After several months of discussions, the new version of the ARCOM Food Charter was signed on December 17 by all stakeholders: associations of sick people and consumers, representatives of the agri-food industry, advertising agencies, advertisers, digital platforms , etc. However, this is only the beginning.
Positive points
Finally ! Discussions around the new Food Charter, a voluntary collective commitment with the aim of promoting healthier diets, particularly for young people, have been successful and are being materialized by the signature of all stakeholders. This progress was made possible thanks to the mobilization of civil society, whose role was crucial in bringing together around the same table actors with very different, even contradictory, ambitions and designs.
Chronic diseases constitute a major public health issue: cancers (3.4 million people covered by Health Insurance in 2021), cardiovascular diseases (5.3 million), diabetes (4.3 million) and even obesity (10 million). These pathologies, closely linked to diet, are today responsible for 80% of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases. For years, alerts have been coming one after the other: World Health Organization, parliamentary reports, associative studies, all unequivocally plead for a regulation of advertising in favor of food products considered harmful to consumers. No one is unaware anymore: the negative impact of this marketing on the health, particularly of the youngest, is proven. The new charter must absolutely meet the challenges facing our societies. This is the very purpose of this charter which binds us collectively.
Welcome developments
In this regard, the adherence of digital platforms to this new charter constitutes a significant asset. Their central place in the lives of young people made their commitment necessary, both for the evolution of advertising content, for the equal regulation of the different advertising broadcasters (traditional media and digital platforms) and for the promotion of responsible food practices. We expect concrete and measurable actions from them: it is time for these actors, often singled out for their role in the dissemination of harmful content, to fully take their responsibilities.
Another major novelty that we welcome: this charter is intended to evolve. A monitoring committee will meet every six months to assess progress, address the difficulties encountered and clarify commitments. Its work must be based on objective findings:
- The alarming figures for diseases linked to poor diet;
- The economic impact of these diseases on Social Security;
- Analysis of media practices and social networks, particularly in terms of advertising and display of nutritional scores (Nutri-Score).
For the first time, the Ministry of Health and the Information and Communication Delegation (DICOM) are joining in this approach by signing the charter and committing to participate in monitoring its application, which marks a significant advance compared to the previous version. It is an additional ally and valuable support to ensure that the ambitions of this text are translated into concrete and lasting results.
The last chance?
Our attention will also focus on the commitments made by the agri-food industry, represented by the National Association of Food Industries (ANIA) and the Union of Brands. Their previous commitments have been insufficient. The reference to the individual responsibility of parents on the choice of products, on the education of children to deny the weight and impact of marketing strategies, their lack of responsibility in the evolution of foodstuffs, with the promotion of products of lower quality are no longer acceptable positions. Reducing the incidence of chronic pathologies, a major public health issue, must be one of their priorities. This must be achieved by a drastic reduction in promotions made in favor of products of low nutritional quality, by the display of the Nutri-Score on advertising content, by a reduction in the marketing pressure exerted on the youngest audiences. In the context of the crisis that our health system is going through and public coverage of healthcare costs, it is no longer tolerable for the economic profits of private actors to supplant the general interests of public health, the health of the most deprived and the survival of our social protection system following the explosion in costs linked to the chronic diseases they generate.
If this new charter seems to benefit from the best intentions, we, associations defending sick people and consumers, will remain vigilant. In the event of breaches of the commitments made (less exposure of young people to junk food, better nutritional information for consumers, etc.), we will demand from the public authorities strict, regulatory and legislative regulation, in order to impose an obligation of results that is incentive would not have made it possible to achieve. It would be unacceptable if the actions advocated by ARCOM, via this new charter signed by the Ministry of Health, remained ineffective in the face of the scale of public health challenges.
Let us not allow a model to persist that breeds chronic illnesses and represents a burden both for the French and for our health system, and risks bankrupting our social protection system.
