0:00:04 > 0:00:06There's an obesity epidemic in Britain,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10and we think it's all down to us eating too much fast food,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13processed ready meals and indulgent desserts.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But what if we are wrong?
0:00:19 > 0:00:22What if the food being sold to us as healthier
0:00:22 > 0:00:24is the very thing making us fat?
0:00:24 > 0:00:28If you live on organic chocolate, organic ice cream and organic oven chips,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31you will get fat just as if you lived off non-organic ice cream,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35non-organic chocolate, non-organic oven chips, you'd get fat.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38My name's Jacques Peretti, and in this series,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42I'm going behind the closed doors of big business and government
0:00:42 > 0:00:46to reveal how the food industry is making us fat.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Does food marketed as healthier
0:00:49 > 0:00:52change the psychology of the very way we eat?
0:00:52 > 0:00:54This is something I call the health halo.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57It's the idea that when the food is marketed as being healthy,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00people think that it has less calories, and as a result,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02they think they can eat more of it without getting fat.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09I'll reveal how the industry makes money out of our determination to eat more healthily.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13There were lots and lots of products which had, "contains fruit!"
0:01:13 > 0:01:15But it might only contain 0.1% fruit flavour,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19but that's permissible, but, of course, in an age that's concerned about nutrition,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22you bring up the fruit to the front of the packet.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25And I find out how the food industry put profits first,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28despite the explicit warnings of scientists.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Putting the food industry at the policy table
0:01:33 > 0:01:37is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Welcome to the brave new world of shopping science.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Kantar Worldpanel are the people who track the buying behaviour
0:02:00 > 0:02:03of 30,000 households nationwide.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08And they sell this intelligence to all the major supermarkets
0:02:08 > 0:02:10and food manufacturers in Britain.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14If anyone knows about the extraordinary rise of health food, they do.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23'Giles Quick, a director at Kantar Worldpanel,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27'analyses how the food we buy impacts on our obesity levels.'
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Giles, what's the kind of profile for someone who buys healthy food?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Well, they tend to be more middle-class,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37more likely to be a woman living in the south of England,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41more highly skilled, more knowledgeable about cooking
0:02:41 > 0:02:46and about foodstuffs, but the truth is, they're getting fatter,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49and that's something that's changed over the past few years.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53So, how does that work in regard to health food?
0:02:53 > 0:02:58We spend about £54 billion on food and drink from grocery supermarkets,
0:02:58 > 0:03:04and of that, about £12 billion is spent on products that we believe are healthy.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08We say, "I chose this because I believed it was healthy."
0:03:08 > 0:03:12And that's grown by about 20% in the last six or seven years.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15That's almost a quarter of your basket of things you bought,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- because you perceive them, perceive them, to be healthy.- Yeah.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24Could you tell me a little bit about how you actually market and price a health product?
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Are there any kind of rules as to how it works?
0:03:26 > 0:03:31In general terms, the more, if you like, brand promises a product can make,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36the more ticks in the box, it's good for this, it's good for that,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39it tastes great, it's healthy for you, it's low-calorie,
0:03:39 > 0:03:45the more ticks a product has, then, in principle, it's likely to have a higher price.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50So, the bigger the promise, the bigger the price, in general terms.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53More in the way of vitamins, fresh fruit on top,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55whatever it is, there seems to be a huge amount
0:03:55 > 0:04:00of healthy add-ons to existing products to make them seem healthy.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06I've got an example over here of a product that would certainly appeal to the healthy consumer,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10and the ingredients listed on the front of the pack
0:04:10 > 0:04:14is like a checklist of the sorts of products associated with it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15So, honey granola.
0:04:15 > 0:04:22We've got oats, sunflower seeds, flaked almonds, rye flakes, pecans, pumpkin seeds, honey.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25How fattening is that cereal?
0:04:25 > 0:04:30If we take saturated fats, then, if you compare this product to this one,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34then this has a much higher concentration of saturated fats than this.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36And yet, in general terms,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40this would be purchased because of its health credentials much more than this product.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Do you think consumers get confused about what's healthy and what is less fattening?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47There's no question that that is true,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and there are products you can look at, maybe that have got added fruit or fibre,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and your instinct is, "That's healthier."
0:04:55 > 0:04:57You may be wrong in some senses,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02it may well have more saturated fats, so there is confusion.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04There's confusion around lots of processed products.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Sales of food marketed as healthier are rocketing,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14but we're deluded about what is and isn't fattening.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19This Innocent smoothie has more calories in it
0:05:19 > 0:05:21than this can of Coke.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25This Pret no bread sandwich with rocket and lentils
0:05:25 > 0:05:29has more calories in it than this Big Mac.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36And for dessert, this granola yoghurt from Eat
0:05:36 > 0:05:41has more calories in it than this Krispy Kreme doughnut.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44How did we get here?
0:05:46 > 0:05:53In 1992, John Major's government was the first to grapple with obesity in this report.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Back then, it was less than a third of what it is today,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00but scientists saw the coming storm, and wanted action.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05The food industry, however,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08had far bigger problems than a government report.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17The very food we ate was becoming toxic.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Mad cow disease and BSE were at their peak.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28Images of burning cattle sent sales plummeting as consumers stopped buying beef.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Even Agriculture Minister John Gummer
0:06:34 > 0:06:37couldn't persuade his four-year-old daughter to take a bite.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41No, it's too hot! Too hot!
0:06:43 > 0:06:47And the egg industry was still reeling from the salmonella crisis,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51which saw sales drop by 60% overnight,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54when, in 1988, Health Minister Edwina Currie,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58rather than feeding her children eggs, told reporters...
0:06:58 > 0:07:02We do warn people now that most of the egg production
0:07:02 > 0:07:05in this country, sadly, is now infected with salmonella.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It was not long before she resigned under industry pressure.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Manufacturers wanted to captivate consumers with nice,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20new products that were safe, or appeared to be.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- Mum, can we get a drink?- Go on!
0:07:23 > 0:07:26In 1998, Procter & Gamble launched Sunny Delight
0:07:26 > 0:07:29with a £10 million ad campaign.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- And that's new Sunny Delight!- Sunny Delight, sounds good to me!- Yeah!
0:07:32 > 0:07:37It's got orange, tangerine and lime, with a load of lovely vitamins.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Marketed as a healthy soft drink,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42it promised a bright and profitable new dawn.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48Its rise was unprecedented, putting it just behind Coke and Pepsi.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49The future was orange.
0:07:53 > 0:07:59But one woman questioned just how fresh and healthy Sunny Delight really was.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01'I went to Brighton to meet Sue Dibb,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03'co-director of the Food Commission
0:08:03 > 0:08:05'at the time of Sunny Delight's launch.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:09How did you come to start looking at Sunny Delight?
