Abstract

Introduction

Amid the increasing prevalence, in Brazil, of chronic noncommunicable diseases associated with overweight and obesity ¹1. Departamento de Análise em Saúde e Vigilância de Doenças não Transmissíveis, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde. Vigitel Brasil 2018: vigilância de fatores de risco e proteção para doenças crônicas por inquérito telefônico. Estimativas sobre frequência e distribuição sociodemográfica de fatores de risco e proteção para doenças crônicas nas capitais dos 26 estados brasileiros e no Distrito Federal em 2018. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2019.^,22. World Health Organization. Noncommunicable diseases (NCD) country profiles. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018., a coalition of players from civil society, academia, the State and international organizations has endeavored to promote an agenda in the country - that of adequate and healthy food ³3. Castro IRB. Desafios e perspectivas para a promoção da alimentação adequada e saudável no Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31:7-9.^,44. Jaime P, Delmuè DCC, Campello T, Silva DO, Santos LMP. Um olhar sobre a agenda de alimentação e nutrição nos trinta anos do Sistema Único de Saúde. Ciênc Saúde Colet 2018; 23:1829-36..

Based on global advances on the topic, on the NOVA ⁵5. Monteiro CA, Levy RB, Claro RM, Castro IRR, Cannon G. Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: evidence from Brazil. Public Health Nutr 2011, 14:5-13. classification and on guidelines of the revised edition of the Brazilian National Food and Nutrition Policy ⁶6. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde, Ministério da Saúde. Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2013., in addition to other instruments, this agenda presents, among its main objectives, the advocacy of regulatory measures for factors strongly associated with this epidemic and the promotion of food education for the population.

Despite their focus on promoting public health, goals such as these receive direct opposition from a portion of the food industries. The literature has directed increasing investigative attention to such resistance, which, incidentally, characterizes a worldwide phenomenon ⁷7. Kickbusch I, Allen L, Franz C. The commercial determinants of health. Lancet Glob Health 2016; 4:e895-6.^,88. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30.^,99. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Wate J, Tukana I, Sacks G. Analysis of the corporate political activity of major food industry actors in Fiji. Global Health 2016; 12:18.^,1010. McKee M, Stuckler D. Revisiting the corporate and commercial determinants of health. Am J Public Health 2018, 108:1167-70.^,1111. Rochford C, Tenneti N, Moodie R. Reframing the impact of business on health: the interface of corporate, commercial, political and social determinants of health. BMJ Glob Health 2019; 4:e001510.. It is important to highlight, in this sense, the notion of commercial determinants of health, through which Kickbusch et al. ⁷7. Kickbusch I, Allen L, Franz C. The commercial determinants of health. Lancet Glob Health 2016; 4:e895-6. propose an interdisciplinary domain to addresses corporate strategies that promote unhealthy diets. Among such strategies, the authors emphasize those related to economic, advertising and political factors.

In the political sphere of these determinants, apropos, it is worth mentioning the concept of corporate political activity (CPA), as used by Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30. to address corporate attempts to influence public opinion and the State in ways that benefit the firms. Informational, legal, financial, public relations and deregulation actions, beside confrontation with political opponents, are part of the scope covered by the authors’ approach ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30..

Inspired by this concept, this article examines changes in three CPA dimensions related to the national associations of food industries: the representative, communicational and institutional dimensions.

Highlighting the Brazilian Food Industry Association (ABIA), the Brazilian Dairy Association (Viva Lácteos) and the Sugarcane Industry Union (UNICA), the analysis covers the period between 2014 and 2020, precisely the period in which the agenda of adequate and healthy food began to expand its influence in the Brazilian public sphere ³3. Castro IRB. Desafios e perspectivas para a promoção da alimentação adequada e saudável no Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31:7-9.^,44. Jaime P, Delmuè DCC, Campello T, Silva DO, Santos LMP. Um olhar sobre a agenda de alimentação e nutrição nos trinta anos do Sistema Único de Saúde. Ciênc Saúde Colet 2018; 23:1829-36.^,1212. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva. Aliança pela Alimentação Adequada e Saudável será lançada no Conbran 2016. https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-noticias/institucional/alianca-pela-alimentacao-adequada-e-saudavel/21367/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-n... .

As for the representative dimension, the focus, through ethnography, is on the change of the lobbying of the abovementioned ptrivate associations in Congress. Here, we adopted the definition of Santos et al. ¹³13. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying no Brasil: profissionalização, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2017. (Texto para Discussão, 2334).^,1414. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying na Câmara dos Deputados: evolução, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2019. (Boletim de Análise Político-Institucional, 1). that lobbying is characterized by the advocacy of interests in relation to state agents.

As for the communicational dimension, the article observes a mobilization of corporate justifications through different narratives. The conceptual foundation for this objective is found in French pragmatic sociology, especially in the works of Boltanski & Chiapello ¹⁵15. Boltanski L, Chiapello E. The new spirit of capitalism. New York: Verso; 2005. and Boltanski & Thévenot ¹⁶16. Boltanski L, Thévenot L. On justification: economies of worth. New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 2006., who understand criticism as a modification engine in corporate legitimation devices.

