Food Industry Playbook?
In his book Question of Intent, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler described a playbook/script the tobacco industry used in fighting the storm of protest over its practices and products. The script consisted of constant challenges to science and hence denial that smoking kills people, that secondhand smoke is bad, that nicotine is addictive, etc. – and the script was executed to perfection by industry executives, scientists, lawyers, and others. Following the script created a public health disaster, Kessler said, by stalling actions that might have saved millions of lives.
It is important to ask whether a food industry playbook has emerged and if so, what its consequences will be. The food industry is more diverse than the tobacco industry and is acting in a less organized way. Nonetheless, the positions of major segments of the industry, expressed to some extent through the trade associations, fall into a predictable set of behaviors and key messages. Many of the players are taking action to:
- Introduce products perceived to be healthier.
- Publicize corporate social responsibility.
- Emphasize the contributions of physical activity – rather than diet – to obesity
- Claim that personal responsibility is at the heart of the nation’s unhealthy diet.
- Plead that personal freedom is at stake, and thus government should not contemplate regulation or legislation.
- Vilify critics with totalitarian language, characterizing them as food police, leaders of a nanny state, and even “Food Nazis and Food Fascists.”
- State that there are no good or bad foods, hence no food or food type that should be targeted for change
- Dispute the research, to plant doubt, each time science produces findings unfavorable to the industry.
Below you’ll find examples the Rudd Center has collected of the way these food industry messages are delivered in marketing materials and in media coverage of food issues. We are also working to determine how message framing can be used to promote healthy changes. Feel free to send us examples of particularly memorable food industry messaging.
Introduce products perceived to be healthier
In its 2006 Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s
highlights its healthy offerings in locations around the world: “Our
menus offer a variety of safe, high-quality food products that can fit into
balanced, active lifestyles. Our restaurants typically serve several types
of hamburgers, grilled and fried chicken products, fish and, in many cases,
salads, fruits, and additional sandwich options. Many of our local business
units are adding new salad, fruit, and vegetable offerings.”
--Products: Balanced Active Lifestyles,
2006 Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald’s Corporation,
Accessed June 2007
Publicize Corporate Social Responsibility
At a trade show for the beverage industry in 2006, American Beverage Association
President and CEO Susan Neely commented, "The ABA was very clear on the
direction for me [as president]; we had to get the industry back on offense.” Neely
noted that the ABA's agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
to restrict beverage sales in schools has allowed the industry to shift the
public discourse about the effect of soft drinks. “Our industry has
gained new credibility, which today allows us to be more effective on any issue
in the public policy arena."
“Dialogue changes: Neely talks of an industry
on the offensive,” Beverage World (December 15 2006)
After calls from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to regulate food marketing aimed
at children, Daniel Jaffe, executive vice president of the Association of National
Advertisers, highlighted the industry’s existing efforts to promote children’s
health. "We're the only sector in our society that takes obesity seriously
and has done something about it -- the food industry, restaurants and the beverage
industry,” Jaffe said. “We are spending hundreds of millions of
dollars (for public service advertising) on this issue. The problem is with
others in society not stepping up to the plate to join the battle.''
“Do food ads make kids fat? Effort to limit
commercials may be revived,” San Francisco Chronicle (December 20,
2006)
Emphasizing Physical Inactivity Over Diet
In an article highlighting lobbying efforts to address childhood obesity through
federal legislation, Jim McCarthy, president of the Snack Food Association,
said that snack food makers “came to Capitol Hill last week to push for
a physical education mandate as part of No Child Left Behind.” In the
same article, PepsiCo lobbyist Galen Reser commented, “There’s
an inactivity epidemic. That’s really what’s changed. Kids are
spending four to six hours a day in front of screens.”
“Can Capitol Hill Fight Fat?” Roll
Call (May 21, 2007)
Personal Responsibility
In the spring of 2007, health advocates complained that children would be
confused by the use of the Shrek character in a Health and Human Services campaign
to promote exercise at the same time that Dreamworks had licensed the character
to the food industry. Shrek promotes 75 fast-food products, including M&Ms,
Pop-Tarts, and McDonald's Happy Meals. In response to the complaints, Dreamworks
spokesperson Bob Feldman commented in an interview with the Boston Globe, "Since
when did candy become evil? People know candy is a treat, and parents know
to dole it out carefully."