0:08:09 > 0:08:14What made you think this was a product worth examining in more detail?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16It was a really big marketing campaign,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and it tapped in to that growing interest in health.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Sunny Delight was sold in chiller cabinets,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27it gave the impression that here was a fresh, ie a healthier, product.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29But it wasn't a fresh juice by any means,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33it only had 5% juice in it, and it had an awful lot of sugar,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36as much sugar, in fact, as you'd get in Coke,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40though they had added in some vitamins, a sprinkling of vitamins,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43to again give it that aura of a healthy food,
0:08:43 > 0:08:50but you can't turn a sugary drink into a truly healthful product just by adding a few vitamins to it.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Were they actually breaking any laws with Sunny Delight?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55No, they were breaking no laws with Sunny Delight,
0:08:55 > 0:08:56and the marketers knew that,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and they were very clever in the way they presented this product.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01They didn't make any direct health claims,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04they didn't even call it a juice or a juice drink,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06they called it an enriched citrus beverage.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Here's the issue of the magazine
0:09:08 > 0:09:10in which we wrote about Sunny Delight,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14just after it had come out, so it wasn't our front-page story,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17but this was what the media then subsequently picked up on.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19We were the first people to raise concerns
0:09:19 > 0:09:22and ask questions about Sunny Delight.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Were the press quick to run with your story?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Yes, the press did pick up on our story.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31We got the national media and television contacting us and asking us for quotes,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34picking up on what we'd written in the food magazine.
0:09:34 > 0:09:41But it was alongside the story about how big sales of Sunny Delight were.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44So, just as Sunny Delight's sales were rocketing,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48so were these questions about what was really in it?
0:09:48 > 0:09:49Yeah.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52It wasn't really until a four-year-old child turned orange
0:09:52 > 0:09:5518 months after we'd reported on this
0:09:55 > 0:09:59that really that was the nail in the coffin for sales.
0:09:59 > 0:10:00What had happened was
0:10:00 > 0:10:03this four-year-old had been drinking 1.5 litres of Sunny Delight
0:10:03 > 0:10:07and had turned orange because of the amount of beta-carotene she'd been consuming.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And I think it was really ironic, also,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12that they were actually carrying advertisements on the television
0:10:12 > 0:10:16for snowmen turning orange as a result of Sunny Delight!
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Didn't really work out that well for Sunny Delight after that in the UK.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23- ADVERT VOICEOVER:- For whoever might pop in this winter.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Sunny Delight,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28the great stuff kids go for.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31So, not all publicity is good publicity?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33LAUGHING: Not in the end, no.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36But it was really interesting to see what it took
0:10:36 > 0:10:40to really bring that awareness to people's attention.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43If you hadn't written the story and put it on page six,
0:10:43 > 0:10:44no-one would have heard about this.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Where were the Government in all of this?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49We put this out, the media picked it up
0:10:49 > 0:10:53and of course it got a very big news story once the girl turned orange,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56but the fact is, it shouldn't have been like that.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The Government's main focus at that time was promoting
0:10:59 > 0:11:01and protecting the food and farming industry.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It wasn't about putting consumers first.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Consumers came a poor second at that time.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The massive success of Sunny Delight showed that the public
0:11:16 > 0:11:21would lap up a product marketed as healthy, given half the chance.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23And it took someone like Sue to kick up a fuss
0:11:23 > 0:11:27to actually stop them, because there was no government legislation
0:11:27 > 0:11:30that prevented a company like Procter & Gamble
0:11:30 > 0:11:34selling a product full of sugar and additives,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36and marketing it as healthy.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43In 2004, Procter & Gamble sold off Sunny Delight.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Despite being rebranded as Sunny D - with more fruit, less sugar
0:11:48 > 0:11:52and no artificial additives - its early success hasn't been repeated.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56- ADVERT VOICEOVER:- New Sunny D - with absolutely nothing artificial.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Improved by mums, approved by kids.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07But the health food gold rush was on.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11The public were desperate for food they could trust.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15And supermarkets saw an opportunity,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17turning to an unlikely source for help.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Consumers would pay more for ingredients that were natural and chemical-free.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Within a few months,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32all the major supermarkets expanded their organic ranges.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37By 1999, the organic business was worth over £600 million -
0:12:37 > 0:12:40more than doubling in two years.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46- ADVERT VOICEOVER:- At Sainsbury's, our organic range includes...
0:12:46 > 0:12:47organic bread...
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Sainsbury's was the first,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54launching over 300 new organic products in 1998.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58..organic ready meals...
0:12:59 > 0:13:01..organic lager.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05In fact, with our widest ever range,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08It's easy to eat organic food every day...
0:13:08 > 0:13:11'Organic specialist, Simon Wright,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13'was recruited by Sainsbury's to advise on the launch.'
0:13:13 > 0:13:16You really went for it in a big way, didn't you?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- Sainsbury's didn't do it in a half-hearted way, did they? - Absolutely not.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21So, what happened?
0:13:21 > 0:13:26Well, it was a time when there was a lot of media stuff around problems with food.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28We had salmonella,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31We had Edwina Currie saying her stuff about eggs,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34we had BSE, so, you know, pictures of burning cows.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36We had concerns about GM...
0:13:36 > 0:13:41It was a time when conventional food supply was under a lot of strain.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43So, what happened? Tell me about that summer.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Organics had been trickling along,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48being sold through natural food stores, health food stores,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52So, very unusually, they actually approached all these small suppliers
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and said, "would you like to sell your products in our stores?"
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Usually, if you want to start supplying a supermarket, you know,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03you're bringing up the buyer everyday, "Can I come and see you?"
0:14:03 > 0:14:04"Can I supply you with my product?"
0:14:04 > 0:14:07For it to invert, and for the supermarket to go
0:14:07 > 0:14:10to these small companies and say, "We'd like you to supply us,"
0:14:10 > 0:14:12well, that was unprecedented.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15I've never experienced it happening before or since.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17So, they turned, really, what was a crisis -
0:14:17 > 0:14:22with BSE and salmonella - into an extraordinary business opportunity.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Yes, which is what supermarkets do. They're very clever at it.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Crucially, they discovered that
0:14:27 > 0:14:29the people who were buying a lot of organic products
0:14:29 > 0:14:32were also shopping extensively in the other bits of the store,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34where they wanted to encourage shoppers.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37So, for example, they buy a lot of beer, wines and spirits.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39They buy a lot from the deli counter.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42These are high-margin, high-value items,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45so the supermarkets were very keen to retain those organic shoppers,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47not just for the organic products they bought,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50but for the other products they bought in the store.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Wow, so in a way, organics was almost the sort of,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57the tip of the iceberg for the supermarkets. It was really about
0:14:57 > 0:14:59everything else that you could shift...
