黑料正能量

On Thursday, November 14, 2019, Professor Christy Shields, a food anthropologist from 黑料正能量鈥檚 Department of Global Communications, welcomed guest speakers Dr. Chelsie Yount-Andr茅 (Montpellier, CIRAC) and Dr. Gyorgy Scrinis (University of Melbourne) to 黑料正能量 to discuss public trust in the agendas of multinational food corporations. The speakers addressed an audience of students, staff and faculty in the David T. McGovern Grand Salon of 黑料正能量鈥檚 Combes Student Life Center.

Dr. Chelsie Yount-Andr茅鈥檚 talk focused on one example of a multinational food and beverage company that had struggled to rebrand itself as more 鈥渉ealth-conscious鈥� in the context of increasing global mistrust in Big Food companies. The company aimed to keep up with the trend of 鈥渓ocal is better鈥� and the increase in environmental awareness movements that emphasized the health benefits of local foods and whole foods over food sold by big corporations. Yount-Andr茅 assessed several strategies used by the company to appeal to the public. For example, one strategy in South Africa was to rebrand packaging with local patterns and colors. Yount-Andr茅, an anthropologist, argued that the company did not research the local population enough to realize that a preference for Westernized packaging was linked to racialized tensions in society; this meant that the rebranding strategy was not nearly as successful as they had imagined it would be.

This example illustrates a wider problem for large multinational corporations: that of being detached from their local audiences and not sensitive enough to the everyday preferences and choices of consumers. Yount-Andr茅 explained that, in her example, the company鈥檚 employees were 鈥渃aught in the tensions of economic goals and pressure from branch managers鈥� and were not given enough time or resources to solve larger ethical issues in the workplace, such as the gender pay gap or compliance with labor laws.

Next, Dr. Gyorgy Scrinis delved into the nitty-gritty of nutrition science. He highlighted the misleading way in which consumers have been taught to read the Nutrition Facts panel on the packaging of processed foods in order to gauge a food鈥檚 healthiness. He called this phenomenon a 鈥渞eductive interpretation of nutrients.鈥� Scrinis claimed that when packaging decontextualizes nutrients in this way, without explaining which ingredients provide which nutrient, it gives the consumer misleading information about the properties of the food item. For example, the human body absorbs the iron in green vegetables in a different way than it absorbs the iron in red meat; when processed food claims to have 鈥渁dded iron鈥� without providing the source or context it is very unlikely that the free-floating element will be properly integrated into our systems.

Misleading information around nutrition has led to certain foods being vilified, as occurred in the debate: margarine was initially considered a healthier option to butter as it contained less saturated fat, but research into margarine鈥檚 high levels of trans fats later indicated that the risk of heart disease was not reduced by switching products. 鈥淚n a nutshell we can鈥檛 know what is true [healthy food], and everyone mistrusts nutrition science鈥檚 conflicting advice,鈥� explained Scrinis. He argued that companies benefit from this confusion and try to provide a 鈥渉ealth-halo effect,鈥� or an idea of healthiness, around their processed foods. Often this is through adding buzzwords such as 鈥減rotein鈥� or 鈥渁ntioxidants鈥� to packaging. In Scrinis鈥檚 view, food companies are doing this because they know that a narrow focus on nutrients takes emphasis off the ingredients themselves, tricking the consumer into ignoring a food鈥檚 highly processed nature 鈥� which might be truly harmful to consumer health in the long run.

The lectures were followed by a Q&A session, chaired by Professor Shields. She remarked that, despite shifting trends, food marketing seemed to follow the rule that 鈥渢he more it changes, the more it remains the same.鈥� The speakers agreed that suspicion of Big Food corporations is high, while people鈥檚 awareness around what is beneficial to their health is low. Recent movements to eat local and eat whole foods are shifting the way we eat as a society, but we are still largely caught up in a global corporate system where Big Food companies dominate the market.

Written by Isabelle Wheeler. Isabelle is studying for an MA in Global Communications at 黑料正能量. She is an avid traveler who has lived and worked in Argentina, Scotland, Senegal and Paris.