Kellogg’s CEO is being criticized by the public for saying that poor people should eat cereal for dinner to save money.
According to the British daily Telegraph on the 27th (local time), Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick recommended eating cereal for dinner when economic conditions are not good in a recent interview with CNBC.
“Cereal prices have always been cheap,” CEO Pilnick said. “When consumers are under financial pressure, cereal tends to be a great option.”
He predicted that eating cereal would cost less than eating other foods. “Eating cereal for dinner is more popular than you might think, and this will likely continue as consumers face financial pressures.”
However, his remarks immediately drew backlash, especially on social media. One netizen pointed out that CEO Pilnick’s remarks were no different from the saying, “If you don’t have bread, you can just eat cake,” which drew citizens’ anger during the French Revolution.
Another netizen criticized, “Would CEO Pilnick give his children cereal for dinner?”
It was also pointed out that households that eat cereal for dinner to save money cannot use expensive brands such as Kellogg’s.
Author Marion Williamson raised her voice, saying that promoting poor people to eat cereal for dinner is no different from exploiting their hunger for financial gain.
Some also criticized the hypocrisy of CEO Pilnick, who is earning a huge amount of income.
According to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) data, CEO Pilnick received $1 million in wages (about 1.33 billion won) and performance bonuses of about $4 million (about 5.3 billion won) last year.
Kim Ye-seul,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.