Food for thought : the junk food act in Peru

On Friday, May 24, 2013, Peru's President, Ollanta Humala Tasso, had one week left to decide whether he would finally sign into law a bill that had fueled a heated debate among the nation's public and private sectors for nearly 18 months. Commonly known as the "Junk Food Act," the proposal stirred as many passions as the country's cuisine, which itself had risen to global prominence, alongside Peru's steady economic growth. The law's enactment would force thousands of Peruvian kiosks and school cafeterias to change their offerings, doing away with processed foods, while advertising of these goods to children would require revision. Many feared -while others hoped- that Humala would sign the bill. Multiple stakeholders -producers, retailers, advertisers, trade associations, the press, politicians, and the government- spent the weekend with unanswered questions on their minds. On Monday, they would need to revisit their positions, clarifying their arguments and assessing the bill's legal and ethical ramifications, in order to prepare a strategic response to Humala's decision, uncertain as they were of whether he would sign the bill. There was a lot of food for thought.