0:14:59 > 0:15:02I think there was some of that, yes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05But as someone who buys organic food,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08I myself would feel more virtuous about buying organic food,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and almost feel, I think, at some level,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15that I wouldn't become obese because I'm eating organic food.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18In my mind, that's how it's working.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Yeah, and I think a lot of consumers would share that perception.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23But I would emphasise that is a perception,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25rather than anything people in the organic sector have said.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27If you live on organic chocolate,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31organic ice-cream and organic oven chips, you will get fat,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34just as if you lived off non-organic ice-cream, non-organic chocolate
0:15:34 > 0:15:35and non-organic oven chips, you get fat.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Simon, with supermarkets, of course they're in it to make money,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42they're a business, but do you think they have a moral responsibility
0:15:42 > 0:15:44when it comes to something like obesity?
0:15:44 > 0:15:49What supermarkets are incredibly good at is responding to consumer demand.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53But to ask supermarkets to lead the charge against obesity,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I think is a misunderstanding of what supermarkets do.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Talking to Simon, I realised that supermarkets are about profit.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05The bottom line. What happened in the '90s was extraordinary.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08They were facing a crisis with BSE and salmonella,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and what did they do? They turned it into an opportunity.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15They took organic food, which was this cranky, hippie,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18weird lifestyle thing and rolled it out.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22They turned it into a money-spinner. And that is their genius.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30'But behind this, a global disease was spreading to Britain.
0:16:30 > 0:16:36'By 2001, obesity had doubled in women and trebled in men.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38'And it was rising.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42'Two years later, the World Health Organisation
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'published this groundbreaking report.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'It found that heavy marketing of high calorie foods to children
0:16:51 > 0:16:53'and the excessive consumption of sugary drinks
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'was having a major impact on obesity.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00'The food industry was being held to account.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Within a month of that World Health Organisation report,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17JP Morgan, who are a major financial institution,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18published a report of their own.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21But this report was different
0:17:21 > 0:17:23because it was of the food industry investors.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27What they said was that because obesity
0:17:27 > 0:17:28was now being called an epidemic,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31governments might actually be forced to regulate,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34and if they regulate, this will affect profits.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41'The report warned,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05'And it actually went as far as ranking companies
0:18:05 > 0:18:07'most exposed to financial risk.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:15'Professor Philip James was head
0:18:15 > 0:18:17'of the International Obesity Task Force,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19'and contributed to the WHO report.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25'In September 2003, he was invited to speak
0:18:25 > 0:18:27'at JP Morgan's headquarters.'
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Philip, the JP Morgan report, 2003.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34What was it like when it came out?
0:18:34 > 0:18:39This was a bombshell, because it was in the business world,
0:18:39 > 0:18:44out of the health world, and it was talking about the bottom line,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and whether their returns were going to move up or down,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and that is what gets chief executives
0:18:51 > 0:18:55out of bed in the morning, worrying about what's coming next.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58What was it in the report that said would threaten the bottom line?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Well, it's regulation, and if you want to think about
0:19:01 > 0:19:07what the food industry in general is paranoid about, it's regulation.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12This is a whole different world, this is business, serious business.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Well, I mean, JP Morgan was essentially assessing
0:19:17 > 0:19:21the biggest global industry in the world.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26They start categorising the range of products of a company,
0:19:26 > 0:19:31and then work out, "Where is this company making all its money?"
0:19:31 > 0:19:34"If it's making its money on unhealthy products,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36"they're vulnerable."
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And they said, "There's profit to be made,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43"if you change your portfolio
0:19:43 > 0:19:47"and you are developing all these healthier,"
0:19:47 > 0:19:49whatever that meant, "products."
0:19:49 > 0:19:53And what is amazing from what you've just said is that
0:19:53 > 0:19:56here in obesity is a business opportunity.
0:19:58 > 0:20:04To make money, you diversify into products that are seemingly healthy,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07the important thing being not whether they're healthy or not,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09but whether they're perceived to be healthy.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Here is a chance to make money from obesity.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18And this was, therefore, in a way, not remotely interested in health.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It was interested in business opportunities,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25and threats to a particular business.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28So Philip, what happened next? How did things unfold?
0:20:28 > 0:20:32JP Morgan rang me up and said, "Would you come and talk,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35"and have a chat with us?"
0:20:35 > 0:20:40I sent my slides and turned up at this magnificent headquarters
0:20:40 > 0:20:42of JP Morgan in London, and they asked me,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47"Would you mind standing over there, so that Frankfurt, New York,"
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and I think it was Philadelphia, "can hear at the same time?"
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And I said, "What?" Well, they said, "Well, they have your report,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55"all your slides already there."
0:20:55 > 0:20:58And I said, "OK."
0:20:58 > 0:21:02And they were there for two and a half hours, and not a soul left.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And how did that make you feel, Philip?
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Well, it was quite extraordinary because suddenly we realised
0:21:10 > 0:21:16that companies were having meetings of their major executive boards
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and deciding that they had to change
0:21:20 > 0:21:23in response to this investor analysis.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26What's amazing, talking to Philip is that,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28all of a sudden this report comes out
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and obesity is this massive issue that they have got to confront.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35But it's also an opportunity to make money.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42'Kath Dalmeny was policy director at the Food Commission
0:21:42 > 0:21:45'when industry was reacting to the JP Morgan report.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51'At the time, this grassroots organisation exposed record numbers
0:21:51 > 0:21:55'of processed foods dubiously marketing themselves as healthier.'
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Kath, what kind of effect did the JP Morgan report
0:22:00 > 0:22:02have on the food that we see in our supermarkets?
0:22:02 > 0:22:06I think the JP Morgan report and some of the other things
0:22:06 > 0:22:08that were going on at the time marked a real crossroads
0:22:08 > 0:22:11in how a company chose to go forward with their healthiness.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13So there are two ways you can approach it
0:22:13 > 0:22:16if you're a food industry body who is making food products.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19You can either make your products actually healthier,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21and that's called reformulation.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23You change the things that are in the product.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Or you can go down the line of saying,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27"I'm not going to change the actual product.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29"I'll have to make it look healthier.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31"I'll have to change the perception of the product."
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Can you give me any examples of these?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Any examples of making something look healthier?
0:22:36 > 0:22:40There were lots of products which had, "Contains fruit!"
0:22:40 > 0:22:43But it might only contain 0.1% fruit flavour, but that's permissible.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46But, of course, in an age that's concerned about nutrition,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48you bring up the fruit to the front of the packet and say,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51"Absolutely fantastic, this must be good for health,"
0:22:51 > 0:22:53is the implication, even if the claim isn't actually made.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56There were all kinds of things about calcium.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Big ticks on the front of children's food packets saying,
0:22:58 > 0:22:59"This contains calcium.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01"Must be good for teeth, then, mustn't it?" thinks the parent.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03But of course, what it actually means is,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06"This product is full of sugar, but we're not saying that on the packet.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- They weren't lying in what they were saying?- No, not at all.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12That's not the point. They're not lying, they're just sprinkling
0:23:12 > 0:23:15a little bit of magic dust on the top to make it look healthier.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17What does a company do when they've got nowhere to go?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19When they can't reformulate their food
0:23:19 > 0:23:22because they are essentially known as fattening?
