Big Food's biggest trend? Crusading against Big Food - Houston Chronicle

"(AP) — Gathered for a free music festival, a crowd waits to see one of the headline attractions — an exhibit about fast-food ingredients. Chipotle's "Cultivate" festivals encapsulate the food industry's hottest marketing trend: crusading against Big Food. While the burrito maker still struggles to recover from an E. coli outbreak last year, its previous success in presenting itself as a reformer has led companies big and small to follow suit as they seek part of the $256 billion that Americans spend on fast-food each year. [...] some are positioning themselves as advocates for change before accomplishing some health goals, and skeptics say even well-intentioned marketing can be a disingenuous way to help people rationalize overeating. In issuing its challenge to improve kids' meals, Panera also decried marketing gimmicks, then launched digital ads featuring children's voices trying to explain items like "sodium benzoate." Local, which touts its "revolutionary fast food" in two low-income California locations, says "giant corporations that feed most of America have degraded our communities by maximizing profit." Musk, the brother of tech mogul Elon Musk, already has several sit-down restaurants and blames processed foods low in nutrients for leaving people "fat and starving." The company also sees it as an opportunity to boost sales by offering the dietitians tips for incorporating its bars into people's diets. [...] while its touting of quality ingredients and ethical sourcing practices may have helped sales, that positioning may also partly explain its lagging sales since an E. coli outbreak last year:"