Anti-corporate health campaigns: Seeds of a Movement? Nicholas Freudenberg Corporations and Health Watch City University of New York School of Public Health Left Forum, New York, March 18, 2011

Some starting premises… 1.Practices of corporations are major determinant of health and disease. 2. Influence of corporations on health is growing. 3. Corporate practices that harm health maintain or exacerbate inequities in health. 4. Public health professionals, advocates and citizens can act to change corporate practices that harm health. 5. To improve health, we need to reassert public capacity to protect public from special interests that profit at the expense of health.

Some characteristics of anti-corporate health campaigns Specific goals related to health Target of change is corporate practice Use multiple strategies and tactics to achieve goals and work on multiple levels Connect to other organizations and sectors Intensity and duration of campaign activities variable Link personal and political

Definitions Corporate practices are the actions of companies that advance their business Interests. Product design Marketing Retail distribution Pricing

Disease promotion Individual or organizational activities that encourage unhealthy behavior or lifestyles or contribute to unhealthy environments.

Strategies Campaigns Have Used to Modify Corporate Practices Community organization and capacity building Media advocacy Policy advocacy Litigation Research and information gathering Letter-writing, Coalition-building Counter-marketing Public or creative protest Community mobilization Shareholder actions Working directly with corporations

Policy Agenda for a Movement? Provide consumers with right-to-know health consequences of products and companies with duty-to-disclose such information Protect children and other vulnerable populations against targeted marketing that promotes unhealthy behavior. Make corporations liable for health-related costs of the products they produce and promote Increase sanctions for deliberate distortions of science designed to protect corporate interests. Level the political playing field

From campaigns to a social movement : what’s needed? Defined grievances Ability to link personal add political Articulated policy goals Repertoire of tactics and strategies to advance goals Capacity to act across levels, sectors and issues Defined leaders Networks, coalitions or alliances of supporters

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