Can Mexico Win the War on Junk Food Marketing?
Mexico fights childhood obesity with stricter junk food ads. Self-regulation failed, so schools banned sales, sugary drinks taxed and packaging labeled. Now, the battle moves online as social media and influencers become new frontiers.
Advertising is a vital force in economies, since advertisers need wide dissemination and the media require it to live; It is the basis of consumption, of “moving” capital and its economic importance is central. However, the problem of junk food concerns us all.
The director of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences (FCPyS) of the UNAM, Carola García Calderón, pointed out the above and said that the promotion of foods and beverages of low nutritional value has had attempts at self-regulation, while advertising organizations fought because “rigid and discretionary” restrictions of the State will be eliminated.
When participating in the IX National Congress of Social Sciences, “Social sciences and the challenges for Mexican democracy”, organized by the Mexican Council of Social Sciences (Comecso) and the Institute of Social Research of the National University, she stated:
Even at the beginning of the millennium, foods with low nutritional value and non-alcoholic beverages were never considered a health risk, she explained at the event held in the Pablo González Casanova auditorium of the IIS.
The university student recalled that in 2013 a strategy was enacted to eradicate the sale of junk products in schools, and sugary drinks and processed products high in sodium and fat were taxed.
A plan was undertaken for the prevention and control of overweight, obesity and diabetes, with main areas, including ending the sale of these supplies in educational institutions; establish a children's schedule where their announcement was not allowed; and labeling. As of 2020, they have black seals and legends, and it was decided not to include characters that were attractive to minors in their packaging or advertising.
García Calderón explained that the food industry has great economic power, and whenever they wanted to move forward, in terms of advertising, the law was “decaffeinated” to remove several of the most restrictive issues, and agreements were reached with the interests of the advertisers. Meanwhile, civil organizations have been a key element in supervising and taking measures against that power.
She recalled that children's hours are established in the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law. But today there are new technologies, everything that has to do with digital media, with the Internet, and the goods that circulate on the Internet; and not only that, also the influencers.
Young people, she noted, do not listen to the radio or watch television, but rather digital platforms, which is why advertising has moved towards them, so we must think about their importance in communication, but also in our own health, she said.
Great slope
Every government must place the best interests of children first and above any other, including commercial ones, as is the case of food advertising, said the Nutrition Officer at UNICEF Mexico, Anabel Fiorella Espinosa de Candido. .
It is necessary to regulate these marketing strategies in their channels and through their techniques. Although the internet is already included in Mexican regulations, certain spaces are not yet covered, such as theme parks, or the street, where products are sometimes given away, she added.
At the table Regulation, self-regulation and consumers: food advertising in Mexico, the expert described the restriction of advertising on packaging as a success in our country. Now it is necessary to advance the guidelines that establish specific criteria in television, cinema, the internet and other spaces.
In this regard, she recalled that in 2020 labeling was included, but until June 2021 the use of characters on packaging was regulated; In September 2022, the Regulations of the General Health Law on Advertising were modified, which included the internet, in addition to television and cinema.
However, there is a big problem: ideally these products should not be advertised on any television schedule. However, “the food industry has a lot of power and is not going to allow that to happen.” It has only been achieved in a draft document that it is in a time slot in which infants are most exposed, but these guidelines have not been put up for public consultation or published.
At UNICEF, she said, we have had the opportunity to work closely with the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks, and one of the challenges is to convince decision makers at different levels and powers about the importance of regulating this advertising.
