0:00:00.640,0:00:02.096
Twenty years ago,

0:00:02.120,0:00:05.056
when I was a barrister[br]and human rights lawyer

0:00:05.080,0:00:08.055
in full-time legal practice in London,

0:00:08.080,0:00:10.256
and the highest court in the land

0:00:10.280,0:00:14.696
still convened, some would say[br]by an accident of history,

0:00:14.720,0:00:16.040
in this building here,

0:00:16.840,0:00:19.896
I met a young man[br]who had just quit his job

0:00:19.920,0:00:21.349
in the British Foreign Office.

0:00:21.920,0:00:24.216
When I asked him, "Why did you leave,"

0:00:24.240,0:00:25.440
he told me this story.

0:00:26.520,0:00:29.216
He had gone to his boss[br]one morning and said,

0:00:29.240,0:00:33.360
"Let's do something[br]about human rights abuses in China."

0:00:34.200,0:00:36.176
And his boss had replied,

0:00:36.200,0:00:38.896
"We can't do anything[br]about human rights abuses in China

0:00:38.920,0:00:41.520
because we have[br]trade relations with China."

0:00:42.680,0:00:45.256
So my friend went away[br]with his tail between his legs,

0:00:45.280,0:00:48.440
and six months later,[br]he returned again to his boss,

0:00:49.240,0:00:50.856
and he said this time,

0:00:50.880,0:00:54.376
"Let's do something[br]about human rights in Burma,"

0:00:54.400,0:00:55.600
as it was then called.

0:00:56.400,0:00:58.536
His boss once again paused

0:00:58.560,0:01:02.576
and said, "Oh, but we can't[br]do anything about human rights in Burma

0:01:02.600,0:01:06.256
because we don't have[br]any trade relations with Burma."

0:01:06.280,0:01:07.936
(Laughter)

0:01:07.960,0:01:10.056
This was the moment[br]he knew he had to leave.

0:01:10.080,0:01:12.440
It wasn't just the hypocrisy[br]that got to him.

0:01:13.160,0:01:16.416
It was the unwillingness of his government

0:01:16.440,0:01:19.056
to engage in conflict[br]with other governments,

0:01:19.080,0:01:20.856
in tense discussions,

0:01:20.880,0:01:24.680
all the while, innocent people[br]were being harmed.

0:01:25.600,0:01:28.136
We are constantly told

0:01:28.160,0:01:30.240
that conflict is bad

0:01:30.920,0:01:32.960
that compromise is good;

0:01:33.640,0:01:35.296
that conflict is bad

0:01:35.320,0:01:37.440
but consensus is good;

0:01:38.120,0:01:40.336
that conflict is bad

0:01:40.360,0:01:42.920
and collaboration is good.

0:01:44.040,0:01:45.336
But in my view,

0:01:45.360,0:01:47.736
that's far too simple[br]a vision of the world.

0:01:47.760,0:01:49.656
We cannot know

0:01:49.680,0:01:51.736
whether conflict is bad

0:01:51.760,0:01:54.576
unless we know who is fighting,

0:01:54.600,0:01:56.736
why they are fighting

0:01:56.760,0:01:58.616
and how they are fighting.

0:01:58.640,0:02:02.096
And compromises can be thoroughly rotten

0:02:02.120,0:02:04.800
if they harm people[br]who are not at the table,

0:02:05.600,0:02:08.015
people who are vulnerable, disempowered,

0:02:08.039,0:02:11.320
people whom we have[br]an obligation to protect.

0:02:12.480,0:02:15.536
Now, you might be[br]somewhat skeptical of a lawyer

0:02:15.560,0:02:18.736
arguing about the benefits of conflict

0:02:18.760,0:02:21.376
and creating problems for compromise,

0:02:21.400,0:02:23.216
but I did also qualify as a mediator,

0:02:23.240,0:02:26.520
and these days, I spend my time[br]giving talks about ethics for free.

0:02:27.160,0:02:30.240
So as my bank manager likes to remind me,[br]I'm downwardly mobile.

0:02:32.280,0:02:35.296
But if you accept my argument,

0:02:35.320,0:02:38.496
it should change not just the way[br]we lead our personal lives,

0:02:38.520,0:02:40.840
which I wish to put[br]to one side for the moment,

0:02:41.600,0:02:45.376
but it will change the way[br]we think about major problems

0:02:45.400,0:02:48.160
of public health and the environment.

