Funder: Prevention Institute

BMSG works closely with the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments to use media advocacy to accelerate the coalition's efforts to shift debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a primary focus on individual choice to one that includes corporate and government practices and the role of the environment in shaping eating and activity behaviors. The Rapid Response Media Network draws its members from the Strategic Alliance, The California Endowment's Healthy Eating, Active Communities Initiative, and others in California interested in improving food and activity environments.

Media Monitoring
BMSG monitors the food and beverage industry trade press and the business pages to inform the Strategic Alliance's Rapid Response Media Network about new products and practices that shape the environment influencing food and beverage decisions. Through the monitoring, BMSG identifies opportunities for members the Rapid Response Media Network to respond to breaking news and shape debate.

Strategic Consultation
BMSG provides strategic consultation on media advocacy to the Strategic Alliance's Rapid Response Media Network, so the Network can react effectively to breaking news and create news that highlights the role of the food and beverage environment.

Framing Briefs
BMSG analyzes key issues that shape how people understand, and how advocates can talk about, food and activity environments.

Food Marketers Greenwash Junk Food: Companies Tout Link to Health and Environmental Movements. This Framing Brief explains how food and beverage companies are borrowing the symbolism of the environmental movement to cast a favorable "green" light on themselves and their products. But many of the products they label green are still high in fat, salt and calories, and whether they are eco-friendly is open to debate. [ download pdf ]

 

Reading between the Lines: Understanding Food Industry Responses to Concerns about Nutrition. When a food or beverage company does something that might be good for health, should public health groups congratulate them publicly? If not, why not? What do these promises mean? When companies' words don't match their deeds the answers are not always clear. This Framing Brief describes how food and beverage companies are reacting to pressure from public health groups and explores the implications for framing public health's responses to those actions. [ download pdf ]

The Problem with Obesity. Obesity has become the popular term for a set of problems that result in premature death and injury from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. It is a convenient term, but we should stop using it. This Framing Brief explains why. [ download pdf ]

 

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