Media Advisory
Embargoed Media Telebriefing Signalling virtue, Promoting harm: how Big Food, Big Alcohol and other unhealthy commodity industries are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic
Tuesday 8th September, 2020 (London, UK) —The COVID-19 pandemic is a double whammy. At the same time that people living with noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancers or living with obesity are disproportionately bearing the burden of infection, severe illness and death associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the world´s leading manufacturers of junk food, alcohol and sugary drinks are among those leveraging the pandemic for commercial gain in particular during the lockdowns associated with the pandemic`s response.
Over the past six months a crowdsourcing initiative to gather examples of these unhealthy commodity industries’ responses to the pandemic co-led by the Spectrum Consortium (Shaping Public hEalth poliCies to Reduce ineqUalities and harM), and the Noncommunicable Diseases Alliance has received over 750 submissions from over 90 countries.
Signalling virtue, Promoting harm: Unhealthy commodity industries and COVID-19, a report jointly produced by the Spectrum Consortium and the NCD Alliance, illuminates how commercial actors have strategically leveraged new commercial and political opportunities. Alcohol, tobacco, and ultra-processed food, gambling, infant formula and fossil fuel industries have all launched high profile initiatives presented as contributions to the global health response to the pandemic. Yet these corporate social responsibility initiatives are clearly designed to advance their business needs; developing partnerships and collaborations with governments, international agencies and leading NGOs; influencing policy responses during and transitioning from lockdown; and pivoting marketing and availability of products both in low and middle income and high income countries. In doing so, corporate initiatives framed as part of the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic risk increasing the ongoing damage of such industries in driving epidemics of non-communicable diseases.
Media representatives are invited to attend an embargoed media telebriefing with the report´s researchers/authors on Tuesday September 8 to preview a preliminary analysis of approximately 80 initial samples of industry intervention across these industries during the COVID-19 pandemic to date, with special focus on the alcohol, food and beverage industries.
Please note: The report´s findings are strictly embargoed until 00:01 CEST Thursday September 10
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WHAT: Embargoed launch of Signalling virtue, Promoting harm: Unhealthy commodity industries and COVID-19 (Preliminary Report)
WHEN: Tuesday September 8, 10:00 EST/15:00 BST/16:00 CEST
WHERE: Zoom Call
WHO:
- Katie Dain, CEO, NCD Alliance
- Linda Bauld, Director, The SPECTRUM Consortium, Bruce and John Usher Chair of Public Health in The Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- Jeff Collin, Co-Investigator, The SPECTRUM Consortium, Professor of Global Health Policy, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- Lucy Westerman, Policy and Campaigns Manager, NCD Alliance
- Labram Musah, National Coordinator, Ghana NCD Alliance
- Pierre Kevin Cooke Jnr, Youth Voices Technical Advisor, Health Caribbean Coalition
Event registration
Upon registering, accredited media representatives will receive a Zoom link to the media telebriefing. Registered media will also receive an embargoed copy of the report ahead of the briefing. Embargoed interviews with the report's authors after the media briefing can also be arranged.
Further Information
Michael Kessler
NCD Alliance Media Relations
Mobile: + 34 655 792 699
Email: [email protected]
The SPECTRUM Consortium is funded by the UK Prevention Research Partnership and is a unique collaboration that aims to conduct research to prevent and address harm to health from unhealthy commodities by using systems science to identify and evaluate solutions. It brings together 10 Universities in the UK and one in with leading alliances that aim to improve health and reduce inequalities in the UK and further afield, along with Public Health England, Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and two independent companies specialising in statistical modelling and retail data.
About the NCD Alliance
The NCD Alliance (NCDA) is a unique civil society network of 2,000 organisations in 170 countries, dedicated to improving NCD prevention and control worldwide. Our network includes NCDA members, national and regional NCD alliances, scientific and professional associations, and academic and research institutions. Together with strategic partners, including WHO, the UN and governments, NCDA is transforming the global fight against NCDs.