Halloween is here and I’m taking a stand. I will eat nothing wrapped in orange, brown, yellow, or gold. I declare Mars and the rest of Candy Corp America persona non grata in my home! Here’s why:
The average child eats about 3 cups of sugar and 7,000 calories on Halloween. They’d have to walk approximately 180 miles—Baltimore to New York City—to burn off that much flab.
Worse is the financial outlook. Americans buy nearly 600 million pounds of candy each year for Halloween. They spend almost $7 billion (the GDP of a starving Zimbabwe) on Halloween junk. Profits for the cynically rich who low-ball African cocoa and help litter our seas with plastic waste.
No thanks.
Candystore.com’s study of 2007-2016 data shows that we here in Virginia (Mars, Inc.’s HQ is right here in McLean) bought 26,783 pounds of Snickers, over 26k pounds of Hot Tamales, and 18k pounds of candy corn. In DC, candy consumers bought 26k pounds of M&M’s, 21k pounds of Tootsie Pops, and almost 15k pounds of Blow Pops.
What happens to it all? The average American eats 3.4 pounds of candy over Halloween. I used to be one of them. Experience shows: there’s no such thing as unwrapping just one Reese’s or Snickers bar. ‘Fun’ size? These addictive little treats are sized to keep you popping! Best to avoid the first one altogether.
I’ll tell you this: I haven’t biked over 2,600 miles to work since January just to pork out on some scheming candy-maker’s crap addiction. But so what for me. The real question is:
How do we stop this madness without ruining Halloween for our kids!? Because, man is candy delicious!
Ben East Books 
When I was raising my children, we stopped going trick-or-treating, and started going around visiting our friends with children instead. We had home made things, like cookies, breads, etc. Apple cider to drink. Or we did Halloween parties, where the parents were all trying to break the usual scene of their children arriving home with 5 lb of candy each. When there’s a party, a lot of attention can be paid to activities, like fishing. What you get on your hook is a little handmade toy of some sort. (Parents get together ahead of time to supply the fishing pond.) Or bobbing for apples, the old standby. Or 3-legged race, and other fun activities. So that the fun high takes over for the sugar high, and so that less attention is paid to the corporate wrappers, and more to the fun they are having with their friends. Mask making and other art activities. Ghost stories.
It’s hard going against the current. Thank you for your boycott!
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It’s a good idea! I remember my parents did a party one year. I really missed trick or treating that year!!!
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