For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

Voluntary restrictions on marketing unhealthy food to children won’t be a job killer

A recent report by IHS Consulting suggests tens of thousands of jobs would be lost due to lower food and beverage advertising and sales if the government sets voluntary guidelines to improve the nutritional quality of foods marketed to children.  But an analysis released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds the IHS Consulting report to be based on unrealistic assumptions that lead to a grossly exaggerated job loss estimate.

Assessing the job impact of guidelines for marketing food and beverage products to children by EPI research and policy director John Irons notes, for instance, that decreases in food and beverage advertising and sales of foods that do not meet the voluntary nutritional guidelines would potentially shift to other products that do meet the guidelines, and advertising might even see a boost from companies that want to tout their healthy foods for children.