0:23:22 > 0:23:25The prime example is Cadbury.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29There they are, stuck with a product that is a high-fat product,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31a high-sugar product. It's got calories in it,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34it's something that people can consume a lot of, so the finger
0:23:34 > 0:23:38is pointing at it, saying, "That's part of the problem."
0:23:38 > 0:23:41So what do they do? They get into a partnership with government and say,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43"What we'll do is sponsor a sports equipment scheme,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45"and the government will endorse that
0:23:45 > 0:23:47"and we'll be seen as part of the solution
0:23:47 > 0:23:49"in providing sports activities in schools,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53"through children having to collect tokens from the chocolate wrappers,
0:23:53 > 0:23:54"having eaten the chocolate."
0:23:54 > 0:23:56How did this Cadbury's campaign work?
0:23:56 > 0:23:59We found, for example, that for a netball
0:23:59 > 0:24:01that would normally cost five pounds in the shop,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04you'd have to spend 38 quid to get it by buying chocolate.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07There was a cricket set, for example, that,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09if you bought it in the shop, it'd cost you £150,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12if you got it through the Cadbury Get Active tokens scheme,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15then it would cost you £1,100. And in the process,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18you'd also have been exposed to half a million calories.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20And the whole scheme, when we totted it all up,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22my calculator nearly exploded
0:24:22 > 0:24:24cos it was 36 billion calories' worth of chocolate.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27So what happened when you found all this out
0:24:27 > 0:24:29about this sports equipment fiasco?
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I came in late on the morning that the story broke in the media,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34and I cycled in and saw the headlines
0:24:34 > 0:24:37on the news stand outside our office, and nearly fell off my bike.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I realised, "Oh, my word! This is going to be big."
0:24:40 > 0:24:43It had all the magic ingredients for a media story.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45It was about a national brand everybody would recognise.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48It was about an issue parents care passionately about,
0:24:48 > 0:24:49the health of their children.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52It was about ministers getting involved with endorsing a scheme
0:24:52 > 0:24:53that was about promoting fat and sugar
0:24:53 > 0:24:55in the middle of a health crisis.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57The phones didn't stop going all day.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00What do you have to eat 40 quid's worth of to get a free basketball?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04- BELL RINGS - Chocolate bars.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Cadbury has decided that the best way to get children fit
0:25:07 > 0:25:09is to fill them up full of chocolate.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13And so, did you hear from Cadbury after you did this?
0:25:13 > 0:25:17My boss and I were called up to go and see the Cadbury bosses
0:25:17 > 0:25:19in Berkeley Square in this very posh office
0:25:19 > 0:25:22full of mahogany and very thick carpet.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I think they wanted to get the size of us,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26and the size of us was quite small.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28There was only two or three of us in the office
0:25:28 > 0:25:31who had done all these calculations with a glass of wine at night.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34So we were called up to meet the head of Cadbury
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and also his marketing person who had been involved
0:25:37 > 0:25:41in some of the design of the scheme, and we had this bizarre conversation
0:25:41 > 0:25:44with silverware and beautiful plates, sort of chinking,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46very politely having a meal together,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49while we were grilled, my boss and I were grilled
0:25:49 > 0:25:53about why on earth we had criticised this wonderful scheme.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57And I remember that the marketing person said to me,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59"Were you not aware that this would damage children
0:25:59 > 0:26:01"by taking away this sports equipment from them?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04"This is all we wanted to do was to give children sports equipment."
0:26:04 > 0:26:07What happened to their scheme?
0:26:07 > 0:26:09In the end, the scheme quietly died.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13There was no fanfare about that, but it disappeared off the radar,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15and no such scheme has happened since,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and certainly not with government endorsement.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Are the companies still promoting healthy lifestyle
0:26:21 > 0:26:25and fitness whilst giving us a product...is this still going on?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Well, it's interesting that you're asking that question in 2012,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30because, of course, we've got the London 2012 Olympic
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and Paralympic Games coming to London, a few miles down the road
0:26:33 > 0:26:36from where we're sitting, and of course, that is sponsored by
0:26:36 > 0:26:41a burger company, a soft drinks company and Cadbury once again.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46'Cadbury say the scheme gave schools thousands of pounds' worth
0:26:46 > 0:26:50'of sports equipment, and sales were not affected.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54'But they admit the negative publicity made them offer promotions
0:26:54 > 0:26:57'with free entry to theme parks and attractions instead.'
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Obesity kept on rising,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and the pressure was mounting on the food industry,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and in 2006, they were to face a real challenge.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11A challenge that could potentially wipe billions off their profits,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and it all came down to a tiny label,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16about the size of a postage stamp,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19being looked at by the Food Standards Agency.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'The Food Standards Agency wanted to help consumers
0:27:22 > 0:27:24'see past the seductive packaging
0:27:24 > 0:27:27'and understand how fattening food really was.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33'They looked at Guideline Daily Amounts or GDAs,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35'which lists percentages of nutrients,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40'but decided to recommend traffic lights, which uses a colour code.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45'Red means high, amber means medium and green means low.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49'The industry was divided.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54'Some, like Sainsbury's, Co-op and Waitrose, went for it.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00'And others, like Tesco, Morrison's and Kellogg's,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02'stuck with Guideline Daily Amounts.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'Richard Ayre was on the board of the Food Standards Agency
0:28:11 > 0:28:14'when they scrutinised food labelling.'
0:28:14 > 0:28:18So, Richard, when you set out, you didn't have any clear preference
0:28:18 > 0:28:22as to whether you should go with GDA or the traffic light system.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24You didn't have any clear preconception
0:28:24 > 0:28:26as to how this would turn out.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29The Agency never had an axe to grind.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32We had a legislative statutory responsibility
0:28:32 > 0:28:35to put the interests of consumers first.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39That's what we did, so we asked consumers. We tested with consumers.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43What system would enable them to make the healthiest choices?
0:28:43 > 0:28:47And it was clear what the answer was. They preferred traffic light.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51The companies who opposed traffic lights, what were their reasons?
