How Food and Beverage Giants Influence Our Choices

The tactics once employed by the tobacco industry to downplay the health risks of smoking are now being used by food and beverage companies to protect their profits. Through misinformation, strategic lobbying, and aggressive marketing, these corporations have shaped public perception, delayed regulations, and undermined public health efforts.

​Here’s how Big Food and Big Beverage have adopted and adapted the tobacco industry’s playbook.

1. Funding Research to Protect Profits
One of the most notorious strategies used by the tobacco industry was funding research to cast doubt on smoking’s link to cancer. Similarly, food and beverage companies have sponsored studies to challenge the growing body of evidence linking their products to chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

For instance, Coca-Cola funded millions of dollars in research to promote the idea that physical activity, not diet, is the key to combating obesity. This narrative was central to the “Global Energy Balance Network,” a nonprofit supported by Coca-Cola, which downplayed the role of sugary drinks in weight gain. The network was eventually disbanded after widespread criticism, but the damage to public understanding of nutrition remains.

Similarly, the sugar industry funded research in the 1960s and 70s to blame saturated fat, not sugar, for heart disease. These efforts influenced decades of dietary guidelines, promoting low-fat, high-sugar foods as “healthy,” despite their contribution to the rise in metabolic disorders.

2. Misleading Marketing Campaigns
The tobacco industry famously used marketing to glamorise smoking, associating it with independence, sophistication, and even health. Food and beverage companies employ similar tactics, using health-related buzzwords to sell ultra-processed products.

Consider the “heart-healthy” label that appears on many breakfast cereals and snack foods. These products are often high in sugar and refined carbohydrates but fortified with synthetic vitamins and minerals to qualify for the label. The implication is clear: these foods are marketed as essential for health, even though they contribute to chronic disease when consumed in excess.

Fast food companies also use emotional advertising to appeal to children and families. McDonald’s “Happy Meal” is a prime example, combining toys, bright colors, and kid-friendly marketing to create lifelong brand loyalty. These tactics mirror the tobacco industry’s efforts to market to young audiences, ensuring future customers despite the health risks.

3. Influencing Policy Through Lobbying
The tobacco industry spent decades lobbying against regulations that could hurt its bottom line. Similarly, food and beverage corporations invest heavily in lobbying to influence public policy and delay health-focused reforms.

For example, soda taxes—proposed as a way to reduce sugary drink consumption and combat obesity—have faced fierce opposition from beverage companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. These corporations spend millions lobbying against such measures, often framing their opposition as a defence of consumer choice and small businesses.

4. Manipulating Public Perception
Just as tobacco companies funded campaigns to question the dangers of smoking, food and beverage companies have invested in shaping public opinion about their products.

The “Everything in Moderation” campaign, popularised by food industry giants, suggests that no single food is inherently unhealthy as long as it is consumed in moderation. While the message seems reasonable, it ignores the addictive nature of many processed foods, which are engineered to trigger overconsumption. This rhetoric shifts responsibility onto individuals, absolving corporations of accountability for producing unhealthy products.

5. Delaying or Undermining Scientific Consensus
The tobacco industry famously used internal documents and funded scientists to delay regulatory action by questioning the evidence linking smoking to cancer. Food and beverage companies have employed similar tactics to stall regulation.

A prominent example is the use of front groups—organisations that appear independent but are funded by corporations. Groups like the American Beverage Association have worked to counteract soda taxes and regulations on sugary drink advertising. These organisations often present themselves as consumer advocates, but their true purpose is to protect corporate interests.

6. Targeting Vulnerable Populations
The tobacco industry faced criticism for aggressively marketing its products to low-income and minority communities. Similarly, food and beverage companies often target these populations with their least healthy products.

In urban areas, “food deserts”—neighborhoods with limited access to fresh, healthy food—are often flooded with fast food restaurants and convenience stores selling processed snacks and sugary drinks. These products are marketed as affordable and convenient, despite their long-term health costs.

The Long-Term Impact on Public Health
The adoption of the tobacco playbook by food and beverage companies has contributed to a global health crisis. Rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease have skyrocketed, driven by diets high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats. Meanwhile, public confusion about nutrition persists, fuelled by corporate-funded misinformation campaigns.

What Can Be Done?
To combat these tactics, public health advocates must push for greater transparency and accountability:

• Independent Research: Governments and nonprofit organisations should prioritise funding unbiased studies on nutrition and health.
• Policy Reform: Lobbying limits and stricter regulations on food marketing, especially to children, can help reduce corporate influence.
• Consumer Education: Empowering individuals with accurate, science-based information is critical for countering corporate narratives.

The parallels between the tobacco industry and Big Food are striking, and the stakes are just as high. By recognising these tactics and demanding systemic change, we can begin to reclaim our health from the grip of corporate interests.

Speak soon, JC.