Institutionalization of CSR Practices in Nutrition

Abstract

Over the last two decades, excess weight has increased globally, and it is considered a public health problem that affects 52% of adults in the world (WHO, Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2020, 2013) and about 58% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the same period, the evidence linking processed foods to overweight and obesity has increased, and, consequently, multiple actors question the legitimacy of the food industry and the fulfillment of its social objective of producing food and feeding and demand that the food industry adopt responsible practices in terms of nutrition through various institutional mechanisms. Sustainable development goals such as zero hunger and good health and well-being set targets related to the control of excess weight. Within the food systems approach, there is an urgent need for the food producing industry to adopt responsible practices (HLPE, Nutrition and food systems. A report by the high level panel of experts on food security and nutrition of the committee on world food security, 2017). The Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (WHO, Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health, 2004; WHO, Report of the commission on ending childhood obesity, 2017) includes the action of the food producing industry among the strategies needed to support healthy diets. This paper is to embark on a path in this direction. It has been identified that a possible lens for this analysis could be the New Sociological Institutionalism, which allows us to approach practices of this type, which are the product of a social construction. For this reason, it is of interest to this article to explore how CSR practices in nutrition could be approached from the new sociological institutionalism theory, to undertake empirical research paths in this regard. To achieve the above, this article addresses the CSR practices in nutrition as an object of study and considers the new sociological institutionalism as a theoretical lens, based on which assumptions are made about the problem and conclusions are drawn in this regard.