Finally, as for the institutional dimension, the work focuses on changes involving the food industries associations. The analysis of this dimension - which characterizes a conditioning factor to enhance or hinder CPA, and which has received less attention from the literature on commercial determinants of health - is guided by political science researches that address the impacts of crises on industrial associations, that is, that deal with the ways in which institutional innovations ¹⁷17. Doner RF. Introduction: explaining institutional innovation. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 9-18. - in other designations for the same phenomenon, institutional changes ¹⁸18. Schneider BR. Crises and institutional origins: business associations in Latin America. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 57-68. or engineering ¹⁹19. Schneider BR. Designing industrial policy in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015. - are configured in the abovenamed associations in unstable and conflicting periods.

The sources consisted of documents and records made during fieldwork. Conducted between December 2018 and July 2019, the field research comprised, on the one hand, participant observation - particularly - in the Pensar Agricopecuária Institute (IPA) and in the Brazilian National Congress: in the IPA headquarters, in Brasília, one prioritized the observation of meetings for interaction between technical agents and representatives of agrifood systems associations, as well as the participation of parliamentarians; in the Legislature, one observed meetings of commissions of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, in addition to public hearings. On the other hand, the fieldwork also included 38 (mainly semi-structured) interviews with leaders and technicians from business associations linked to agricultural and industrial activities, parliamentarians and members of the Executive. These dialogues were conducted in two ways: in 18 cases, by telephone, with an approximate duration of between half and one hour; on 20 occasions, in person, mainly in Congress, most of them shorter. In both situations - participant observation and interviews - field notes were made. As for the documents, which covered the period between 2007 and 2020, one used management reports, materials and websites of food industries associations, official archives and Internet pages of the Executive and Legislature Branches, in addition to texts and websites of the organized civil society.

Contacts for obtaining permission to access the IPA were initially made by telephone, then by e-mails with an invitation from the institute, and were then followed by face-to-face conversations at its headquarters. The telephone interviews were negotiated and scheduled by email, while the others were conducted by direct dialogue, especially in the corridors of the Congress. We are grateful both to the persons who organize the IPA - for the access granted for participant observation, and for sharing information and materials - and who agreed to be interviewed for the work.

Before initiating the analysis, it is also important to situate the author’s changing focus during the research: the fundamental issue guiding the author’s perspective during fieldwork concerned the ways in which the different corporate agents related to agrifood systems have built new intersectoral political spaces and acted in relation to the State, especially the Legislature. The dialogue with the literature on the commercial determinants of health, and, therefore, with the consequences of CPA for public health, occurred a posteriori, raised from the observations and interactions carried out in the field. In this process, the concept of CPA, as propounded by Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30., ended up becoming methodologically instrumental to trace, in all empirical material, corporate political activities and apprehend them according to the categorization of corporate strategies proposed by the authors.

Representative dimension: a new lobbying channel for the food industries

Characterized as one of the drivers of the commercial determinants of health ⁷7. Kickbusch I, Allen L, Franz C. The commercial determinants of health. Lancet Glob Health 2016; 4:e895-6. and understood as a practice to be traced according to the concept of CPA ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30.^,99. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Wate J, Tukana I, Sacks G. Analysis of the corporate political activity of major food industry actors in Fiji. Global Health 2016; 12:18., the lobbying of food industries associations started to have ots disposal, in the late 2010s, an important political dispositif in the National Congress: the IPA. Before addressing the specific impact of these representations in the institute, it is important to analyze the institute briefly, as well as the political field of agribusiness.

After being formally established in 2011, the IPA would reach prominence in this field between 2015 and 2016 ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410.. In the biennium, it had finally attracted a wide gamut of national commercial agriculture and industry associations, and had consolidated protocols to qualify conflict management and the prospection for consensus among them. With the success of this strategy, the institute contributed decisively to aggregate representativeness and financial resources from agents that are dominant in this field ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410..

The aggregation in turn enabled fostering the management of the collection of such resources and their use, among other purposes, to set up an appropriate physical space for lobbying - in a mansion in Lago Sul, in Brasília - and to consolidate an experienced and diversified technical team ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410..

This modification is consistent with the increase in the professionalization of lobbying in Brazil ¹³13. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying no Brasil: profissionalização, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2017. (Texto para Discussão, 2334).^,1414. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying na Câmara dos Deputados: evolução, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2019. (Boletim de Análise Político-Institucional, 1).. Among the characteristics that the literature attributes to such increase are a satisfactory own budget, previous experience and specialization of employees, in addition to exclusive dedication ¹³13. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying no Brasil: profissionalização, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2017. (Texto para Discussão, 2334).. They are present in the IPA, as reported, in interviews to the author, by members of the institute’s technical team and of the associations that compose it.

