Nutritionalizing Food: A Framework for Capital Accumulation

ABSTRACT The food and agricultural industry has long had influence in policy making. However, the active promotion of the private sector as the most viable option for resolving problems of nutrition is a more recent phenomenon. This contribution uses two case studies — the construction of a pure pro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and change 2016-07, Vol.47 (4), p.818-839
Main Author: Sathyamala, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accumulation
Agribusiness
Boundaries
Capital formation
Case studies
Conflicts of interest
Dietary supplements
Dietary supplements industry
Food
Food processing industry
Industrial policy
Industrial promotion
Nutrition
Obesity
Pharmaceutical industry
Private sector
Propaganda
Public health
Studies
Trade
Truth
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT The food and agricultural industry has long had influence in policy making. However, the active promotion of the private sector as the most viable option for resolving problems of nutrition is a more recent phenomenon. This contribution uses two case studies — the construction of a pure protein deficiency disease in the 1960s and the alleged obesity epidemic in present‐day India — to illustrate how scientific discourses in nutrition are shaped by the needs of capital and how capital determines scientific truths. Under the guise of partnering with the private sector, the boundaries of science and commerce have become blurred and potential conflicts of interest are no longer clearly demarcated. The entry of the pharmaceutical and food industries into functional foods and supplements has created a new epistemic authority for truth claims whose strength lies in the ability to convince through propaganda with little pretence of a scientific base. Thus, the very industry that has been held responsible for several problems in nutrition is now positioning itself as the deliverer of their solution. The reformulation of food needs as nutritional norms has facilitated the emergence of business as a pivotal player with further opportunities for capital accumulation.
ISSN:0012-155X
1467-7660
DOI:10.1111/dech.12250