Big Food, Nutritionism, and Corporate Power

Abstract

Big Food corporations have capitalized on nutritionism—the reduction of food’s nutritional value to its individual nutrients—as a means by which to enhance their power and position in global processed and packaged food markets. Drawing on the literatures on nutrition and corporate power, we show that Big Food companies have used nutritional positioning to bolster their power and influence in the sector. Through lobbying and participation in nutritionally focused public–private partnerships, they have directly sought to influence policy and governance. Through market dominance in the nutritionally enhanced foods sector, and participation in nutrition-focused rule-setting activities in agrifood supply chains, they have gained power to influence policy agendas. And they have used public outreach and the media to present their views on the nutritional aspects of their products, which shapes public perceptions and the broader regulatory environment. Together, these strategies have enhanced the power of Big Food firms to influence policies in the food sector.

Keywords:

• corporate power
• Big Food
• nutrition
• public health
• governance
• transnational corporations

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See http://www.foodprocessing.com/top100/top-100-2015/.

2 See www.ifballiance.org.

3 The video of this side event can be viewed at this link: http://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/3131/icode/.

4 https://new-alliance.org.

5 http://www.pepsico.com/live/story/world-food-programme-africa?preview=true.

6 http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Human-Sustainability/Product-Choices.

7 http://www.mondelezinternational.com/well-being/community-partnerships.

8 https://ifballiance.org.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Clapp

Jennifer Clapp is a Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, and Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She has published widely on the global governance of problems that arise at the intersection of the global economy, the environment, and food security. Her most recent books include Food, 2nd edition (Polity, 2016), Hunger in the balance: The new politics of international food aid (Cornell University Press, 2012), and Corporate power in global agrifood governance (co-edited with Doris Fuchs, MIT Press, 2009).

Gyorgy Scrinis

Gyorgy Scrinis is Senior Lecturer in Food Politics and Policy in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne. His current research focus is on the philosophy of nutrition science, nutrition policy, food labelling, animal welfare, and corporate power. He is the author of Nutritionism: The science and politics of dietary advice (Columbia University Press, 2013).