Despite the remarkable advances, in the institute, with the improvement of the ways of dealing with the differences between the private actors and the constitution of a specialized team, the political dispositif would have less political relevance if it had not significantly altered the public-private relations in the field of agribusiness ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410.. Indeed, the main characteristic of the IPA is its position backing the agribussines caucus (FPA), a factor frequently emphasized in the interviews given to the author by leaders of the associations, and also mentioned by parliamentarians.

The three types of agents that constitute the tripod of this sophisticated political dispositif interact systematically ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410.. In this interrelation, a strategic instance is the commissions, political technologies established within the scope of the IPA to promote the division and specialization of the different associations according to shared interests. Operating around macro themes, such as agricultural policy, the environment and land disputes ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019., such commissions were emphatically praised in interviews given to the author by directors of national associations of industries that financially support the institute.

In them, private agents (1) deal with their differences and prospect agreements, (2) receive guidance from technicians to formulate proposals based on these consensuses - as well as justifications to defend them -, and (3) negotiate the decisions with an FPA parliamentarian ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410.. It is from the interrelationships between these three functions of the commissions - led, respectively, by private agents, advisers and legislators - that come the proposals to be advocated, weekly, to the nucleus of the agribussiness caucus, and, after that stage, to the other members of the caucus ²⁰20. Pompeia C. Concertação e poder: o agronegócio como fenômeno político no Brasil. Rev Bras Ciênc Soc 2020; 35:e3510410..

Despite its increasing effectiveness, the IPA had consolidated itself without having space for the specialized treatment of topics such as food labeling, contents and advertising. Such situation would start to change especially in 2017 ²²22. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2018. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2018., when the agenda of adequate and healthy food gained momentum ¹²12. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva. Aliança pela Alimentação Adequada e Saudável será lançada no Conbran 2016. https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-noticias/institucional/alianca-pela-alimentacao-adequada-e-saudavel/21367/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-n... and positions of valorization of regulatory measures regarding the commercial determinants of health stood out in the Executive and Legislative spheres - particularly, at the time, the multisectoral Working Group (WG) created at Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) to deal with food labeling, which was approaching, after a series of meetings, the decision on the model to be adopted in the country ²³23. Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Relatório do Grupo de Trabalho sobre Rotulagem Nutricional. Brasília: Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária; 2017..

It was in this context that national associations of food industries - such as UNICA and Viva Lácteos - organized ,in coordination with ABIA, an area in teh IPA: the Food and Healçth commision ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019.^,2222. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2018. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2018.. In 2019, among the actions to which the commission then paid more attention, three stood out: (1) to oppose the Brazilian National Council for Food and Nutrition Safety (CONSEA), (2) to strengthen the opposition, in Congress, to regulatory initiatives for commercial determinants of health, and (3) to disseminate corporate narratives about food issues ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019..

One begins with the analysis of its work in relation to the CONSEA, a fundamental relationship body on food and nutrition security, among civil society actors, state managers and scientists ²⁴24. Castro IRB. A extinção do Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional e a agenda de alimentação e nutrição. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00009919.^,2525. Jaime P. Por que o Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional é necessário? Jornal da USP 2019; 7 jan. https://jornal.usp.br/artigos/por-que-o-conselho-nacional-de-seguranca-alimentar-e-nutricional-e-necessario/.
https://jornal.usp.br/artigos/por-que-o-... . It was through the interaction between these actors that a matrix of public policies was developed and strengthened to effectively fight hunger and undernutrition in Brazil ²⁶26. Food and Agriculture Organization; International Fund of Agicultural Development; World Food Programme. The state of food insecurity in the world 2014: strengthening the enabling environment for food security and nutrition. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization; 2014..

However, the council’s action that annoyed the food industries - it is important to consider that ABIA had been part of this body since the 2000s ²⁷27. Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. O Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional na visão de seus conselheiros. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2012. - was not that of its main line, of fighting hunger and undernutrition, but the advocacy that, especially in more recent years, it had begun to carry out on another spectrum of the food issues: the regulation of the commercial determinants of health. In this sense, CONSEA acted under the strategic guidance of the National Conferences on Food and Nutrition Security. Throughout their operations, these instances of democratic treatment of matters related to food had - driven by the contradictions of the nutritional transition in the country - gradually started to pay more attention to the agenda of adequate and healthy food ²⁸28. Associação Brasileira de Nutrição. III CNSAN: relatório final. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira de Nutrição; 2007.^,2929. Associação Brasileira de Nutrição. IV CNSAN: relatório final. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira de Nutrição; 2011.^,3030. Associação Brasileira de Nutrição. V CNSAN: relatório final. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira de Nutrição; 2015..