0:02:49.440,0:02:50.640
Let me explain.

0:02:52.360,0:02:54.736
Every middle schooler[br]in the United States,

0:02:54.760,0:02:57.416
my 12-year-old daughter included,

0:02:57.440,0:03:01.296
learns that there are[br]three branches of government,

0:03:01.320,0:03:05.160
the legislative, the executive[br]and the judicial branch.

0:03:05.840,0:03:07.256
James Madison wrote,

0:03:07.280,0:03:12.296
"If there is any principle[br]more sacred in our Constitution,

0:03:12.320,0:03:15.056
and indeed in any free constitution,

0:03:15.080,0:03:16.576
than any other,

0:03:16.600,0:03:19.096
it is that which separates

0:03:19.120,0:03:23.240
the legislative, the executive[br]and the judicial powers."

0:03:24.080,0:03:27.336
Now, the framers were not just concerned

0:03:27.360,0:03:31.456
about the concentration[br]and exercise of power.

0:03:31.480,0:03:35.480
They also understood[br]the perils of influence.

0:03:36.440,0:03:41.536
Judges cannot determine[br]the constitutionality of laws

0:03:41.560,0:03:45.336
if they participate in making those laws,

0:03:45.360,0:03:49.296
nor can they hold the other branches[br]of government accountable

0:03:49.320,0:03:51.256
if they collaborate with them

0:03:51.280,0:03:54.440
or enter into close[br]relationships with them.

0:03:55.480,0:03:59.376
The Constitution is,[br]as one famous scholar put it,

0:03:59.400,0:04:01.640
"an invitation to struggle."

0:04:02.240,0:04:05.016
And we the people are served

0:04:05.040,0:04:09.440
when those branches do, indeed,[br]struggle with each other.

0:04:11.280,0:04:14.856
Now, we recognize[br]the importance of struggle

0:04:14.880,0:04:17.776
not just in the public sector

0:04:17.800,0:04:20.176
between our branches of government.

0:04:20.200,0:04:23.536
We also know it too in the private sector,

0:04:23.560,0:04:26.160
in relationships among corporations.

0:04:27.360,0:04:32.376
Let's imagine that two American airlines[br]get together and agree

0:04:32.400,0:04:34.576
that they will not drop the price

0:04:34.600,0:04:38.960
of their economy class airfares[br]below 250 dollars a ticket.

0:04:39.600,0:04:43.456
That is collaboration,[br]some would say collusion,

0:04:43.480,0:04:44.816
not competition,

0:04:44.840,0:04:47.656
and we the people are harmed

0:04:47.680,0:04:49.520
because we pay more for our tickets.

0:04:50.840,0:04:53.096
Imagine similarly[br]two airlines were to say,

0:04:53.120,0:04:58.136
"Look, Airline A, we'll take[br]the route from LA to Chicago,"

0:04:58.160,0:05:01.336
and Airline B says, "We'll take[br]the route from Chicago to DC,

0:05:01.360,0:05:02.816
and we won't compete."

0:05:02.840,0:05:07.456
Once again, that's collaboration[br]or collusion instead of competition,

0:05:07.480,0:05:10.200
and we the people are harmed.

0:05:11.880,0:05:17.336
So we understand[br]the importance of struggle

0:05:17.360,0:05:21.600
when it comes to relationships[br]between branches of government,

0:05:23.080,0:05:24.776
the public sector.

0:05:24.800,0:05:28.216
We also understand[br]the importance of conflict

0:05:28.240,0:05:32.576
when it comes to relationships[br]among corporations,

0:05:32.600,0:05:34.256
the private sector.

0:05:34.280,0:05:36.856
But where we have forgotten it

0:05:36.880,0:05:41.296
is in the relationships[br]between the public and the private.

0:05:41.320,0:05:45.016
And governments all over the world[br]are collaborating with industry

0:05:45.040,0:05:48.816
to solve problems of public health[br]and the environment,

0:05:48.840,0:05:51.816
often collaborating[br]with the very corporations

0:05:51.840,0:05:57.680
that are creating or exacerbating[br]the problems they are trying to solve.

0:05:59.080,0:06:02.656
We are told that these relationships

0:06:02.680,0:06:04.360
are a win-win.

0:06:05.360,0:06:08.520
But what if someone is losing out?

0:06:10.280,0:06:12.600
Let me give you some examples.

