REPORT: Facing Two Pandemics How Big Food Undermined Public Health in the Era of COVID-19

17 November 2020. (Release date) This report  (36 pages) details how food and beverage corporations seized the coronavirus pandemic as a unique opportunity to promote their ultra-processed foods to especially vulnerable populations around the world.

“Facing Two Pandemics: How Big Food Undermined Public Health in the Era of COVID-19” reveals how the lack of healthy food regulations worldwide enabled “Big Food” to use the global COVID-19 crisis, publicly portraying themselves as do-gooders while directly and indirectly influencing policy and putting disadvantaged people at even greater risk.

These same corporations – whose ultra-processed food and sugary drinks were already contributing to rising rates of obesity, malnutrition, and diet-related diseases – used the pandemic to position themselves and their unhealthy products as essential and safe, putting those compromised populations at even higher risk of coronavirus complications and mortality. The Global Health Advocacy Incubator collected more than 280 examples from 18 countries between March and July 2020.

The Facing Two Pandemics report finds that food and beverage industry giants directly and indirectly blocked healthy food policies while putting vulnerable consumers at even greater risk.

Download the Report:

• Full Report: Facing Two Pandemics: How Big Food Undermined Public Health in the Era of COVID-19
• Facing Two Pandemics Executive Summary—English
• Facing Two Pandemics Executive Summary—Portuguese
• Facing Two Pandemics Executive Summary—Spanish

Press Release:
Big Food Used Global Pandemic to Aggressively Promote Unhealthy, Ultra-Processed Food & Sugary Drinks