Among several of the council’s initiatives in this regard, it is worth mentioning its guidance to ANVISA for the creation of the WG on labeling, followed by an important work in this forum, its recommendations on regulation to the Presidency of the Republic, and its work related to the II National Plan for Food and Nutrition Security - which, in turn, also expressed direct concern on the subject of regulation ²³23. Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Relatório do Grupo de Trabalho sobre Rotulagem Nutricional. Brasília: Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária; 2017.^,3131. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 949, de 4 de junho de 2014. Institui Grupo de Trabalho na ANVISA para auxiliar na elaboração de propostas regulatórias relacionadas à rotulagem nutricional. Diário Oficial da União 2014, 5 jul.^,3232. Ministério da Saúde. II Plano Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2017..

Following the extinction of the CONSEA by the Jair Bolsonaro government ²⁴24. Castro IRB. A extinção do Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional e a agenda de alimentação e nutrição. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00009919.^,2525. Jaime P. Por que o Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional é necessário? Jornal da USP 2019; 7 jan. https://jornal.usp.br/artigos/por-que-o-conselho-nacional-de-seguranca-alimentar-e-nutricional-e-necessario/.
https://jornal.usp.br/artigos/por-que-o-... , the IPA Food and Health Commission planned an operation related to the Executive’s decision. This planning included a survey in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to learn about the positions of parliamentarians about the end of the body, the preparation of a document with criticisms of the council and its distribution to parliamentarians, and the construction of agreements with key actors in dealing with the issue in the Brazilian National Congress ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019..

While actors responsible for promoting adequate and healthy food sought to reverse the extinction of the body, the dominant position in the commission decided to strengthen, in relation to the Executive, the decision for its extinction ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019.. If such plan did not appear possible, the subsidiary proposal prevailing in the commission was to recreate the council within the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply - an administrative sphere of hegemony of dominant agents in the field of agribusiness ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019..

At the IPA meetings, the adequate nutrition agenda was treated with concern, and on one occasion the director of an industries association insisted with the institute's management that, if CONSEA was recreated, its composition should be changed, with the strategic introduction, in the agency, of representatives of food industries (data recorded by the author in field notes on April 29 and May 13, 2019).

At the same time, the Food and Health Commission was structured to facilitate systematic monitoring and intervention on the bills related to the food and nutrition agenda, especially those related to labeling, reinforcing its position as a new - but already relevant - lobbying instrument of food industries ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019..

In relation to legislative proposals, one could highlight initiatives to add rules on food labeling, determine the display of warnings about the presence of carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic substances in products for consumption, and prohibit the use of trans fats in the manufacture of food products, the IPA advised a contrary position to FPA parliamentarians ³³33. Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária. Serviços legislativos: resumos executivos. https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/ (acessado em 20/Abr/2020).
https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/... . At the same time, it provided justifications to be used by members of the caucus ³³33. Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária. Serviços legislativos: resumos executivos. https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/ (acessado em 20/Abr/2020).
https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/... .

As it can be observed, a relevant portion of the arguments presented, in addition to being fragile, were supported mainly by economic logics - which, moreover, are defined in the approach of Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30. as liberalizing practices to promote environments with weak regulation. As proposed by pragmatic sociology ¹⁵15. Boltanski L, Chiapello E. The new spirit of capitalism. New York: Verso; 2005.^,1616. Boltanski L, Thévenot L. On justification: economies of worth. New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 2006., in the oppositions between criticisms and justifications situated in justice regimes, a fundamental part of the clashes is to determine which argumentative logics are more legitimate to be used in each public controversy ³⁴34. Montero P, Arruti JM, Pompa C. Para uma antropologia do político. In: Lavalle AG, organizador. O horizonte da política: questões emergentes e agenda de pesquisa. São Paulo: Editora da Unesp; 2012. p. 145-84.. In line with this sociological model, there is, therefore, a corporate attempt to dispute the importance of nutritional considerations, with the shift of discussions to instances of legitimation favorable to corporate political activities.

As for the rules on labeling, it was argued ³³33. Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária. Serviços legislativos: resumos executivos. https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/ (acessado em 20/Abr/2020).
https://fpagropecuaria.org.br/... that it would be “(...) undue state intervention in the economy, with open violation of the principle of free enterprise and the principles of proportionality and reasonableness”; with regard to warnings about the risk of cancer in some food substances, it was insisted that “(...) there is already more than adequate information about the harmfulness of certain products that should appear on labels and packaging”; as for the ban on the use of trans fat in the manufacture of food, it was stated that “(...) it introduces a negative precedent (...) since it is not up to the State to decide what will be consumed by the population”.

At the IPA meetings, there were also frequent expressions of apprehension as to how public opinion reacted to the issues addressed at the institute (data recorded by the author in field notes on May 22 and April 13, 2019). In fact, the specialized literature has pointed out that one of the factors that condition the influence of industry lobbying is how each corporate political activity is perceived in the public sphere ¹³13. Santos ML, Mancuso WP, Baird MF, Resende C. Lobbying no Brasil: profissionalização, estratégias e influência. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2017. (Texto para Discussão, 2334).. Not by chance, one of the central objectives for the commission was to promote corporate narratives about food issues.

