Lifestyle Sports

By Marion Nestle

July 23 2026

Big Food vs. The People: lawsuits against public health measures

A Lighthouse-led international cooperative investigation has produced Big Food vs. The People, a detailed account of how food and beverage companies are filing lawsuits to block public health measures that might induce people to stop buying their products.

In public, the world’s biggest and richest food companies such as Coca Cola, PepsiCola, and Mondelez say they want to be part of the solution. But behind closed doors, they have taken governments to court to delay, dilute, and derail public health laws, which the companies say violate their rights.

These investigations found:

– 239 lawsuits were filed between 2010 and 2025 across Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the US, the UK, and India against public health policies targeting food and beverages such as front of pack labelling, regulating advertising of junk food to children, soda taxes, and taxes on ultra processed foods.

– The cases add up to 595 years of litigation, representing a significant burden on the governments defending their health policies.

– Of the cases brought by private companies where the plaintiff was identifiable, more than 1 in 3 came from just nine parent groups, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelez.

The Guardian covered this story: ‘If all else fails, sue’: how ultra-processed food firms are using the courts to obstruct health rules.

That’s my quote in the title.

The world’s biggest UPF firms would “not fight so hard” if policies to curb intake of their products were ineffective, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “The lawsuits tell us that public health measures reduce sales of unhealthful products”….The tactics mirrored those used by the tobacco industry for decades, Nestle said, adding: “Food companies are well trained. They follow the tobacco industry playbook to the letter. When all else fails, sue.”

The post Big Food vs. The People: lawsuits against public health measures appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle

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