What is Industry Interference?
Source: HEALA in South Africa. Learn more at https://heala.org/
Public health policymaking should prioritize health over profit. However, the food and beverage industry spends billions to undermine public health policies. Using sophisticated tactics, the industry works to block regulation of health-harming products and policies that promote healthier eating.
Strategies to monitor these tactics, call attention to unethical or illegal behavior and demand transparency can help mitigate food and beverage industry interference. Key strategies include tracking and publicly reporting industry practices; building coalitions and media campaigns to expose policy interference; and protecting food policies through legal action when needed.
Common industry tactics include shifting blame, funding favorable research and direct lobbying. The industry creates narratives that redirect responsibility for diet-related chronic diseases away from its products, funds research and campaigns to support these claims, contributes to political campaigns and engages strategically in international and regional food policy forums.
Best Practice Recommendations
Coming soon!
Understand the Evidence
These examples illustrate strategies to counter food and beverage industry interference. Click below to view the evidence page for more data.
Monitoring and analyzing industry actions helps determine strategies to counter them. The Global Health Advocacy Incubator has collected hundreds of examples of industry actions from more than 50 countries and analyzed them for patterns.
Source
Global Health Advocacy Incubator: UPP Industry Watch.
Monitoring industry political activities helps increase transparency. Researchers have developed an approach to monitor corporate political activities of the food and beverage industry in more than 20 countries. A recent study in Latin America and the Caribbean found more than 200 examples of such activities.
Source
Mialon M, et al. Mechanisms for addressing and managing the influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice: a scoping review. Mialon M, et al. Public health and the ultra-processed food and drink products industry: corporate political activity of major transnationals in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Media campaigns can counter industry efforts to instill confusion. Mass media campaigns have increased support for policies, such as sugary drink taxes, in countries including Jamaica and South Africa. Campaigns have also helped sustain knowledge about the harms of sugary drinks, despite food and beverage industry efforts to instill confusion.
Source
Civil society coalitions offer a powerful force to counter interference. Civil society coalitions—that advocate for transparency in decision-making and removing conflict of interest from public policies—have helped counter industry interference and secure food policy wins in countries including Ghana, Colombia and Brazil.
Source
Global Health Advocacy Incubator: News.
Adopt these Strategies
Learn how to implement strategies to draw attention to and counter food and beverage industry actions.
Coming soon: How can industry interference be countered?Learn From Case Studies
Read about successful efforts to counter food and beverage industry interference from countries around the world. These strategies may be adaptable to your country or community.
Coming soon: What can be learned from others about countering industry interference?Other Solutions
Learn more about other solutions for healthier food environments and how they can be combined in comprehensive policies.