Communicational dimension: the narratives of appropriation, contestation and shifting

Three main corporate food narratives would be mobilized through the IPA Food and Health Commission: appropriation, contestation and shifting narratives. Although none of them was a recent creation, they would receive, in the late 2010s, innovative materializations and specific emphases in the agency linked to the FPA, and also in other representations linked to the food industries.

To analyze this communicational dimension of the CPA, it is necessary to make a brief historical digression in the article, which situates the corporate narratives in the context of the strengthening of public health promotion initiatives in the country, which started mainly, in 2014.

Although the adequate and healthy food agenda was, in the mid-2010s, in development, it had already achieved some significant successes: (1) in relation to the public sphere, there was an initial decrease in the food industries capability to control the circulating discourses, as had been accused by ABIA itself ¹⁰10. McKee M, Stuckler D. Revisiting the corporate and commercial determinants of health. Am J Public Health 2018, 108:1167-70.; and, (2) with regard to the State, there were advances, even if incipient, of the strategies to regulate commercial determinants of health and of the influence of the NOVA classification on public policies, as explained below.

One of the essential causes of the gradual decrease in the power to set the press agenda, in addition to changes in international public opinion, was the increasing difficulty felt by corporate agents to influence on research in the area of food and nutrition in Brazil. In this sense, it is important to emphasize the relevance of public universities and funding agencies in supporting independent and qualified groups of researchers concerned with the effects, on public health, of the ongoing changes in nutritional standards in the country. As it is well known, it was through their work that the NOVA classification was introduced in 2009 ³⁵35. Monteiro CA. Nutrition and health: the issue is not food, nor nutrients, so much as processing. Public Health Nutr 2009; 12:729-73. and was consolidated in the 2010s ⁵5. Monteiro CA, Levy RB, Claro RM, Castro IRR, Cannon G. Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: evidence from Brazil. Public Health Nutr 2011, 14:5-13.^,3636. Monteiro CA, Levy RB, Claro RM. A new classification of foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing. Cad Saúde Pública 2010; 26:2039-49.^,3737. Monteiro CA, Moubarac J-C, Cannon G, Ng SW, Popkin P. Ultraprocessed products are becoming dominant in the global food system. Obes Rev 2013; 14 Suppl 2:S21-8.^,3838. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, Claro RM, Moubarac J-C. Ultra-processing and a new classification of foods. In: Neff R, editor. Introduction to the US food system. Public health, environment, and equity. San Francisco: Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future; 2015. p. 338-9.^,3939. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, Moubarac J-C, Louzada M, Rauber F, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr 2019; 22:936-41..

At the state level, regulatory initiatives such as the creation, in 2014, of the WG at ANVISA to deliberate on food labeling ³¹31. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 949, de 4 de junho de 2014. Institui Grupo de Trabalho na ANVISA para auxiliar na elaboração de propostas regulatórias relacionadas à rotulagem nutricional. Diário Oficial da União 2014, 5 jul. and the approval by the Brazilian National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents of a resolution dealing with abusive advertising directed at the target public of that body could be highlighted ⁴⁰40. Secretaria de Direitos Humanos. Resolução nº 163, de 13 de março de 2014. Dispõe sobre a abusividade do direcionamento de publicidade e de comunicação mercadológica à criança e ao adolescente. Diário Oficial da União 2014; 13 mar.. Conducted within the scope of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the relaunch, in 2014, of the Dietary Guideline for the Brazilian Population⁴¹41. Departamento de Atenção Básica, Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde, Ministério da Saúde. Guia alimentar para a população brasileira. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014. - since then based on the classification by level of processing, as proposed by the NOVA classification - represented an essential step for food education in the country.

In 2016, actors involved in promoting the adequate nutrition agenda had, under the leadership of the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection and the ACT Promotion of Health organization, expanded their articulation, embodied in the Alliance for Adequate and Healthy Food ¹²12. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva. Aliança pela Alimentação Adequada e Saudável será lançada no Conbran 2016. https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-noticias/institucional/alianca-pela-alimentacao-adequada-e-saudavel/21367/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-n... . As a result, actions to clarify public opinion on labeling and ultra-processed foods would become more relevant ¹²12. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva. Aliança pela Alimentação Adequada e Saudável será lançada no Conbran 2016. https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-noticias/institucional/alianca-pela-alimentacao-adequada-e-saudavel/21367/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-n... .

A prominent association, ABIA had tried to justify itself ¹⁵15. Boltanski L, Chiapello E. The new spirit of capitalism. New York: Verso; 2005.^,1616. Boltanski L, Thévenot L. On justification: economies of worth. New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 2006. in relation to this order of factors by emphasizing a narrative of confrontation against central assumptions of the aforementioned agenda. To this end, the association coordinated with the São Paulo State Institute of Food Technology (ITAL) and São Paulo State Secretary of Agriculture and Food Supply to launch the Processed Food Platform ⁴²42. Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos. Plataforma Alimentos Processados. https://ital.agricultura.sp.gov.br/noticia/ital-apresenta-plataforma-de-informacoes-cientificas-sobre-alimentos-processados (acessado em 16/Abr/2020).
https://ital.agricultura.sp.gov.br/notic... .

