School-approved Cheetos? How do we protect school food
A report on the 2022 consultations on a national school food policy will soon be released. It’s likely that the food industry will have made their corporate interests heard, and industry-affiliated corporations are known to lobby Canadian policymakers to influence federal nutrition policies .
Public participation is essential in the creation of policies that are accessible and inclusive. The consultations were able to hear the views of provincial, territorial, and Indigenous authorities and community organizations on the importance and significance of nutritious school meals. They also was able to hear about the industry of foodwhich is a problem.
Food industry policies consultations to further competing industrial interests at the expense of public health.
Social Development Minister Karina Gould’s roundtable discussion on the creation of the National School Food Policy at the University of Guelph in January 2023. (University of Guelph)
Lobbying for the food industry
We have a reason to be concerned regarding the influence in the world of foods to shape the way we eat and our health. Food industry often draws inspiration from the political game and the playbook of the tobacco, alcohol and other industries that harm health. They use this tactic in order to safeguard the interests of their business.
The federal government hasn’t yet been able to rule out a significant role in the food industry’s role in the development of a nationwide school nutrition program. This willingness to allow for industry influence or ad hoc interference raises concerns because of the business model driven by profit of firms that manufacture or process harmful and unsustainable food products.
The present multi-faceted school-based meal programs across Canada is also a source of unhealthy and unsustainable dependence on the generosity of volunteers and charitable giving. Food companies have the freedom to make themselves the key actors in the fight against hunger through giving to charities.
In the event that Big Food becomes even more involved in school food, Who will be the real beneficiaries? Our children or shareholders?
The establishment of a nationwide school food program is appealing economically to the food industry since multinational food companies will look at it as an opportunity to boost sales and expose their brand names to young children at an early age.
By subtlely placing the products they sell in schools, Food industry companies use its influence to establish their credibility. This was evident in the case of the famous “school-approved” Cheetos in the National School Lunch Program in the United States.
Cheetos have been approved previously in the lunch program for children across the United States.
Reputations are being re-established
In a time when food manufacturers are trying to take on managing their image with regard to rising costs for food, being viewed as a solution to food insecurity could boost their image.
In reality, the way that food companies promote themselves as ” part of the solution” is the evolution of non-market strategies, which are designed to influence the public’s and political viewpoints as well as regulatory decisions to favor the interests of industry over other interests. This includes children’s health.
There are three steps that the federal government should take to stop corporate influence from the design of a school’s national curriculum:
Define the purpose of the food industry.
Together with provincial and territorial governments, they should determine the roles of food companies as well as commercial companies in providing schoolchildren with food. Schools must be shielded from advertising campaigns and attempts in order to make junk foods accessible.
