Reported Conflict of Interest cases

Your info: Alliance for Adequate and Healthy Eating (Brazil)

Context of the conflict situation: It is a media campaign with Sadia associated with educational actions in schools. The project "Saber Alimenta" (Knowledge feeds") provides for so-called “educational activities” in schools, while we know that children should be protected against abusive practices of marketing communication such as merchandising actions within the school. Under this partnership, there is a high-risk of children being exposed to marketing, programs, and products of Sadia branding. Sadia products are mainly ultraprocessed and frozen ready-to-eat foods. Actors involved included Jamie Oliver, Sadia and education managers from São Paulo of private schools and the public education network of the state of Santa Catarina.

Report the conflict situation: The human right to Adequate and Healthy Food (AHF) consists of two interrelated dimensions: being free from hunger and having access to adequate food. Promoting and providing ultraprocessed foods and products while implementing "educational activities" in schools to promote healthy eating is a contradiction, as a basic healthy eating advice is to eat a variety of raw and minimally processed foods such as fruits, vegetable, grains, beans, etc. In parallel, a greenwashing of the brand was made, valuing organic and sustainable chicken production, with a strong marketing campaign, and the launch of a Sadia healthier product line "ready to cook", both of them using Jamie's image linked to it.

Describe the alert call: Countries have the obligation to protect, promote and guarantee the human right to Adequate and Healthy Food (AHF). Brazilian law prohibits advertising which would
take advantage of children’s lack of judgment and experience (Article 37 § 2 of Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code). Brazil’s National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) defines as abusive any “practice of targeting advertising and marketing communications at children with the intention to persuade them to consume any product or service” (Resolution 163 of 2014).
According to this resolution, “marketing communications” are any commercial communication activities, including merchandising and actions through concerts and performances, as well as communications performed under the guise of so-called “educational” activities. Brazilian civil society has been working through various organizations and groups to ensure that children’s rights to Adequate and Healthy Food are protected and promoted. One of the key areas for this is the school environment.

List outcomes: Counterposition of the Food and Nutrition National Council (CONSEA) and the state Educational Feeding Council (CAE) based on the opinion of the Santa Catarina Federal University (UFSC) and the Open Letter of the movement originating from the Alliance for Adequate and Healthy Eating with recommendation to suspend the program in the state. Loss of registered capital of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Movement signatories internationally. Holding a conversation with the Jamie Oliver Foundation at their request, to clarify our arguments. We received the information that the Foundation ended the part of the project related to the educational activities in schools.

Lessons learned: Collective pressure worked. We denounced the program as soon as it was launched, through articulation of actors, with elaboration of a documents and with document translated into English, publicizing the case internationally in several spaces. The denunciation exercise was a great learning, which generated very positive effects.

Comments: Publication of the case on several occasions where the topic of conflicts of interest was discussed.