0:28:51 > 0:28:54It was put about that the Food Standards Agency
0:28:54 > 0:28:58wanted to slap a red traffic light on every bar of chocolate
0:28:58 > 0:29:06or on every block of sugar or on every tub of butter or spread,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09of course, we never suggested that. We were absolutely clear -
0:29:09 > 0:29:12the traffic lights were only to label what are called complex foods
0:29:12 > 0:29:16like processed meals, ready meals -
0:29:16 > 0:29:18things that have several different ingredients,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21and, unless you have some guidance, you really don't know how much
0:29:21 > 0:29:24fat, salt, sugar there is in the total food.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Were you surprised by the response of supermarkets who didn't want to introduce traffic lights?
0:29:28 > 0:29:30I think disappointed,
0:29:30 > 0:29:34and disappointed because they wouldn't show us the evidence
0:29:34 > 0:29:37upon which they rejected what was clear to us
0:29:37 > 0:29:41was the right, preferred system for consumers.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Were we disappointed that some of the most important supermarkets,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49like Tesco, wouldn't even try traffic lights for real?
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Yes, of course we were disappointed.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55How would you describe Tesco's response?
0:29:55 > 0:29:59Almost 300,000 people in Britain work for Tesco.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04If Tesco are unhappy with policy, governments listen,
0:30:04 > 0:30:08so Tesco was fantastically powerful in this debate.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11What did the industry fear so much about traffic lights?
0:30:11 > 0:30:14It would unquestionably have changed consumer choices.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19People would, broadly, have bought more of healthier food.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21That was the objective, after all.
0:30:21 > 0:30:27I wondered what the government actually did once you gave them your results.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Politicians hate the idea of regulation.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34For the last 20 years, politicians of all parties
0:30:34 > 0:30:36say they are not in favour of regulation.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38They want to deregulate it,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41but once the Food Standards Agency was set up
0:30:41 > 0:30:45and it started to try to regulate in the consumer's interest,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49it got up the noses of a lot of politicians and a lot of industry.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51It's somewhat paradoxical that we're in a time
0:30:51 > 0:30:54where obesity's an epidemic and yet health food
0:30:54 > 0:30:57is the fastest-growing sector of the food industry,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59and I wonder how those two things square.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03So-called health food is. Um, the problem is
0:31:03 > 0:31:07in the absence of a single, clear, simple labelling system,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11consumers really are at the mercy of the marketing department,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16so we know that people can be conned into believing
0:31:16 > 0:31:18that a pizza will be good for them
0:31:18 > 0:31:22because it has a bit of pineapple on top of it.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27We know they can be convinced by being told that a product
0:31:27 > 0:31:29is one of their five a day,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32one of their five portions of fruit or vegetable a day,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36but they're also having their entire daily allowance of sugar,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39or of salt, or sometimes of saturated fat.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Richard, put yourself in the shoes of the food manufacturers.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Would you have introduced traffic lights?
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Probably not.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Because as a food manufacturer,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I have an obligation to my shareholders first of all,
0:31:54 > 0:32:00I have an obligation to my employees, I want to maximise my profit,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04and the fact is that if you produce a clear labelling system
0:32:04 > 0:32:08of the sort that traffic lights was, then you put at risk
0:32:08 > 0:32:11that part of the industry that makes a healthy living
0:32:11 > 0:32:14by producing not-very-healthy food.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20We asked Tesco about what Richard said, and they say their GDA labels
0:32:20 > 0:32:23are clear and simple, but they are open to discussion
0:32:23 > 0:32:26for the best way to help customers make an informed choice.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38Some very powerful people didn't want traffic lights to happen.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43What's more, within six months of the coalition government coming to power,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46the Food Standards Agency was stripped of responsibility for food labelling.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51But the battle now shifted to Brussels,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54where the stakes were raised and the fight was going to get dirty.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09In the European Parliament, the votes of the MEPs,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13who had the power to introduce traffic lights across Europe,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16were fought over in a David and Goliath struggle.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22The David being the small health charities lobbying for traffic lights
0:33:22 > 0:33:27and the Goliath being the food giants with their enormous wealth and influence.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35MEP Glenis Willmott fought hard for traffic lights
0:33:35 > 0:33:39and saw first-hand the tactics the food lobby deployed.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41How much effort did the food industry make
0:33:41 > 0:33:44to influence the decision on traffic lights?
0:33:44 > 0:33:47A huge amount. They spent, it's estimated,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51over a billion euros to stop traffic lights. That's an awful lot of money.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54We were inundated with e-mails, with requests for meetings.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57There were lunches, breakfasts, dinners
0:33:57 > 0:34:01that people were being invited to in order to try and change their minds
0:34:01 > 0:34:04to make sure that traffic light labelling didn't get agreed.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Did they give you any good reasons why traffic lights wouldn't work?
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Did they give you any research?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11They basically said there was no evidence
0:34:11 > 0:34:15that people preferred traffic lights. That's basically what they said,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19but they said that meant that people preferred GDAs. It isn't what the research said,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and it's just one of the many, many things that they did
0:34:23 > 0:34:26in order to stop this system getting through.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Could you tell me how much effort was made
0:34:28 > 0:34:31on the side of the campaign to bring in traffic lights here?
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Was there any lobbying by that side here?
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Yes. However, it was a completely different scale.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40You know, the organisations, the health and consumer organisations,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43haven't got the resources anywhere near.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46It was miniscule compared to the food industry.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48What would they actually say, then, to the MEPs?
0:34:48 > 0:34:52I mean, give me an example of the kind of thing they would say to an MEP.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55An example would be, to Italian MEPs, for example,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57"If you agree these traffic lights,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00"then we will lose all of these jobs in Italy
0:35:00 > 0:35:03"because we won't be able to produce this particular product any more
0:35:03 > 0:35:06"because it will be labelled bad, it will be labelled red."
0:35:06 > 0:35:10So the food industry was targeting the MEPs who had food jobs in their area?
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Yes, absolutely. So if you had a particular factory in your area,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17you were more likely to be targeted and told,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20"You will lose jobs in your constituency."
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Wow, that shows an extraordinary degree of, kind of,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27laser-like precision to hone in on specific MEPs.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30That was the problem. You know, people were frightened.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32They don't want to lose jobs, obviously.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34They've got to go back home to their constituencies
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and explain why they voted in this way.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41How do you go back and face your constituents? Do you want to get re-elected?
0:35:42 > 0:35:44The food industry won,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47and traffic light labelling would not be enforced.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53The shocking thing is not that the food industry lobbied MEPs,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56it's the way that they did it.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58They specifically targeted MEPs with food industry jobs,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01because this bill really mattered.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04If it was passed, it would affect their bottom line,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07their profits, and they couldn't afford to let it pass.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10'Reading labels to work out what's good for you
0:36:10 > 0:36:13'can sometimes be really complicated.'
0:36:13 > 0:36:18Yet there were companies that took up traffic lights voluntarily.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20'Mostly green means go for it.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24'Mostly red means enjoy it once in a while. Simple.'
