Row Over Olympic Games Junk Food Marketing Heats Up Hours Before Opening Ceremony

Amid claims that the Games are a ‘carnival of junk food marketing’, public health experts from five continents strongly criticize the comments made by FDF director general Ian Wright who said that non-western countries have “no problem” with Cocal Cola and McDonald’s sponsorship of the Olympics.

Wright got caught up in the row with public health campaigners and nutrition experts after he was asked by Campaign magazine whether it was appropriate for Coca-Cola and McDonald’s (Kellogg’s is also a major sponsor) to be Olympic sponsors.

 

He replied: “Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are among the world’s most responsible companies. Being involved in the Olympic family and sharing its values allows both sides to benefit from the special value of such relationships. You only have to look at Johnnie Walker’s sponsorship of the McLaren Formula One team to see that it has not only been very successful but has also advanced the cause of responsible drinking.”

 

“You also have to remember that the source of the controversy is invariably Western and metropolitan. Asian and Latin American countries have no problem with companies that behave responsibly.”

 

But it’s this point about the concern seemingly coming from Western society that has angered campaigners who have interpreted it as “ill-informed” and “patronizing”.

 

Representatives from organizations and institutions at the forefront of tackling obesity-related diseases in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, the US and UK, have come together to refute Wright’s claims.

 

Dr Fabio Gomes, a Brazilian public health nutritionist and Pan-American Health Organization regional advisor on nutrition responded by saying: “The Food and Drink Federation’s statement is outrageous and wrong. If these companies did indeed act responsibly they would not advertise to children, they would not send their licensed clowns to Brazilian schools to hook children on their brands and products and they would not promote sugary drinks and energy-dense products that are not recommended by Brazil’s official food based dietary guidelines.”

 

Alejandro Calvillo Unna, spokesman for Mexican NGO El Poder del Consumidor (Consumer Power) backs this up with: “We find the UK Food and Drink Federation’s comments to be offensive. In Latin America, these two companies, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, represent one of the main vectors of the obesity and diabetes epidemic in our region. They deny the scientific evidence about the harm their products generate, they manipulate children, use misleading advertising, and invest millions of dollars in lobbying to impede the development of policy measures in countries that are working to combat obesity and chronic disease.”

 

Meanwhile, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign and author of The Obesity Games (an expose of the extent of junk food marketing associated with London 2012 Games) Malcolm Clark, says he stands alongside counterparts in Latin America and slams Ian Wright’s remarks. “We know first hand from London 2012 what a carnival of junk food marketing the Olympics are. And we are seeing it again this time: with almost all Kellogg’s Games-related marketing currently promoting high sugar, less healthy products; with Coca Cola’s global #thatsgold ad giving twice as much screen time to red, full sugar Cokes as to Coke Life and Coke Zero Sugar combined; and with the emergence of limited edition Brazilian flag colored M&Ms and other sugary products which associate themselves with the Games.”

 

He points out that only discount supermarket Aldi has taken a different stance with its advertising campaign focusing on British produce, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

 

“Today, as the Rio 2016 Olympics begin, we stand in solidarity with public health counterparts in Brazil, and throughout the world, as they seek to counter the effects of the many millions of pounds spent by companies promoting sugary drinks and calorie-dense, highly processed food to families during this period.”

 

“As their angry responses to the UK’s Food and Drink Federation makes clear, countries in Latin America and Asia take the health impact of junk food marketing as seriously as everywhere else. Ian Wright conveniently forgets that countries such as Mexico, Chile, South Korea and Taiwan have been leading the way globally in actions taken by governments to tackle obesity and excess sugar consumption.”

 

“The Children’s Food Campaign is also writing to the UK embassies of these countries, to encourage them to seek a formal apology from the FDF and invite Ian Wright to meet with them and learn more about their innovative and effective policy initiatives, including the sugary drinks tax and robust regulations restricting junk food marketing to children.”

 

Just days after McDonald’s announced it was to scrap artificial preservative from their menus to satisfy the demands of consumers, the fast-food giant has come under fire for its marketing at the Olympics 2016.

 

The FDF says it has received no such request from embassies for an apology and Wright stands by his comments.

 

“The recent, ground-breaking McKinsey report ranked the most effective intervention to tackle obesity worldwide, portion control and reformulation of foods came out top, with restrictions on sports sponsorship nowhere on the list,” he adds. “At a time when public health budgets are shrinking, restricting sports sponsorship from food and drink companies - whether of grassroots sports of international competitions - would result in less physical activity, not more.”

 

When FoodIngredientsFirst asked for a response from McDonald’s UK on the issue of the perceived hypocrisy of junk food marketing being associated with the greatest sporting event in the world, it sent the following statement.

 

“This year we have given two children from the UK the chance to go to Rio and be part of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. As Sustain acknowledge, no food or beverages have featured anywhere in our UK activity which has solely focused on giving these children a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the 2016 Rio Games.”