The inaugural meeting of the Media and Childhood Obesity: Today and Tomorrow task force was held two weeks ago. The food industry has taken an active role in this broad-based coalition through the participation of the GMA/FPA. Ben Cooper assesses the food industry’s involvement in the new initiative as part of the industry’s broader commitment to corporate social responsibility.
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Undoubtedly part of the rationale behind the merger of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Products Association (FPA), which was officially completed in January, was to create a united body better able to represent food companies in public policy debates, and participate fully in tackling issues which both concern the public and potentially impinge on members’ business interests.
Arguably the newly unified group’s first taste of acting in this capacity took place last month when it attended the inaugural meeting of a joint task force set up to address the problems of childhood obesity, Media and Childhood Obesity: Today and Tomorrow. In broad terms, this is a forum drawing its membership from both private and public entities to explore non-legislative initiatives to address rising rates of childhood obesity.
One measure of such initiatives is certainly the breadth of membership, and in this regard the new task force can be seen to have fairly respectable credentials. The GMA/FPA was not only joined by independent corporate members such as Kellogg, Kraft, General Mills and Coca-Cola, but also by public health advocacy groups such as the American Diabetes Association, American Society for Nutrition, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association.
The involvement of public health advocacy groups is key to the task force’s credibility with the scientific community. The fact that the GMA/FPA will be collaborating with organisations that have taken a sceptical view of the industry’s ability to regulate itself can also be seen as positive for the industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) credentials.
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By GlobalDataFor instance, only four months ago, the GMA/FPA found itself at odds with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) over the latter’s report into advertising to children and adolescents which called for tighter restrictions on child-targeted advertising. The GMA/FPA suggested current guidelines were proving sufficient. But now the group can show itself working with the same public health body in pursuit of a solution to the childhood obesity problem.
The presence of a merged GMA/FPA is also significant because it means that the views of the US food industry – and its response to the criticism that at times will undoubtedly come its way – will be articulated by a single voice.
The presence of advertising advocacy groups, the Ad Council, the Association of national Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, is also critical. As corporate entities strive to present a socially responsible front and contribute to public policy debates, it is not unknown for blame to be deflected – either inadvertently or sometimes deliberately – from one area of the industry to another. This not only creates the impression of disunity but also the preservation of separate agendas and blame-shifting has the effect of undermining the confidence other stakeholders might have in the corporate commitment to be part of the solution.
In joining the new task force, the formation of which was first announced back in September, the industry is without doubt capitalising on a significant amount of political goodwill and backing from key figures within regulatory circles. This suggests that the industry can, at least for the time being, rely on more support from such quarters. The initiative is being spearheaded by Senator Sam Brownback, Senator Tom Harkin, FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin and Commissioners Deborah Taylor Tate and Michael Copps.
Not to commit strongly to an initiative with such august sponsors – participants who are also decision makers and opinion leaders – would clearly be a missed opportunity of considerable proportions. Moreover, while a prominent advocate of improving marketing practices toward children, Harkin has also demonstrated a willingness to back industry-led initiatives enthusiastically, as he showed last year when endorsing the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and changes to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) advertising code, which the GMA/FPA itself publicly backed.
Obviously it is early days for the task force and for the GMA/FPA’s own role in addressing its aims. In its public statements, the GMA/FPA suggests that the primary role its members can play in this regard is in improving the range of healthier choices available and marketing responsibly. That is of course the party line.
As the GMA/FPA’s senior vice president and chief government affairs officer Mary Sophos put it, “GMA/FPA and our member companies are committed to helping Americans live healthier lifestyles. We are very pleased to be asked to participate on the joint task force Media and Childhood Obesity. The food and beverage industry recognises that it can help combat childhood obesity by providing a wider range of nutritious product choices and marketing these choices in ways that promote healthy lifestyles.”
Initiatives such as the joint task force provide a forum where the actions of the food industry will be scrutinised critically by a membership that will include many of the most sceptical participants in the debate. Nowhere will the potential gap between action and rhetoric be more closely examined.
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