0:36:24 > 0:36:26What made them work for Sainsbury's
0:36:26 > 0:36:28when others in the industry resisted?
0:36:30 > 0:36:34'Judith Batchelar is director of Sainsbury's Brand.'
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Judith, when you introduced traffic lights,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38why did you do it at Sainsbury's?
0:36:38 > 0:36:43Well, it was back in 2004, and I think it would be fair to say
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Sainsbury's had lost a little bit of its sparkle,
0:36:45 > 0:36:51and I think we really were up for driving change within the organisation
0:36:51 > 0:36:55and putting, as I say, a little bit of that sparkle back into Sainsbury's.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59There are a lot of products that are marketed as healthy
0:36:59 > 0:37:00which are anything but,
0:37:00 > 0:37:04and I wondered if the worry would be around those kinds of products
0:37:04 > 0:37:07that seem healthy because of the marketing of them,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11but in reality, if you did put a traffic light on it, it would be red.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15Yeah, I think what we found with traffic lights was exactly that.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Not that people stopped buying things,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19but that they were surprised by things,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21particularly things where intuitively
0:37:21 > 0:37:25they thought that perhaps the category was healthy.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28So, dairy products and things like yogurts, for example,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31they thought were healthy, but actually, some yogurts have lots of sugar in them
0:37:31 > 0:37:34because they've got different flavours and all sorts of things.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37They're not really as healthy as they thought they were.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Sandwiches is another great category, actually, where...
0:37:39 > 0:37:42- What did they do with sandwiches? - Well, they just swapped,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46and actually I've got another example here, actually,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49and it's just on two chicken products.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Basically, you've got a product here that's got a red traffic light.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55It's a southern fried chicken wrap.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59The number of calories in that is, well, 525.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04You can actually buy a 281-calorie chicken sandwich
0:38:04 > 0:38:09in the same range, and those are the kind of trade-offs that people were making.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13And in fact, sandwiches was where we saw the biggest shift in behaviours,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17of people switching out of ambers and reds into greens and ambers.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21How has traffic lights changed the culture within Sainsbury's?
0:38:21 > 0:38:24The whole process is completely reversed,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28because today we start with that multiple traffic light,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30so part of the process is saying, "What kind of traffic light
0:38:30 > 0:38:33"do I want to put on the front of this product
0:38:33 > 0:38:36"and how hard am I going to have to work to make sure
0:38:36 > 0:38:39"I turn a red to amber, or turn an amber to green?"
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Clearly you will get to a point where reformulation
0:38:42 > 0:38:47does start to have a detrimental effect on the taste of the product.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49- Have you found that at all? - Yes, we have found that.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52The argument that has always been used against traffic lights
0:38:52 > 0:38:55would be the effect on sales, so is this what you've found?
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Have you found that you can square the circle?
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Has it affected sales badly or not?
0:39:00 > 0:39:03No. No, it has just transferred sales.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06People still eat, they still come and buy the same things.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09They still buy ready meals, they just change what they buy.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13Sainsbury's had, by their own admission, lost their sparkle,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17so they went for traffic lights, but if you're a thriving company
0:39:17 > 0:39:21doing really well, why would you do it unless regulation forced you?
0:39:29 > 0:39:32America.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Home of the most profitable food industry in the world.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39If there is a way to get us to buy more food,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41it's probably been tried here first.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Pierre Chandon, visiting professor at Harvard Business School,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53has done ground-breaking research into how fattening foods are marketed as healthy.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01'Pierre explained to me exactly how this worked.'
0:40:01 > 0:40:04I call this the paradox of low-fat food and high-fat people,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07and I thought, "How come when people are trying to lose weight,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11"trying really hard and trying to eat right, they're not losing weight?"
0:40:11 > 0:40:14And I thought maybe there's a boomerang effect here.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18Maybe all of this healthy food is actually the reason why we're not losing weight as fast as we can.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22And what did you discover when you started studying this?
0:40:22 > 0:40:25So, in our study we compared two fast food chains,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28one of which is called Subway, which in the US is marketed as being
0:40:28 > 0:40:31a healthy place where you can get fresh food
0:40:31 > 0:40:33and lower-calorie sandwiches,
0:40:33 > 0:40:38and McDonald's, which is a fast food chain, a regular burger chain.
0:40:38 > 0:40:39And what did you find?
0:40:39 > 0:40:41So, for example, in one study we took two products.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45We took this really big foot-long sandwich from Subway,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49- which actually has 900 calories. - A foot-long sandwich?!- That's right.
0:40:49 > 0:40:55And we took the Big Mac from McDonald's, and we asked people to estimate the number of calories.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59What's fascinating is that even though the Subway sandwich has 50% more calories than a Big Mac,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03people thought that it was healthier, hence it had fewer calories.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Now, the other thing that's really interesting is beyond that.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11It's when people underestimated the calories of a healthy sandwich,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14then they treated themselves to a more indulgent dessert
0:41:14 > 0:41:16or to a full-calorie drink.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21So the important thing is the actual store that it's coming from.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24If the store has a healthy overall perception,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27then everything that comes from that store will be seen as being healthy,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29regardless of what's actually in it.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Exactly, so people have this idea that if you're healthy
0:41:32 > 0:41:35because you're fresh then you're also good in terms of calories
0:41:35 > 0:41:37and you have fewer calories.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39This is something I call the health halo.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41It's the idea that when food is marketed as being healthy,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44people think that it has less calories, and as a result,
0:41:44 > 0:41:46they think they can eat more of it without getting fat,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50and that's a very powerful effect that we find over and over in the US,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54in Europe, with different brands, with different types of food.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56- It doesn't matter.- This health halo is really fascinating.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59I wonder how else it works, if it works on any other products.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02We actually invented some food which does not exist.
0:42:02 > 0:42:03You invented some food?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Yeah, we went and we printed on all of these M&Ms "low-fat" or "light,"
0:42:07 > 0:42:10and we told people, "Here's some M&Ms.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14"There's a new product. Low-fat M&Ms. Have as many as you want."
0:42:14 > 0:42:17And we gave other people some regular M&Ms,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20and what we found is just because the M&Ms were called low-fat,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23- that people consumed up to 50% more of them.- Wow.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Just simply because they had been labelled as low-fat.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Exactly, because, again, the health halo.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31If I'm saying I'm good, I have lower fat, people think
0:42:31 > 0:42:35I also have lower calories, therefore they think they can eat more.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38It's so illogical, the way we actually behave. Why do we do this?
0:42:38 > 0:42:41It's actually, from a psychological point of view,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45it makes a lot of sense. We tend to look at food in binary terms.
0:42:45 > 0:42:46There's good food and bad food.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49The basic idea is very simple.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51It's that when you're good at something or in some aspect,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54people think you must be good in every aspect,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57so if you are also organic, if you think that there's gluten-free everything,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00people tend to categorise the food as being a good food overall.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03As a result, they think it's going to be less fattening,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05and it's not. Not always.
