The leaders of the so-called good food sector — including Chipotle, Whole Foods and Applegate — are winning big in the marketplace, but they’re losing to their Big Food cousins in Washington.
There is virtually no “good food” industry lobbying strategy in place, as the vanguards of healthier eating have largely ignored Capitol Hill, leaving the traditional food and beverage powerhouses — which spent more than $36 million last year on lobbying — to push their agenda.
In July, the House approved a bill to block any state-level mandatory genetically-modified-organism labeling. Meanwhile, there’s a growing list of good-food industry leaders who are worried that a lack of lobbying from health-conscious outlets could lead to more losses on labeling as well as watered-down federal dietary recommendations and school lunch requirements.
Under intense pressure on issues ranging from obesity to GMO labeling, America’s longstanding food and beverage giants need Washington more than ever — and they are stepping it up, spending record sums.
The “good food” industry has had some policy wins, despite its hands-off take on D.C. It made significant strides in the last farm bill with a very limited lobbying footprint. The bill included more support for organic farmers, research and crop insurance.
But the gap between the growth in the market and who’s playing ball in D.C. could be a challenge for the greater food movement and segments of the industry that could benefit from certain federal policy reforms, such as banning certain antibiotics from meat production, more organic research and subsidies and the mandatory disclosure of the use of genetically modified ingredients.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: “Good Food” vs. “Big Food”
