Phil Marineau, who held the position at PepsiCo from 1997 to 1999, told an interviewer on MSNBC show Morning Joe that, to solve the issue, people needed to “consume less sugar, less sugary drinks and find healthier alternatives.”
During the interview, which aired earlier this week, Marineau also spoke openly about how he now views the industry. “If we started the world all over again, may be we would not need soft drinks or sugary drinks,” he said.
“But, we have to realise we have an economic system that has created these products and people are used to consuming them. Until we get people to demand other products and understand what good looks like ... it would be unrealistic to assume we will alter the economic system to that degree.”
Marineau, who sits on the Institute of Medicine Committee, has contributed to a new HBO documentary, The Weight of the Nation, looking at the issue of obesity.
But, the former PepsiCo man also defended the industry. “There's nothing inherently wrong with soft drinks,” he added. “It's over-consumption of soft drinks and the only way to control over-consumption is to educate people, do it in schools, have other alternatives, so they make the choices.”
He added that companies are “trying hard to offer more alternatives to educate people correctly and change serving sizes so people can consume less.
“I think they understand that, for them to succeed, society has to succeed and they have to be a partner in this.
“Characterising soft drinks companies as the villains is a mistake on our part, you have to partner with them and change a lot of other things systematically.”
Marineau concluded: “Sugary drinks are a big part of this problem and we have to consume less sugary drinks. I'd like to be part of the group that find a solution to that.”
Earlier this week, the American Beverage Association (ABA) launched a fightback against adverts linking soft drinks to obesity with a campaign highlighting the healthier options the industry is offering.