0:43:05 > 0:43:06But, Pierre, all this work you've done,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09what are the actual implications for the food industry,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11in terms of what you've discovered?
0:43:11 > 0:43:13I think the food industry has understood
0:43:13 > 0:43:15and, first of all, they know this. They know this really well.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19They've understood that there's actually an opportunity to market food as healthy.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24And today it's almost impossible to buy food that's not saying it's healthy,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27because more and more people are interested in being good
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and eating healthily, and these are exactly the people
0:43:30 > 0:43:33who are most likely to be misled by the health halos.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36So the paradox of low-fat food and high-fat people
0:43:36 > 0:43:39is not going to go away. I think it's just going to get worse.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42Pierre's work on health halos
0:43:42 > 0:43:46found that we underestimate the calories in healthy foods
0:43:46 > 0:43:51because we subconsciously categorise food into simply good or bad.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54If he's right about the food industry knowing this
0:43:54 > 0:43:57and cashing in on it, can it ever help us fight obesity
0:43:57 > 0:43:59when profits are at stake?
0:44:09 > 0:44:13Before the Conservative Party entered office,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Andrew Lansley, then shadow health minister, declared
0:44:16 > 0:44:20he was also a paid non-executive director of Profero -
0:44:20 > 0:44:24a marketing agency whose clients included Pizza Hut, Pepsi and Mars.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31He maintains he did not work on anything that could be a conflict of interest.
0:44:31 > 0:44:36But at the same time as he was preparing the Tory policy on obesity,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40he invited contributions from food industry giants.
0:44:41 > 0:44:47Meetings would take place at the headquarters of global corporation, Unilever.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55Andrew Lansley's Public Health Commission would meet with the major players in the food industry,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57people like Tesco and Unilever.
0:44:57 > 0:45:02The plan was to formulate the incoming government's policy on obesity.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06Lansley believed working with the food industry
0:45:06 > 0:45:10was a faster way of tackling obesity than regulation.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16But Professor Simon Capewell,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19a leading expert in public health from the University of Liverpool
0:45:19 > 0:45:22who was invited to join, didn't see it that way.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Simon, when you were first contacted by Andrew Lansley's office,
0:45:27 > 0:45:28why did they tell you?
0:45:28 > 0:45:35I was actually contacted by Unilever, the public relations head,
0:45:35 > 0:45:40who followed up on the letter from Lansley inviting me
0:45:40 > 0:45:42to be a member of the Public Health Commission.
0:45:42 > 0:45:48He sought to explain the purpose of the Public Health Commission.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Give me some idea of what it was like walking into that room for the first time.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56- Who was there? - It was all very grand.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59This was a large, glitzy organisation.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01It was clearly very successful.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I think some of us felt a little bit flattered.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08We felt we were at the top table, that people were taking notice of us.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13At no point was that sensation undermined.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17Simon, which companies were actually represented at the meeting?
0:46:17 > 0:46:20The chair of the Public Health Commission
0:46:20 > 0:46:22was the chair of Unilever UK.
0:46:23 > 0:46:29Nudging it along, Tesco were there and ASDA as well.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33Also the people from the advertising communities.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37So, Simon, in terms of obesity, what were you coming to the table to say?
0:46:37 > 0:46:40I wanted to lay out the evidence
0:46:40 > 0:46:43for interventions in public health that worked.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48When you looked around the world, there were a number of countries
0:46:48 > 0:46:52that have done amazing things and done it very effectively.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Scandinavia, Finland in particular.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00The success of those countries was based on legislation and regulation.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Regulation of the food industry?
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Yes, and serious regulation of advertising.
0:47:07 > 0:47:14So, yes, there was a recognition that the individual had a role to play
0:47:14 > 0:47:16but, at the end of the day,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20the big, powerful levers were in the hands of government.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24And what did the food industry say when you said this at this meeting?
0:47:24 > 0:47:26In retrospect, they were very clever,
0:47:26 > 0:47:32because we all had opportunities where we were invited to prepare papers
0:47:32 > 0:47:35and, indeed, to do presentations.
0:47:35 > 0:47:41On each of those occasions they listened with considerable interest and politeness.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45- And then?- And then nothing.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49So the minutes of the meeting were written up and it would say,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54"Professor Capewell gave a presentation on national interventions,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58"and material will be used in the final report,"
0:47:58 > 0:48:01and then we would move on to something else.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06So none of the tricky stuff was ever challenged or contradicted.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11What did they say were their objectives? What was their position?
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Instead of looking at effective things like regulation,
0:48:14 > 0:48:19taxation, we were discussing what sort of pretty package
0:48:19 > 0:48:23should we have here to say it is the responsibility of individuals
0:48:23 > 0:48:29if they get fat and, in particular, the government has no duty of care.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33In terms of Andrew Lansley, where did he lie?
0:48:33 > 0:48:38Did he lie on the side of the food companies or the scientists?
0:48:39 > 0:48:43It was very clear from his behaviour before,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46during and particularly afterwards, that his interests
0:48:46 > 0:48:50and the interests of the industry were in complete agreement.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Simon, what is wrong, in principal,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56with the idea of consulting with the food industry?
0:48:56 > 0:48:59The risk here is conflict of interest.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03Apparently, when it comes to the food industry,
0:49:03 > 0:49:08who are producing masses of calories that make children obese or diabetic
0:49:08 > 0:49:15or they conceal vast amounts of salt or trans fats in the food which make people sick or kill them,
0:49:15 > 0:49:20for some reason that principle is completely ignored.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25The conflict of interest is outrageous.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Putting the food industry at the policy table
0:49:28 > 0:49:32is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37Instead of saying the food industry is part of the problem,
0:49:37 > 0:49:42they actually come in and say, "From your shareholder perspective,
0:49:42 > 0:49:47"would you like to suggest how we take forward food policy in this country?"
0:49:47 > 0:49:49It's insane.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54What Simon saw first-hand was the government-in-waiting's relationship with the food industry.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56He was there, he was in the room.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00What he said was that that relationship was too close
0:50:00 > 0:50:03and that the science had been left out of the picture.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07This is something we have seen again and again with the food industry -
0:50:07 > 0:50:10that they have one priority, and that is making money.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16In May 2010, the coalition government entered office,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19and Andrew Lansley was now the Secretary of State for Health.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24Within a year, the new government set out its strategy to fight obesity.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32It was called the Public Health Responsibility Deal,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34and invited the industry to make voluntary pledges.
