The Institutional Influences on Food Industry Self-Regulation - The Food Pyramid Meets the Regulatory Pyramid: Responsive Regulation of Food Advertising to Children

Abstract

This chapter forms part of a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of a PhD from the Faculty of Law, University of Sydney.

This chapter focuses on the industry-level factors that contribute to successful self-regulation. According to literature from regulatory studies and government guides, self-regulation works best when the following conditions are present: a high level of industry cohesion; product homogeneity; industry-wide commitment and capacity to self-regulate; tangible economic benefits for companies that join the scheme; and that self-regulation represents a ‘win-win’ situation for the industry and the public. In this chapter, I examine whether the conditions described above are present in the food and alcohol industries in Australia. The chapter begins by describing the structure of the food and alcohol industries, their interests and key players. Next, I compare the nature of food and alcohol products, the capacity of each industry to self-regulate, and the administrative arrangements for food and alcohol industry codes. Finally I consider the rationale behind the adoption of self-regulation in the two industries and whether it benefits both consumers and participating firms.

Keywords: Food industry, alcohol industry, self-regulation, corporate social responsibility

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K32