Governmental institutionalization of corporate influence on national nutrition policy and health: a case study of Ecuador

On preserving integrity and advancing health policy debates: author's reply to Mejía & Garzón

“…We thank Andrés Mejia and Ximena Garzón's for comments 1 regarding our work published recently, 2 agreeing with our concern about the undue influence of the food and beverages industry on Ecuador's child malnutrition strategy and the need for greater regulation and transparency in the design and implementation of Ecuador's national nutrition policy. We would like to address their comments in two parts.…”

On conflicts of interest, transparency, and accountability of private actors influencing national health policy: authors’ reply to Morejón-Terán

“…We appreciate Yadira Morejón-Terán’s comments regarding our work published recently. 1 Morejón-Terán, who is the current Director of Public Policies, Monitoring, and Oversight of the Ecuador Grows Without Child Malnutrition Secretariat, makes several observations 2 that we actually think support the key points we are making in our article. We shall discuss each here.…”

“…She also mentions ensuing orders and agreements, which, according to our analysis, taken together have created a legal structure primed for undue commercial influence on national nutrition and health policy. In the article, 1 we cite the case of REDNI (Child Nutrition Network), which was established on December 14, 2021, exactly two weeks before Executive Order 304 created the tax deduction mechanism. In her letter, Morejón-Terán discloses that REDNI Foundation has so far received approval for two tax-deductible projects under this mechanism.…”

“…In her letter, Morejón-Terán discloses that REDNI Foundation has so far received approval for two tax-deductible projects under this mechanism. According to publicly available evidence cited in our article, 1 REDNI has robust food and beverages industry ties: key contributors include Corporación Favorita and Pronaca, which in turn are members of the National Association of Food and Beverages Industry (ANFAB). As is public and we document in our article, ANFAB and REDNI each have a representative in the Advisory Council.…”

Governmental institutionalization of corporate influence on national nutrition policy and health: a case study of Ecuador

“…Regarding the article “Governmental institutionalization of corporate influence on national nutrition policy and health: a case study of Ecuador” 1 published on November 29, 2023, in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas, I would like to make clarifications and insights into the topic, addressing the influence of the ultra-processed food and beverage industry on nutrition and health policies in Ecuador.…”