Could this be a sign of Americans turning away from processed junk food? For the second time in eight years, Hostess Brands, the company behind iconic American baked goods like Twinkies and Wonder Bread, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. With more than 100,000 creditors and $860 million in debt, the company is seeking venture capital to allow it to continue operating as it works on more long-term cost restructuring efforts (i.e. slashing pension and healthcare payouts to its employees, and renegotiating its labor/union contracts).
This gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, I’d love nothing more than to see this company go out of business. Twinkies, Ding-dings, Wonder Bread…you don’t have to be a holistic nutritionist to strongly dislike (is hate too strong a word?) these “food” products. I use quotation marks because if you’ve ever looked at the ingredients list on nearly all of Hostess’ stuff, it reads like a toxic wasteland. I wouldn’t feed the stuff to my cat. Even for people on a tight budget, there are numerous healthy alternatives that cost the same.
On the other hand, the company employs roughly 19,000 employees. Were Hostess to ultimately go under (a bankruptcy does not mean that a company will go under, obviously), those 19,000 people would be out of work. I wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone in my family, so I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.
What are you thoughts? Do you get any satisfaction when you hear that a giant processed food company is having a difficult time financially?
Nope. I have more satisfaction in proving, rather than knowning, that a company that produces such poison, is about to close their doors because, “We The People,” stopped purchasing those products. I can say the same for companies like Walmart. What satisfaction would I gain in my moral bank account when Walmart starts having a difficult time financially? I would much rather like the news headline for the current article to read: “People Admit Hostess’s Negative Impact On The Human Body, Stage A Lifetime Boycott.”
Gotta agree with you, Chat! Thanks for stopping by!