The Application of Corporate Political Activity Taxonomies to Explore the Lobbying of Ultra-Processed Sugary Food and Drink Industries in Chile: Comment on "Corporate Political Activity: Taxonomies and Model of Corporate Influence on Public Policy"

TL;DR

This paper discusses how a model for analyzing corporate political activities was applied to study lobbying by sugary food and drink industries in Chile.

Contribution

The paper highlights the practical application and challenges of using taxonomies in a global south context.

Findings

The taxonomies helped identify and classify corporate lobbying actions in Chile.

Challenges emerged when applying the model to a global south setting.

The study provides insights for using similar taxonomies in other regions.

Abstract

Unhealthy commodities industry actors use different practices, including political practices, to influence policy-making in industry-friendly ways that may result in increased ill health and health inequalities. Ulucanlar and colleagues formulated a comprehensive evidenced-based model and taxonomies to study the corporate political activities of unhealthy commodity industries. This commentary reflects on the process of applying these taxonomies to the study of lobbying of ultra-processed sugary food and drink industries in Chile, a country from the global south that faced strong opposition during the discussion and implementation of legislation to create healthier food environments. The taxonomies were a useful tool to identify and classify the different claims and actions used by ultra-processed sugary food and drink industries when lobbying Chilean authorities. However, there were some challenges in their use that need to be considered when using these taxonomies in similar settings.

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