0:50:34 > 0:50:39There was to be no regulation, and many companies signed up.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43But crucially, food companies could choose
0:50:43 > 0:50:46what they wanted to do in terms of calorie reduction.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53The only actual target was to help the nation as a whole
0:50:53 > 0:50:59to reduce its calorie intake by five billion a day by the year 2020.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06MP Valerie Vaz sits on the Commons Health Select Committee,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08which has declared itself unconvinced
0:51:08 > 0:51:11that the Responsibility Deal could tackle obesity.
0:51:11 > 0:51:18In March, there was a pledge made to reduce the nation's calorie intake by five billion calories.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Would do you think about that pledge?
0:51:20 > 0:51:24We need something much more specific, much more measurable.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27Something that you can look at in a few years' time
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and say this is working or this isn't.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35Five billion is a very large, vague figure amongst the whole population.
0:51:35 > 0:51:36It's meaningless.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38No-one wants something specific.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41The government don't want it, the food industry don't want it.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44The whole point is that it needs to be vague for it to be something
0:51:44 > 0:51:47that everyone can sign up to.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50It needs to be vague, but it won't be effective.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52There will be absolutely no result at the end of this.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54We will be sitting here in five years' time
0:51:54 > 0:51:58saying there is a problem with obesity, and nothing will have changed.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01How are they actually going to review this pledge?
0:52:01 > 0:52:04I was asking him how this was going to work.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09How was he going to measure the success or otherwise of it?
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Only recently he said would there be an evaluation.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13He set aside £1 million.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17But it is not clear exactly what the terms of reference of that review is.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22Is it going to be a review of what the industry pledged in the first place?
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Is it going to be a review of the outcomes? It is absolutely not clear.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29So I am looking forward to hearing exactly what this review is about.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32Do you not think that they have to be made to do something?
0:52:32 > 0:52:34If you don't regulate what is going into food,
0:52:34 > 0:52:38if you don't regulate the way the industry deals with something,
0:52:38 > 0:52:42then you will get these diseases, you will get people cutting corners
0:52:42 > 0:52:46and you will get a much more unhealthy society.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57Everyone I have met has told me that regulation is the way forward
0:52:57 > 0:52:59to stop the obesity epidemic.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01So why doesn't the government agree?
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Public health minister Anne Milton
0:53:06 > 0:53:08is in charge of the government's policy on obesity.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Would you agree that we are in an obesity crisis?
0:53:13 > 0:53:16I am not very fond of words like obesity crisis
0:53:16 > 0:53:21and obesity epidemic, because somehow it takes on a life of its own.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24It's something to do with someone else, it is not to do with me,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28me, the government, me, an individual, me, the food industry.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30Actually, we've all got a part to play.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33You see, I'd love to believe that the world was like that,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37but unfortunately, what history has taught us
0:53:37 > 0:53:42is that time and time again the food industry has put the onus on the individual,
0:53:42 > 0:53:44because it takes the spotlight off them.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46When you think of obesity,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49everyone would like to think that it is someone else's problem.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51So you're right in a way.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55The food industry say, "We just sell the food, it is up to an individual what they buy to eat."
0:53:55 > 0:53:57The government find this quite difficult
0:53:57 > 0:54:02because you've got to navigate your way through all the different factors.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Actually, what you have to do is be very mature and grown-up.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08The problem with these voluntary things is that there are so tremendously vague.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Five billion calories by 2020,
0:54:11 > 0:54:15and each year you just kind of find out maybe along the way how they are doing.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20The key issue here, according to all the scientists, is calories.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23The sheer amount of calories we're taking in.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25On that issue, you are leaving it vague.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30We're certainly not leaving it vague, but are being realistic.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35The end point in this is what people put in their mouths.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39But we've got to take a very broad approach to this.
0:54:39 > 0:54:45It is naive to think that actually, there is one tool that will solve this problem.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49It has always been the food industry being in partnership with the government
0:54:49 > 0:54:53and deciding pretty much for themselves what the goal will be.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57What's quite interesting about the food and retail industry
0:54:57 > 0:55:00is they know quite a lot about people's behaviour.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03They use it to their advantage to sell their products.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06We have to work with them to try and encourage them.
0:55:06 > 0:55:07They want to make a profit.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09If they can make a profit selling apples
0:55:09 > 0:55:11instead of chocolate bars, then that is great by me.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14So when would you legislate?
0:55:14 > 0:55:19What would make it possible for you to legislate against the food industry?
0:55:19 > 0:55:24You can't legislate your way out of this. Everybody's got a part to play.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Sorry, why can't you legislate your way out of this?
0:55:27 > 0:55:31It would be lovely to think that that just works. It doesn't just work.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34What we have to do is change people's behaviour.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39Fundamental to this is changing people's behaviour.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Talking about people changing their behaviour
0:55:43 > 0:55:46is putting the onus on us, the public.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Why are you so scared of the food industry?
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Why are governments, not just your government,
0:55:53 > 0:55:58so scared of bringing in legislation to deal with the food industry?
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Can we do a minute of myth-busting here?
0:56:02 > 0:56:06First of all, the food industry does not dictate government policy.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Secondly, the government is not scared of the food industry.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Thirdly, we will do what works.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17And what I do know, and anybody out there watching this programme knows,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20is that there is not one tool that will fix this.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22We will legislate, if necessary.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24We have got voluntary agreements at the moment.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26Those will be independently evaluated.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29If it is not working, it is not working, and we will have to do something else,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32and the food industry is very clear on that.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33But scared of the industry I am not.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37The minister couldn't be pinned down
0:56:37 > 0:56:39to when they would actually bring in legislation.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43So the question is, when will the critical moment come?
0:56:43 > 0:56:46In my opinion, there will be a tipping point, and that will be
0:56:46 > 0:56:49when the cost to the NHS of the obesity crisis
0:56:49 > 0:56:54is greater than the revenue they receive from the food industry.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00I have come to Leicester to see a painting of Britain's fattest man.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03Not in 2012, but 200 years ago.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08This is Daniel Lambert in 1806.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12He weighed over 50 stone and was considered a freak of nature,
0:57:12 > 0:57:14charging people a shilling to see him
0:57:14 > 0:57:16and becoming rich on the proceeds.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21Now the money made from obesity is made by the food industry
0:57:21 > 0:57:24selling us food that they claim is healthy
0:57:24 > 0:57:25but is actually making us fat,
0:57:25 > 0:57:29with successive governments letting them do it.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33In this series I have gone behind the obesity crisis
0:57:33 > 0:57:35to reveal the men who made us fat,
0:57:35 > 0:57:39who changed the very nature of what we eat, super-sized everything
0:57:39 > 0:57:42and, in so doing, super-sized us.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47But the greatest mistake was to believe it was solely our fault.
0:57:47 > 0:57:48It wasn't.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52It was also the men making decisions behind closed doors
0:57:52 > 0:57:56who changed the shape of a nation without us even realising it.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd