Food Frontiers readers have asked several questions related to the integrity of food industry scientists, whether all food company actions must lead to increased profits, and the need to place the full text of speeches and comments in the public domain. Let me address each. Read more

This week I’m attending the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm. In addition to being a presenter, I had the opportunity to participate in a pre-conference meeting for select presenters. Following Sunday’s meeting, I came away with some thoughts I wanted to share with you. The meeting provided a chance to preview several major papers and discussion themes that will be highlighted during the ICO. Since the last ICO meeting  (4 years ago) there has been a continued unabated upward trend in obesity. The only notable exceptions being in some European countries where evidence of a slowdown is appearing. The most rapid increases are being reported in emerging markets.   Boyd Swinburn from Australia highlighted the need to simultaneously address socio-cultural and behavioral factors while tackling environmental and policy issues. Several examples of “obesogenic” socio-cultural factors were provided based on research in diverse populations in the Asia-Pacific region.... Read more

The highly-regarded Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health this week published the seventh annual edition of “F as in Fat”, a report on obesity in the U.S.  The report includes commentary by a variety of notable public figures.   Among them is PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. The fact that the report would include comments from the leader of a food company, particularly one whose product portfolio includes treats like soft drinks and potato chips, has drawn some criticism.  The critics seem to feel there is no place for a food industry viewpoint in such a report. I disagree. To suggest PepsiCo and other food companies should not have a voice in the discussion of how to address global obesity seems counterproductive. The UK Foresight Report on Obesity and the White House Report on Obesity both have spelled out roles industry can play in preventing obesity... Read more

For 35 years, the Global Health Council has focused on critical needs in health and has often raised the clarion call for emerging public health challenges. These have included AIDS, children’s health, reproductive rights of women, and the spread of infectious diseases. This year, progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was the central theme and I participated in the opening plenary along with Tessa Wadlow from UNICEF, Ambassador Wegger Strommen from Norway, Minister of Health Kakooza from Uganda, and Sering Falu Njie from the UN Millennium Campaign. With 5 years to go before the MDG goals, set in 1990, need to be achieved, there was strong evidence of progress on several global health goals. Progress includes improved access to water, declines in under nutrition, sharp increases in vaccine coverage, and greater access to malaria bed nets. However, the attainment of these goals remains uneven with... Read more

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report today called, “Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World: A Critical Challenge to Achieving Global Health.” The report is of great interest to my colleagues at PepsiCo and me because it mentions the important role of the private sector in addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) around the world. It’s also important to note that I served as an IOM committee member for this report and Mehmood Khan and George Mensah’s paper, Changing Practices to Improve Dietary Outcomes and Reduce Cardiovascular Risk: A Food Company’s Perspective, is cited. The report highlights the reality that heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 28% of all deaths. Death rates in developing countries such as China, India and Mexico have become much higher than those in developed countries. Of growing concern is that deaths occur up to... Read more

Last week I participated in Agenda 2010: The Turning Point On Poverty sponsored by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The conference recognized the progress being made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals but focused primarily on the MDGs on which the international community is failing to make the most progress: hunger and nutrition, and education and health. The conference addressed conditions needed to enable the MDGs to be met, including economic growth, stable states, the empowerment of women and tackling climate change. PepsiCo was one of two food companies, along with Unilever, invited to participate along with over 80 technical experts, key ministers and policy makers from developing countries. Of particular interest was DFID unveiling their first global under nutrition program which targets six countries. Two of them, Nigeria and India, coincide with work PepsiCo is doing in those countries on under-nutrition. I also was... Read more

I am pleased to highlight our new global policy to stop the sale of full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools by 2012. This voluntary commitment makes PepsiCo the first major beverage company to implement such a consistent global approach. The policy details were drawn up based on discussions with the World Heart Federation which exemplifies our belief that working in collaboration with a variety of partners is the best way to make a difference in the health of people around the world. We are working with our bottlers, vending companies and distributors – along with parents, community leaders, and school officials around the world – to help make school settings conducive to the health of students. This global school beverage policy advances our existing commitments to reducing calories in schools by offering students a wider range of low-calorie and nutritious beverages in appropriate portions. For... Read more

The World Food Prize conference addresses issues facing agriculture globally, ranging from food security to distribution to safety. Dr. Derek Yach, SVP, Global Health Policy, provides perspective on why PepsiCo was present at this year’s event: “The reason we are here is this is the premiere venue where the issues of global hunger are addressed, particularly from an agricultural perspective. As a company with a set of very deep roots in farming around the world, we believe we should be both listening and more importantly, contributing to the debate.” Hear Derek’s thoughts below on what PepsiCo learned from participating in the World Food Prize and also, what the company contributed to the discussion. Read more

Des Moines is home to the World Food Prize-a celebration of the achievements of Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug for his 60 year contribution to advancing the scientific basis of actions that have reduced hunger. Each year leaders from the worlds of agriculture and nutrition gather to discuss ways of advancing Borlaug’s vision; a world free from hunger. This year was especially poignant given his death at 95 just weeks before the event. Without being there it is difficult to appreciate the extraordinary depths of love and appreciation for Borlaug that permeates the events. As a son of Iowa it was impressive to witness the Governor, the US Secretary of Agriculture and senior representatives from the State Department, Senators and leading politicians, leaders of corporations linked to agriculture including Archer Daniel Midlands, John Deere and Monsanto, academic heads of agriculture from the state and beyond open... Read more

When I left the World Health Organization in 2005 for Yale School of Public Health, I thought that I would not have to return to WHO/FAO technical report 916 except to teach aspiring public health students about it. I was so wrong. The report took two years to complete. Its bland number and boring cover hide the power of its simple messages and the complexity and broad based partnerships it will take to implement them. It set out to document the optimal diets and level of physical activity populations required to minimize their lifelong risks for a range of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This required bringing together experts from around the world to sift through the cumulative wisdom of many and distill their ideas into a set of science-based nutrient and activity specific conclusions about what we should eat more or less... Read more