by Melissa Stoneham | Crikey
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
In light of BMSG research showing that it’s easier to influence land-use policies, such as fast-food zoning, on the grounds of aesthetics rather than public health, is it time for advocates to change their tactics?
by Helena Bottemiller Evich, Chase Purdy | Politico
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
The Federal Trade Commission has given up on tracking how much the food industry spends to promote unhealthy foods to children, a setback for advocates who want to rein in junk food marketing. BMSG's Lori Dorfman says that if the FTC and Congress don't step up on this issue, advocates will look to state and local policy options instead.
by Elaine Meyer, Joshua Brooks | the 2x2 project
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
This year's annual meeting of the American Public Health Association focused on "healthography," or how place matters to health. BMSG's Laura Nixon was one of many presenters who applied the theme specifically to our food environment, offering insight on how to limit the availability of fast food.
American Public Health Association
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Over the past few years, numerous attempts to pass a soda tax have failed, but, ultimately, they helped paved the way for a victory in Berkeley. As BMSG Senior Media Researcher Pamela Mejia points out, past soda tax failures "helped change the conversation surrounding the soda debate from one framed by big soda corporations to [one framed by] 'authentic community voices.'"
by Larry Cohen | The Huffington Post
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Media reporting and public buzz can help smart public health policy, such as Berkeley's soda tax, can gain traction quickly, explains Prevention Institute Executive Director Larry Cohen. Referencing BMSG's Lori Dorfman, he discusses how this soda tax victory, and even failed soda tax efforts before it, help to shape social norms and advance public health.
by Randy Shaw | Beyond Chron
Monday, November 10, 2014
For all the phone calls, framing and other standard grassroots campaign techniques, what distinguished this year's soda tax campaigns in Berkeley and San Francisco was their powerful use of social media, which was amplified by organizations including BMSG.
by Robin Abcarian | Los Angeles Times
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Berkeley, California, has succeeded in passing a tax on sugary drinks. The win comes in spite of the soda industry’s history of underhanded tactics, detailed in previous BMSG research, used to defeat such measures.
by Lisa Aliferis | KQED's State of Health
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Voters in Berkeley have passed the nation's first soda tax focused on prevention and improving kids' health. In doing so, BMSG Director Lori Dorfman explains, the city continues its long history "of being first to a new cause that's later embraced more broadly." This article also appeared on Southern California Public Radio.
by Dana Woldow | Beyond Chron
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Berkeley has led the nation in passing the first excise tax on sugary beverages. BMSG's Lori Dorfman joins other public health professionals in explaining why other communities will follow suit.
by Elisa Batista | MomsRising.org
Monday, September 15, 2014
The soda industry has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat a soda tax in Berkeley. To raise awareness of such tactics and to make the case for a tax on soda, MomsRising recently co-sponsored an educational panel featuring BMSG Director Lori Dorfman, among others.