Emphasizing CPA mechanisms aimed at criticizing scientific evidence and promoting doubts in public opinion about the validity of academic research - especially those based on the NOVA classification -, the corporate rhetoric advocated through Ital stated that: “Several myths related to the ingestion of processed foods, without proper scientific evidence, influence the population's food decisions, causing the consumer to miss the opportunity to eat safe, nutritious, practical and tasty foods” ⁴²42. Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos. Plataforma Alimentos Processados. https://ital.agricultura.sp.gov.br/noticia/ital-apresenta-plataforma-de-informacoes-cientificas-sobre-alimentos-processados (acessado em 16/Abr/2020).
https://ital.agricultura.sp.gov.br/notic... .

In a movement led by other corporate actors, a second narrative would gain momentum after the Ital campaign. Acting with greater autonomy in relation to ABIA, a dozen multinational companies would mobilize a rhetoric of appropriation of the adequate and healthy food agenda. In the so-called “Brazilian National Movement for Health and Well-Being”, launched in 2017, AMBEV, Coca-Cola, Ferrero, General Mills, Grupo Bimbo, Kellogg’s, Mars, McDonald’s, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever sought to re-establish their image as defenders of public health ⁴³43. Coca-Cola Brasil. Movimento Nacional pela Saúde e Bem-Estar reúne 12 empresas que se esforçam para melhorar perfil nutricional de alimentos e bebidas. https://www.cocacolabrasil.com.br/imprensa/release/empresas-do-setor-de-alimentos-e-bebidas-apresentam-movimento-nacional-pela-saude-e-bem-estar (acessado em 16/Abr/2020).
https://www.cocacolabrasil.com.br/impren... . The effort to appropriate this agenda operated with the support of a mechanism that the approach of Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30. characterizes, based on the concept of CPA, as the promotion of good intentions and dissemination of what would be positive features of the food industries.

Turning, after the historical digression, to the IPA, it should be pointed out that, in its commission, both the appropriation and the contestation narratives would be important, simultaneously, to a third narrative - of shifting. The latter was related to the mechanism that Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30. characterize as attempts to avoid the rcognition of corporate responsibilities concerning unhealth diets, emphasizing, for this end, individual decisions and attitudes.

See, for example, the name of the IPA commission itself: Food and Health ²¹21. Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Encaminhamentos de oficinas. Brasília: Instituto Pensar Agropecuária; 2019.. The intention was to use this key idea to replace, in the public sphere, the expression “adequate and healthy food”, which named the agenda advocated by the abovementioned Alliance ¹²12. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva. Aliança pela Alimentação Adequada e Saudável será lançada no Conbran 2016. https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-noticias/institucional/alianca-pela-alimentacao-adequada-e-saudavel/21367/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.abrasco.org.br/site/outras-n... ^,2424. Castro IRB. A extinção do Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional e a agenda de alimentação e nutrição. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00009919.. In the corporate rhetoric, “healthy” ceased to be a quality of food, and started to function in relation of addition to it, as the noun “health”, coherently to a rhetorical line of shifting that was intended in corporate strategy. It is important to highlight, in this sense, that, through the IPA commission, other political-rhetorical initiatives were organized with the use of the key idea, such as the food industries caucus (FPAS) - launched in 2019 to influence legislative decisions in agreement with interests of food industries associations ⁴⁴44. Câmara dos Deputados. Frente parlamentar vai debater ações de combate à obesidade. https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/558779-frente-parlamentar-vai-debater-acoes-de-combate-a-obesidade/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/55877... .

At times, the different narratives - appropriation, contestation and shifting - would be combined in Parliament to enhance corporate justifications. At the inauguration of FPAS, its coordinator, Deputy Evandro Roman (Social Democratic Party, Paraná), made the following statement: “We must also understand that healthy sleep is restorative. The issue of healthy eating and the practice of physical activities are really part of this balance that provides a good quality of life. We have to promote health in order to develop a healthier future society” ⁴⁴44. Câmara dos Deputados. Frente parlamentar vai debater ações de combate à obesidade. https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/558779-frente-parlamentar-vai-debater-acoes-de-combate-a-obesidade/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/55877... .

It should be noted that, in addition to the rhetoric of appropriation - expressed in the disclosure of good corporate intentions -, the shifting narrative was jointly operated - the transfer of corporate responsibilities to individual decisions.

Another example helps to show the combinations of narratives. Justifying the creation, in 2019, of the Food and Health subcommission - again, the use of the key can be noticed - within the scope of the Chamber of Deputies’ Commission on Agriculture, Livestock, Food Supply and Rural Development, Roman showed, amid statements of concern for public health, that the contestation narrative would continue to have relevance: “today there is a very big discussion about food and health, but we have to understand that there are many truths, but we also have to destroy many ideological untruths that we will discuss in this subcommission” ⁴⁵45. Câmara dos Deputados. Comissão de Agricultura, Pecuária, Abastecimento e Desenvolvimento Rural. https://www2.camara.leg.br/atividade-legislativa/comissoes/comissoes-permanentes/capadr (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www2.camara.leg.br/atividade-leg... .

