#BTColumn – Choose to do the right thing

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc.

by Suleiman Bulbulia

Sometimes all it takes is for one famous person to make a small gesture and it impacts the world. At a time when an action can go global in seconds Cristiano Ronaldo’s simple act of removing two bottles of Coca Cola from the media conference table he was at and lifting up a bottle of water and stating “agua” “agua” reverberated across the entire world. And sent a multi-national company worth billions into shock. Coke’s stock value reportedly fell by 1.6 per cent, which doesn’t sound like much until you realize that equates to $4 billion.

Ronaldo is a global super soccer star with a huge following. His words and actions will be observed and perhaps acted on by hundreds, if not thousands or even millions.

Multi-national corporations know this too well and so they spend huge amounts of money in getting endorsements and in giving sponsorships.

Our humble coalition, the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, with very limited resources, smile when such superstars do the right thing and highlight the right causes.  We applaud them because they recognise that it is not about big money it is about the well-being of all.

For superstars it is a tightrope they have to manoeuvre, sponsors and their obligations and doing the right thing.  Undoubtedly, there will be repercussions for Ronaldo’s actions like how many sportsmen and women face when they choose to speak out and speak up about just causes.

His actions have seen similar responses from other athletes. As reported “France midfielder Paul Pogba became the latest footballer to take issue with Euro 2020’s official beverages after removing a bottle of Heineken beer that had been placed in front of him at a news conference on Tuesday.

“Pogba, a practising Muslim, moved the bottle of Heineken’s non-alcoholic 0.0 brand when he sat down to speak to the media after he was named ‘Man of the Match’ in France’s 1-0 win over Germany.”

There will be push back and these global corporations have very deep pockets so we know too well that they won’t roll over and play dead. Already we have seen other athletes doing the contrary and promoting these unhealthy products. At the end of the day your conscience has to be your guiding principle. It is ironic that unhealthy food and drink are often promoted by supposedly healthy, athletic individuals, who probably don’t even consume the products they themselves are expected to push.

The world is suffering as a result of unhealthy lifestyles and diets. These diets are fed, pun intended, by huge businesses that at the end of the day are really only interested in the bottom line, how much profit can the company turn over and how their shares look on the stock market. Their seemingly unlimited resources allow for them to do the most extensive advertising money can buy and they do advertise.  Over the last six years (2014-2020), Coca-Cola spent an average of four billion dollars a year on advertising worldwide. This gigantic amount for a product that is already known the world over.

And the Caribbean is not exempted as our Coalition more and more recognises as we seek to spread the message of healthier habits. There is push back and that comes from those industries that make millions from their products.

There must come a time when corporate responsibility kicks in or is legislated. Unfortunately, in most cases it is only when Government is pressured enough to make the necessary legislative changes to effect changed behaviour from these big corporations. Or when a Ronaldo steps up and throws a spanner in the works that hopefully would cause more than just raised eyebrows.

Our history is replete with unhealthy products coming under intense pressure from the public. Sadly, not before many have succumbed to the diseases and cancers that came about as a result of consumption. The cigarette industry is one major example. They fought bitterly to maintain their status quo but litigation and lawsuits forced their hand.

As published “thousands of internal tobacco industry documents released through litigation and whistleblowers reveal the most astonishing systematic corporate deceit of all time. Publicly the industry denied and continues to deny that it is clear that smoking causes lung cancer – yet it has understood the carcinogenic nature of its product since the 1950s. It is now clear that the industry’s stance on smoking and health is determined by lawyers and public relations concerns.”

And regrettably that is the same story with so many of the unhealthy products on our market today. And it is finding that link between getting sick and the consumption of these products that takes up much of the resources of groups like ours so that our messaging can reflect information that is based on facts. But that is time consuming and in the interim thousands are falling prey to the glamorously portrayed unhealthy product offerings.

As our Coalition seeks to highlight these issues we get negative feedback from the same audience we are trying to protect. Our motives are questioned and several roadblocks are installed on the journey. But it is worth continuing. The facts are staggering, millions spent annually in our health budget on non-communicable diseases. And more and more young persons presenting themselves with health complications traditionally found in older adults.

Our Coalition presses on confident in the knowledge that we are on the right side of history on this issue and knowing that if we save the life of one human being we have done right. When a Ronaldo comes along and does what he does making our message reverberate in a way we couldn’t possibly imagine it would, we embrace it wholeheartedly and seek out more like him to do the same.

The cause needs champions and every one of us is a champion in our own right. We have persons around us, whether we know or not, agree or disagree, that we influence. They are persons watching our actions and that includes what we eat and drink. We are influencers and we should all acknowledge that. We can influence millions like Ronaldo or we can influence one, in either case let us recognize that and make the right choices in what we choose to eat and drink.

Suleiman Bulbulia is a Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association; Muslim Chaplain at the U.W.I, Cave Hill Campus and Chair, Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Email: suleimanbulbulia@hotmail.com