Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs vs. fresh food

Real food is making a comeback. Life on foreign shores has exposed the study abroad generation to the pleasures of unpackaged foods. Whole Foods earned $8 billion last year, and its stock is up 287% since February 2009. Films like Food, Inc. and Fast Food Nation have opened our eyes to the horrors of processed food and factory farming, while fresh food evangelists exhort us to "avoid foods you see advertised on television."

But before there was Michael Pollan, there was Bill Watterson:

Calvin: "But it's fortified with eight essential vitamins, so it's good for you! Look, it says right on the box, 'part of a wholesome, nutritious, balanced breakfast.'"

Hobbes: "And they show a guy eating five grapefruits and a dozen bran muffins."

Oh, the things marketers will do to make their product claims! If only it were just a comic strip.