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submitted 2 weeks ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Director general accuses corporations of obstructing efforts to tackle obesity crisis after investigation by Guardian and others

The world’s biggest ultra-processed food corporations are hindering global efforts to tackle the obesity crisis by suing governments that try to promote healthier diets, the head of the World Health Organization has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, accused global food companies of obstructing the adoption of vital public health measures and costing countries billions of dollars in healthcare and legal costs in the process.

Almost 1 billion people worldwide are living with obesity, and unhealthy diets are one of the main drivers of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is soaring and now makes up half the average diet in many countries, including the UK, the US and Australia.

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[-] frisbird@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 weeks ago

Fucking neoliberalism. Any country that signed onto a free trade agreement with US agreed to allow corporations to sue their governments for the crime of hurting their profits, and those suits would be arbitration, not local courts, and the arbiters would be appointed by the global north fascist corprotocracy.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/trade-agreement-troubles

[-] RosaLuxemburgsGhost@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

Capitalism is going to be the death of humanity the world over if the people don’t come to revolutionary (not reformist) conclusions soon.

[-] NotSteve_@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

I can't wait for the US to fuck off already

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I have to say, there's something cathartic about them being fucked by arbitration like everyone else is.

[-] jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago

seems fair, if there was a law that only targeted one company they absolutely should be able to challenge it. Same as if a law target one person.

[-] frisbird@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

None of this is about targeting a single company. It's about Lays suing a country for having e.g. government educational programs about healthy eating or about PhillipMorris suing a country having e.g. a government anti-smoking program.

this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2026
145 points (100.0% liked)

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