Systematic examination of publicly-available information reveals the diverse and extensive corporate political activity of the food industry in Australia

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Melissa Mialon¹  Gary Sacks¹  Steven Allender¹  Boyd Swinburn² 

[1] World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia;World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia;School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand;

关键词: Food industry;    Corporate political activity;    Non-communicable diseases;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-2955-7

 received in 2015-11-26, accepted in 2016-03-14,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe political influence of the food industry, referred to as corporate political activity (CPA), represents a potential barrier to the development and implementation of effective public health policies for non-communicable diseases prevention. This paper reports on the feasibility and limitations of using publicly-available information to identify and monitor the CPA of the food industry in Australia.MethodsA systematic search was conducted for information from food industry, government and other publicly-available data sources in Australia. Data was collected in relation to five key food industry actors: the Australian Food and Grocery Council; Coca Cola; McDonald’s; Nestle; and Woolworths, for the period January 2012 to February 2015. Data analysis was guided by an existing framework for classifying CPA strategies of the food industry.ResultsThe selected food industry actors used multiple CPA strategies, with ‘information and messaging’ and ‘constituency building’ strategies most prominent.ConclusionsThe systematic analysis of publicly-available information over a limited period was able to identify diverse and extensive CPA strategies of the food industry in Australia. This approach can contribute to accountability mechanisms for NCD prevention.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Mialon et al. 2016