Doesn't Meet Expectations

The recent episode where the minutes were leaked from the recent meeting of the BPA (bisphenol-A) Joint Trade Association, attended by Coca-Cola, Alcoa, Crown, North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc., Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), American Chemistry Council, Del Monte has some moments of humor. I can't say I'm surprised that BPA users turned to an ad campaign over constructive engagement with stakeholders or the shocking alternative of committing to looking for a lower-toxicity or non-toxic alternative for lining canned foods and packaging beverages.

The ham-handedness of the strategizing is surprising though. After reading Trust Us, We’re Experts, I had expected these guys to be a little smoother about their framing: suggesting in so many words that they use fear tactics such as telling consumers they will no longer have access to affordable baby food without BPA; finding "pregnant young mother who would be willing to speak around the country about the benefits of BPA" as their 'holy grail' spokesperson, because they don’t feel they can find a scientific spokesman; directing messages at historically exploited populations including "Hispanic and African Americans and the poor"; and, befriending people that are able to manipulate the legislative process.

My kids are grown, so it’s been awhile since I’ve bought baby food, but isn’t it also packaged in glass jars? Also, a “pregnant young mother” isn’t a spokesman for the safety of BPA. Some nice-looking heading-towards-middle-age mom with an honors student in high school, who could say “look, my kid and I ate food from epoxy resin-lined cans and drunk out of polycarbonate bottles, and my kid is smart and I don’t have breast cancer.” Maybe they couldn’t afford a good communications consultant. There are references to passing the hat to raise the $500K needed for the ad campaign.

It's interesting that you don't see them reaching out to the big plastics manufacturers. The plastics manufacturers might have a parallel effort, or the food container market isn't a big loss to them. It would be interesting to know which, because that might help proponents of a BPA ban in food containers practice a divide and conquer strategy. A total ban on BPA use might not be necessary to have some effective exposure reduction - just phasing out uses such as food containers and dental appliances. I wonder if anyone has done that homework yet (the EU's risk assessment may be a good starting place). Though ACC was in the room, one reason the petrochemical and plastics manufacturers weren’t represented more might be that BPA in food containers isn’t a big portion of their market share.

Another thing that makes the food industry folks appear out of touch is that they don't seem to get social marketing techniques, which might be a good thing because that will slow down their messaging. There’s already a “ban BPA” Facebook page. The activist messaging isn’t that slick yet either, if the clutching-at-their-pearls I’m-shocked-that-industry-is-trying-to-manipulate-us e-mail I got from the Environmental Working Group is any indication (no, I’m not going to bother writing a letter to Coca-Cola telling them to ban BPA; I’m going to continue to not buy their really bad for my health product in un-ecologically sound packaging, which seems to me a better approach to persuade them to change their ways). Hasn’t the activist community thought about accusing these industries of being anti-capitalists, and conspiring to sabotage businesses who are responding to market forces and producing BPA-free products?