint among advocates for children's health. Congress held hearings in the early 1970s to address cereal's inadequate nutritional quality, but companies responded by altering their product names and using multiple sugar types to make their products appear less sugary.

In 2009, General Mills pledged to reduce sugar in its kids' cereals to single digits, but success was mixed due to factors like serving size. The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has limited the sugars in cereals it covers to six grams an ounce since 1980, which has led companies to create low-sugar cereals for the WIC market and petition for changes in how sugar is counted on food labels.