Shareholder coalitions say the power of investor money can be harnessed to press the food industry to provide more nutritional foods and still improve the companies’ bottom lines.
But it could take years for nutrition to climb the priority list for many investors despite the spotlight a September White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health placed on the role nutritious foods can play in preventing or moderating diet-related conditions such as obesity, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
The conference didn’t result in the administration calling for more food regulation. But nutrition advocates say they still hope to get corporations to change because of investor pressure — a project that is analogous to one taking place over corporate behavior on environmental, social and governance issues.