The reorientation of corporate strategies based on actions and arguments ⁴⁶46. Mialon M. An overview of the commercial determinants of health. Global Health 2020; 16:74. of the food industries associations - that is, the changes in their lobbying and in their narratives - were connected to a dimension of institutional changes.

Changes in ABIA and other institutional engineering

In this last section of the article, one investigates some remarkable institutional innovations ¹⁷17. Doner RF. Introduction: explaining institutional innovation. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 9-18.^,1818. Schneider BR. Crises and institutional origins: business associations in Latin America. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 57-68.^,1919. Schneider BR. Designing industrial policy in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015. influenced by food controversies in (and among) food industries associations. As indicated in the introduction, the references for this objective are political science works that focus on examining the effects of crises and conflicts on business associations ¹⁷17. Doner RF. Introduction: explaining institutional innovation. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 9-18.^,1818. Schneider BR. Crises and institutional origins: business associations in Latin America. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 57-68.^,1919. Schneider BR. Designing industrial policy in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015.. The period chosen for analysis - 2014 to 2020 - is not random, since it was precisely in this interregnum that the adequate and healthy food agenda was strenghtened.

For the study of this institutional dimension, the work focused on one of the main functions of the operation of corporate associations as defined by Schneider ¹⁸18. Schneider BR. Crises and institutional origins: business associations in Latin America. In: Doner RF, editor. Explaining institutional innovation: case studies from Latin America and East Asia. New York: Social Science Research Council; 2010. p. 57-68.: the rationalization of the treatment of connections between companies. The main changes in the political interrelationships between the food and beverage corporations occurred, during the referred period, in (or in relation to) ABIA.

Chaired since the 1980s by Edmund Klotz, the association had reacted to food controversies by heavily promoting its traditional CPAs. As previously indicated, the organization had insisted on the narrative of fighting the adequate and healthy food agenda. Concomitantly, it had continued to promote lobbying in Congress through its legal, and public and institutional relations departments, often supported by external consultants; complementarily in the representation of interests, the association sought to influence, with the participation in councils, the legislative priorities of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo and of the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) ²²22. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2018. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2018.^,4747. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2013. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2013.^,4848. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2014. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2014.^,4949. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2015. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2015.^,5050. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2016. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2016.^,5151. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2017. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2017..

Comprising 128 associates in 2014, the organization concentrated its command hierarchy on the presidency, which was supported by a small committee composed of a little more than a dozen transnational companies - with a predominance of corporations of sweets and dairy, soft drinks and beers, in addition to traders ⁴⁸48. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2014. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2014.. At the same time, ABIA sought to reinforce its position as the largest forum for organizing food companies, not prioritizing relevant and sustained institutional efforts to build new alliances with other associations in this domain ⁴⁷47. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2013. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2013.^,4848. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2014. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2014.^,4949. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2015. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2015.^,5050. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2016. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2016.^,5151. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2017. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2017..

In these circumstances, agents from two significant food segments - on the one hand, dairy, and, on the other hand, wheat-based foods - had decided to establish new representations. In 2014, more than two dozen dairy companies - including Nestlé, Danone and Vigor - would advance their political approximation, creating Viva Lácteos ⁵²52. Agência Estado. Fabricantes de produtos lácteos lançam hoje associação em Brasília. G1 2014; 8 abr. http://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2014/04/fabricantes-de-produtos-lacteos-lancam-hoje-associacao-em-brasilia.html.
http://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocio... . At the end of 2015, the Brazilian Manufactures Association of Pasta and Industrialized Bread & Cake and the Brazilian Association Biscuit Manufacturers came together to found the Brazilian Manufacturers Association of Biscuit, Pasta and Industrialized Bread & Cakes (ABIMAPI) ⁵³53. Valor - São Paulo. Fabricantes de massas, pães e biscoitos unem associações. Valor Econômico 2014; 23 set. https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2014/09/23/fabricantes-de-massas-paes-e-biscoitos-unem-associacoes.ghtml.
https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia... .

Although these instances of institutional engineering also responded to a broader set of political and economic changes in the country, they certainly implied some decrease in the representativeness of ABIA: from then on, this association would gradually lose members - in 2020, it comprised 95 companies, a 25.8% reduction in relation to 2014 ⁴⁸48. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2014. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2014.^,5454. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2020. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2020.. Although specialized in wheat-based industries, ABIMAPI would go from 82 companies in 2014 to 104 in 2020, an increase of 26.8% ⁵³53. Valor - São Paulo. Fabricantes de massas, pães e biscoitos unem associações. Valor Econômico 2014; 23 set. https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2014/09/23/fabricantes-de-massas-paes-e-biscoitos-unem-associacoes.ghtml.
https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia... ^,5555. Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Biscoitos, Massas Alimentícias e Pães & Bolos Industrializados. Atividades ABIMAPI. http://www.sindustrigo.com.br/files/ABIMAPI%202016.pdf (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
http://www.sindustrigo.com.br/files/ABIM... .

