September 2021

Lobbying for
MyPlate
BY: SAMANTHA DILL
Although it may be obvious, a food retailer’s
success rate is based on how profitable their
product is; an increase in profit margin or rate
of inventory turnover increases the rate of
return. In the food industry, the principle of
mass merchandising encourages a high
volume of sales with low net profit margins.1
Four main types of companies run this market:
producers, processors, distributors, and
retailers. Lobbyists are the primary motivators
of corporate political activity (CPA) behind the
scenes; they usually act through means of
persuasion such as monetary contributions.2
The overall goal of a lobbyist is to influence
politicians to pass the legislature in support of
their company.
In 2018, the company Nestlé provided
products such as infant formula for the USDA’s
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) recipients in
almost every state. The main ingredient of
infant formula, bovine (cow) milk, is
inexpensive due to government subsidies.
WIC provides vouchers to its participants to
purchase foods such as fortified infant formula
and is responsible for over half of the infant
formula sold in the US.2 Nestlé offers a
discounted price for the breastmilk substitute,
so much so that WIC only pays 8% of the
wholesale price tag.2 Despite the discount,
Nestlé’s market share increased by 74%.
The USDA developed the MyPlate initiative in
2010, using the results of the White House
Childhood Obesity Taskforce, as a simpler
form of the food pyramid.3 This graphic shows
that fruits and vegetables should make up at
least half of a person’s food intake. Regardless
of this recommendation, only 3% of the United
States’ cropland is occupied by fruits and
vegetables, and limited funding is allocated
towards supporting specialty crop programs.1
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