“Fighting obesity, but fronting for junk
food,” The Boston Globe (May 21, 2007)
Opposing bans on food marketing to children and mandates on calorie labeling
for fast food chains, National Restaurant Association legislative director
Mike Shutley commented, "It is up to people's individual choices to facilitate
their individual diets.”
“Bills battle nation's bulge,” San Gabriel Valley Tribune (January
21, 2007)
Commenting on proposed state and federal legislation that would exempt the
food industry from liability for product-related weight gain, Tom Sponseller,
president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, said, "Why
should a person have the ability to sue a restaurant or food manufacturer for
claims of obesity? Obviously, if you're eating cheeseburgers, french fries
and fried chicken, you know that's not good for your health.”
“Who's at fault if you get fat? Proposed legislation
would block suits against restaurants,” The Post and Courier (January
2, 2007)
Personal Freedom at Stake
In an editorial opposing attempts to regulate soda in schools, Rick Berman,
executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom, wrote “Anti-soda
activists --- who also seek extra taxes and warning labels on soft drinks,
as well as tobacco-style class-action lawsuits --- have an insatiable thirst
for regulating our diets. They allege soda makers' new school distribution
policy doesn't go far enough. They want a complete ban on soda in all schools.
In other words, a young man or woman old enough to carry a gun in Iraq won't
always be able to choose his or her own beverage.”
“Soft drinks in schools aren't to blame for
obese children,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (August 8, 2005)
Vilify Critics
The food industry-funded Center for Consumer Freedom (www.consumerfreedom.com) uses a wide array of media tactics to personally attack individuals and groups that criticize food industry activities. In describing its mission, the Center for Consumer Freedom paints a dark picture of those trying to improve public health: “The growing cabal of ‘food cops,’ health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know ‘what's best for you’ are pushing against our basic freedoms. We’re here to push back.” Run by a public relations executive with experience working for the tobacco industry and funded by anonymous donations from restaurant and food companies, the group attacks public health advocates using language too inflammatory for the companies to use directly.
There Are No Good or Bad Foods
In a May 2007 newsletter, Snack Food Association President & CEO Jim McCarthy
opposed mandatory nutritional guidelines for snack foods sold in schools, writing, “We
recognize that our industry has an important role to play in helping to improve
the health and fitness levels of adolescents and young children. However, we
all agree that there is no single solution to combat obesity and no one food
should be singled out to blame for this complex problem.”
“SFA Supports Voluntary School Nutrition
Standards,” Snack Food Association Newsletter (May 2007)
According to a Web page entitled “Hydration & Your Well-being” published
by The Coca-Cola Company, “All foods — even your favorite
beverages — can fit in your diet, as long as you watch portion
sizes and stay within your daily calorie needs. In fact, the American Dietetic
Association emphasizes that total diet and overall pattern of food eaten, rather
than any one food or meal, are most important. If consumed in moderation with
appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity, all foods
can fit in a balanced diet.”
“Hydration and Your Well-Being,” www.makeeverydropcount.com,
The Coca-Cola Company, Accessed June 2007
In a letter to the editor complaining about the publication of a cartoon in
The News & Observer associating a family eating at a fast food restaurant
with North Carolina’s status as the 14th heaviest state, the president
and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant Association wrote, “Ultimately,
it is simplistic to blame restaurants as a culprit for obesity. There are no ‘good
foods’ or ‘bad foods’ -- all foods can be part of a balanced
diet when chosen wisely.”
“Take Your Pick,” The News & Observer
(September 2, 2006)
Challenging Science
In response to news that the New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene is conducting a survey of food choices before and after introduction
of calorie labeling in many of the city’s fast food restaurants, Tom
Foulkes, vice president for state relations at the National Restaurant Association,
questioned the validity of the survey, commenting, “We have a serious
problem with it. It's certainly not a scientifically based survey, and it's
certainly not going to accurately depict if the program is working.” The
health department stated that the survey was scientifically sound.
“Survey Swaps MetroCards for Meal Receipts,” The
New York Times (March 30, 2007)
In response to a study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health
that found that soda consumption was linked to weight gain, American Beverage
Association senior science consultant Richard Adamson stated, "Blaming
one specific product or ingredient as the root cause of obesity defies common
sense. Instead, there are many contributing factors, including regular physical
activity.”
“Sugary drinks are piling on pounds, new
report says,” Associated Press (August 8, 2006)