How Big Tobacco Built the Food Industry with David Chiu

Commune with Jeff Krasno

Commune Media

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 673 Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Jeff sits down with San Francisco City Attorney, David Chiu, to discuss his first-in-the-nation lawsuit against major ultra-processed food manufacturers. Drawing parallels to Big Tobacco litigation, David explains how companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Kraft Heinz have used addiction science and deceptive marketing – often targeting children and low-income communities – to maximize profits while leaving taxpayers to cover the healthcare costs. They explore the tobacco industry's direct involvement in building the processed food industry, the 1999 executive meeting that predicted devastating health consequences, and why this lawsuit could reshape how we think about America's food system. This show is made possible by: CBDistillery: Go to CBDistillery.com and use code COMMUNE for 25% off. Timeline: Go to Timeline.com/COMMUNE to claim a special offer for Commune listeners. Stemregen: Get 20% off your first order at stemregen.co/commune with the code COMMUNEPOD Vivobarefoot: Try Vivobarefoot risk-free with a 100-day return guarantee, and get 15% off your order at vivobarefoot.com/commune. Bon Charge: Get 15% off when you order at boncharge.com and use promo code COMMUNE

Transcript

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0:00.0	70% of our food supply, which is ultra-processed foods. The tobacco industry literally took
0:05.2	their addiction scientists and moved them over to the ultra-processed food industry.
0:09.9	Addictiveness is a feature, not a bug. David Chu, San Francisco City Attorney, taking on the
0:16.1	biggest names in ultra-processed food, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft-Hines, and Nestle. In this episode,
0:23.3	we discuss how big food leveraged the same techniques as big tobacco to sell addictive products
0:29.5	that make us sick. Over the last couple decades, we've seen, for example, the prevalence of
0:34.9	diabetes among black Americans quadrupling. Being addicted
0:38.3	to food that makes you sick is not affordable. This industry is designed to push consumers to
0:46.3	spend more on these products and then privatize, force us to pay for those health costs. They are
0:52.3	trying to create the illusion of choice, but they've actually deprived us of choice. Thanks for being here. I appreciate you.
1:00.6	Thanks for having me on. Yeah, so we've had a lot of doctors and mental health experts,
1:06.5	nutritionists on the show to talk about health. I think you are the first city attorney to ever
1:12.8	grace the show. So for listeners who might not be totally familiar with what a city attorney does
1:20.6	day to day, can you help us understand what your core roles and responsibilities are up there in San
1:26.2	Francisco? So people probably know what attorney
1:28.9	generals are. In most states, attorney generals have both criminal and civil jurisdiction over
1:36.5	enforcement of laws. And in virtually every city, those two functions are actually split. So I used to be a criminal prosecutor in San
1:46.0	Francisco, but you have district attorneys who, if you know from law and order, they take
1:50.1	folks who've been arrested and decide who gets prosecuted and try to make the case that they should
1:55.1	go to jail. I handle all civil matters for my city, so maybe think about me as like a civil
2:00.4	attorney general for San Francisco. So maybe think about me as like a civil attorney general for San
2:01.5	Francisco. And what that means is I, my lawyers are the general counsels to our mayor, our city
	...

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