"However, as a parent, as a grandparent, as a former educator, I know that these practices alone when we are dealing with young children are insufficient. We will never control this rising epidemic without greater accountability from the food industry"
About this Quote
The operative word is “alone.” Filner concedes that family habits, school rules, and individual willpower matter, then pivots to declare them structurally outgunned. “When we are dealing with young children” is the moral tripwire: kids can’t bargain on equal terms with omnipresent marketing, engineered cravings, and school-lunch economies. The subtext is that blaming parents is convenient precisely because it’s emotionally loud and politically cheap.
Calling it a “rising epidemic” borrows the urgency of infectious disease to describe diet-related harm. That’s strategic. It suggests scale, contagion, and collective risk - conditions where society accepts regulation without the usual libertarian theatrics. Then comes the real target: “greater accountability from the food industry.” Not “partnership,” not “encouragement” - accountability, a word that implies oversight, consequences, and someone being caught.
Contextually, this sits in the long American argument over obesity, diabetes, and processed foods: an arena where companies present choice as freedom while designing environments that narrow choice. Filner’s intent is to move the blame upstream, from kitchens to boardrooms, and make that shift sound like basic adult realism rather than ideology.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Filner, Bob. (n.d.). However, as a parent, as a grandparent, as a former educator, I know that these practices alone when we are dealing with young children are insufficient. We will never control this rising epidemic without greater accountability from the food industry. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/however-as-a-parent-as-a-grandparent-as-a-former-101056/
Chicago Style
Filner, Bob. "However, as a parent, as a grandparent, as a former educator, I know that these practices alone when we are dealing with young children are insufficient. We will never control this rising epidemic without greater accountability from the food industry." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/however-as-a-parent-as-a-grandparent-as-a-former-101056/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"However, as a parent, as a grandparent, as a former educator, I know that these practices alone when we are dealing with young children are insufficient. We will never control this rising epidemic without greater accountability from the food industry." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/however-as-a-parent-as-a-grandparent-as-a-former-101056/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