However, more evident dissatisfaction on the part of the food industries corporations with the political conduct in ABIA would be revealed in an institutional innovation process that was initiated in 2017 and implemented in 2018 in the association. Klotz was not reelected, the association was given a new name - “Brazilian Food Industry Association” replaced “Brazilian Food Industries Association” - and its logo was redesigned. The intention, according to the new direction of the organization, would be to convey the idea of corporate unity, both due to the absence of the ending “ies” at the end of “industry” and to the blue and green colors chosen for the logo ⁵⁶56. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2019. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2019..

However, the most important institutional change was the modification in the allocation of authority within the association - the basic marker for dealing with corporate interactions, according to Schneider ¹⁹19. Schneider BR. Designing industrial policy in Latin America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015.. In place of the presidency concentrated attributions and continuously reappointed, an executive presidency was installed, directly responding to the strategic orientation of a board of directors - to be changed every biennium ⁴⁷47. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2013. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2013.^,5151. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2017. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2017.^,5656. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2019. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2019..

At the same time, there was an initiative to integrate more corporations into ABIA’s new command arrangement. As a result, it went from 14 companies occupying vice-presidencies in 2016 to 27 constituting its board of directors in 2020 ⁵⁰50. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2016. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2016.^,5454. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2020. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2020.. In this sense, there was another relevant qualitative change: transnational companies of ultra-processed foods and beverages that were distant from the hierarchical top of the association approached this position, such as Dr. Oetker, Ferrero, General Mills, Heineken, Heinz, Mars and Seara. From then on, they would establish themselves more firmly to influence ABIA’s strategic orientation, in conjunction with industries that had previously sought to do so, such as AMBEV, Bunge, Cargill, BRF, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Mondelēz, Unilever and PepsiCo ⁴⁷47. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2013. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2013.^,4949. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2015. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2015.^,5151. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2017. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2017.^,5656. Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos. Relatório anual, 2019. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Alimentos; 2019..

This process of changes occurred simultaneously to the expansion of ABIA’s predisposition in relation to what Mialon et al. ⁸8. Mialon M, Swinburn B, Sacks G. A proposed approach to systematically identify and monitor the corporate political activity of the food industry with respect to public health using publicly available information. Obes Rev 2015; 16:519-30. classify as building political support, since the organization has striven more decisively, since the end of 2017, to work with other representations influential in agrifood functions. Jointly with CNI and the Brazilian Association of the Industries of Soft Drinks and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (ABIR), ABIA created the Labeling Network, which involved approximately two dozen national associations of food industries that had the objective of influencing ANVISA’s WG on the theme ⁴¹41. Departamento de Atenção Básica, Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde, Ministério da Saúde. Guia alimentar para a população brasileira. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014.. Along associations such as Viva Lácteos and UNICA, ABIA would create a dispositif to increase the influence of the industries on food and nutrition issues in Congress, as pointed out in the first section of the article ⁴⁴44. Câmara dos Deputados. Frente parlamentar vai debater ações de combate à obesidade. https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/558779-frente-parlamentar-vai-debater-acoes-de-combate-a-obesidade/ (acessado em 18/Abr/2020).
https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/55877... .

Conclusions

This article analyzed relations between the strengthening of the adequate and healthy food agenda and changes in the corporate political activities of a portion of the national associations of food industries. Three changes were examined - representative, communicational and institutional - in the period between 2014 and 2020, precisely when the aforementioned agenda expanded its influence.

The first analytical dimension - representative - addressed the establishment of a lobbying channel in the Brazilian National Congress by food industries associations, such as Viva Lácteos and UNICA: the IPA Food and Health Commission, a technical-corporate forum linked to the FPA. The political alliance with the robust political dispositif led by agrobusiness elites implied an increase in the professionalization and efficiency of the representation of interests of these associations.

The second dimension of analysis - communicational - focused on narrative strategies employed by food industries associations to justify the commercial determinants of health. Three main narratives were examined, one opposing the adequate and healthy food agenda, another one that intends to appropriate this agenda, and a third one that seeks to shift corporate responsibilities to individual attitudes.

Finally, the third analytical dimension - institutional - investigated the main changes influenced by food controversies in food industries associations. The work addressed and institutional engineering in ABIA, in a process through which connections between corporations in the association were modified, especially the allocation of power between them. In addition to this aspect, attention was directed to political inventions such as the creation of ABIMAPI and the Labeling Network.

By addressing these three analytical dimensions, the research sought to contribute to initiatives examining the commercial determinants of health and corporate political activities.

Acknowledgments

To the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) for the financial support.

References

Publication Dates

History