One point to remember in discussing these tours, many companies used to do ‘actual’ tours of their plants (Hershey’s, Kellogg’s), but several factors led to these ending.
First off, as these tours became more popular, these factories became overcrowded – they really weren’t designed to handle the large number of bodies that were going through them. Second, having all these ‘dirty’ human bodies drifting through food processing plants, well, ’nuff said right there! Third, enough pinheads managed to injure themselves on these tours that the Insurance Companies reared their ugly heads and started making noise. Thus, you end up with the Hershey’s animated display, the Kellogg’s faux factory, etc.
I agree, they’re no substitute for going through a real factory, but given the nature of our society these days, it’s hard to blame these companies for watching out for themselves.