PHA-Exchange> Infact: NGOs Denounce Industry Influence Over Health Policy

[Stacey Folsom]

NGOs Denounce Industry Influence over 

International health Policy

 

 Big Food and Big Tobacco Flex Muscles with Help of US Government, Face
Resistance from Countries Committed to Health

 

GENEVA-As the 192 countries of the World Health Assembly (WHA) consider
policy recommendations to address a global epidemic of malnutrition,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are urging governments to resist
influence-peddling by the food industry. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain
cancers linked to diet and obesity are part of a major shift in the
cause of death around the world. In response, the UN's health agency is
moving ahead with a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and
Health that would help inform consumers about the dangers of foods high
in sugar, salt and fat while curtailing promotion of junk food. 

The US government has been a leading opponent of many of the key
provisions of the Global Strategy on Diet, and has successfully sought
changes that will weaken the recommendations dramatically. While many
countries and NGOs have supported a ban on junk food promotion, the US
and the food industry have preferred provisions that focus on the
responsibility of individuals rather than on corporate accountability.
Activists are drawing parallels between the US position on diet and
nutrition policy and the US actions to thwart tobacco control
initiatives, as evidenced by the US role in negotiations over the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

 "Once again, the US government is prioritizing the profits of a
powerful industry over the lives of people around the world. We saw this
sort of cowboy diplomacy as the US sought to weaken the global treaty on
tobacco control. Now the Bush Administration is trying to water down the
Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health for the sake of
Big Food," says Kathryn Mulvey, Executive Director of the US-based
corporate accountability organization Infact.

The food industry is aggressively using its trade associations to
influence international health policy. The Confederation of the Food and
Drink Industries (CIAA) of the European Union and the International
Council of Grocery Manufacturers Associations (ICGMA)-which includes the
Grocery Manufacturers of America-are seeking official relations with
WHO, a status reserved for NGOs concerned with health. Philip
Morris/Altria, parent of Kraft Foods, the largest branded food and
beverage corporation in the world, is a prominent member of the GMA. In
a letter being delivered to WHO this week, Infact, Commercial Alert and
dozens of allied organizations around the world have called on WHO to
include a ban on junk food marketing to children in its Global Strategy.

"The food industry, led by Kraft and other global corporations, is
driving an epidemic of obesity with junk food promotion while
undermining measures to protect health. With aggressive
behind-the-scenes lobbying and close ties with governments of some
wealthy nations, the food industry is mirroring the tobacco industry's
attempts to derail policy. But the FCTC process has taught us that when
countries are united around public health, they can prevail in the face
of the most powerful economic forces. We applaud the majority of
countries that maintain their strong commitment to health," says Bejon
Misra of ConsumerVOICE (India), a member of Consumers International.

The WHA marks the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the FCTC, a
global treaty that will save millions of lives and change the way the
industry operates globally. There is strong momentum behind the treaty's
implementation, as more than 100 countries have signed and 12 have
ratified. The FCTC, which bans tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship and protects public health policy from tobacco industry
interference, becomes binding international law after 40 countries sign
and ratify. In more than 40 countries across the globe, civil society
organizations are participating in the sixth International Week of
Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals (IWR2004) with public events
calling for swift FCTC ratification.

Last week the US government's signing of the FCTC was met with
skepticism. According to Infact, the move appeared to be the latest in a
series of public relations maneuvers to cover up its efforts to
undermine the treaty. Throughout the FCTC negotiating process, the US
government consistently took positions to weaken the treaty at the
expense of people's lives in the US and around the world.

###

Infact is a nonpartisan membership organization that protects people by
waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous
corporate actions around the world. Through bold campaigns and a
commitment to win, for over 25 years Infact has forced corporations-like
Nestle, GE and Philip Morris/Altria-to stop irresponsible and dangerous
actions. For more information visit www.infact.org
<http://www.infact.org/> . Infact does not endorse, support, oppose, or
otherwise advocate the election or defeat of any political candidate or
party.

 
Stacey Folsom
FCTC Ratification Campaign Organizer
Infact
46 Plympton Street
Boston, MA 02130
USA
+1-617-695-2525-p 
+1-617-695-2626-f
www.infact.org <http://www.infact.org/> 
Ratify the FCTC!
 
 
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