0:06:13.840,0:06:17.336
A United Nations agency[br]decided to address a serious problem:

0:06:17.360,0:06:20.960
poor sanitation in schools in rural India.

0:06:22.200,0:06:26.256
They did so not just in collaboration[br]with national and local governments

0:06:26.280,0:06:28.776
but also with a television company

0:06:28.800,0:06:32.640
and with a major[br]multinational soda company.

0:06:33.640,0:06:36.776
In exchange for less[br]than one million dollars,

0:06:36.800,0:06:41.176
that corporation received the benefits[br]of a months-long promotional campaign

0:06:41.200,0:06:43.376
including a 12-hour telethon

0:06:43.400,0:06:46.600
all using the company's logo[br]and color scheme.

0:06:48.040,0:06:49.560
This was an arrangement

0:06:50.160,0:06:53.016
which was totally understandable

0:06:53.040,0:06:54.976
from the corporation's point of view.

0:06:55.000,0:06:57.536
It enhances the reputation of the company

0:06:57.560,0:07:00.080
and it creates brand loyalty[br]for its products.

0:07:01.360,0:07:02.976
But in my view,

0:07:03.000,0:07:06.696
this is profoundly problematic[br]for the intergovernmental agency,

0:07:06.720,0:07:10.880
an agency that has a mission[br]to promote sustainable living.

0:07:11.880,0:07:15.016
By increasing consumption[br]of sugar-sweetened beverages

0:07:15.040,0:07:19.336
made from scarce local water supplies[br]and drunk out of plastic bottles

0:07:19.360,0:07:22.376
in a country that is already[br]grappling with obesity,

0:07:22.400,0:07:25.816
this is neither sustainable[br]from a public health

0:07:25.840,0:07:28.736
nor an environmental point of view.

0:07:28.760,0:07:32.096
And in order to solve[br]one public health problem,

0:07:32.120,0:07:34.416
the agency is sowing the seeds

0:07:34.440,0:07:35.640
of another.

0:07:37.480,0:07:41.776
This is just one example[br]of dozens I discovered

0:07:41.800,0:07:46.896
in researching a book on the relationships[br]between government and industry.

0:07:46.920,0:07:50.696
I could also have told you[br]about the initiatives in parks

0:07:50.720,0:07:52.336
in London and throughout Britain,

0:07:52.360,0:07:54.760
involving the same company,[br]promoting exercise,

0:07:55.560,0:08:00.416
or indeed of the British government[br]creating voluntary pledges

0:08:00.440,0:08:02.616
in partnership with industry

0:08:02.640,0:08:05.376
instead of regulating industry.

0:08:05.400,0:08:11.056
These collaborations or partnerships[br]have become the paradigm in public health,

0:08:11.080,0:08:15.136
and once again, they make sense[br]from the point of view of industry.

0:08:15.160,0:08:18.776
It allows them to frame[br]public health problems and their solutions

0:08:18.800,0:08:20.936
in ways that are least threatening to,

0:08:20.960,0:08:23.816
most consonant with[br]their commercial interests.

0:08:23.840,0:08:26.416
So obesity becomes a problem

0:08:26.440,0:08:30.696
of individual decision-making,

0:08:30.720,0:08:32.775
of personal behavior,

0:08:32.799,0:08:35.976
personal responsibility[br]and lack of physical activity.

0:08:36.000,0:08:38.096
It is not a problem,

0:08:38.120,0:08:39.535
when framed this way,

0:08:39.559,0:08:43.176
of a multinational food system[br]involving major corporations.

0:08:43.200,0:08:44.856
And again, I don't blame industry.

0:08:44.880,0:08:48.296
Industry naturally engages[br]in strategies of influence

0:08:48.320,0:08:50.800
to promote its commercial interests.

0:08:51.560,0:08:54.816
But governments have a responsibility

0:08:54.840,0:08:56.896
to develop counterstrategies

0:08:56.920,0:08:58.736
to protect us

0:08:58.760,0:09:01.440
and the common good.

0:09:02.160,0:09:05.720
The mistake that governments are making

0:09:06.480,0:09:09.056
when they collaborate in this way

0:09:09.080,0:09:10.416
with industry

0:09:10.440,0:09:13.016
is that they conflate

0:09:13.040,0:09:14.856
the common good

0:09:14.880,0:09:16.080
with common ground.

0:09:17.080,0:09:19.856
When you collaborate with industry,

0:09:19.880,0:09:22.696
you necessarily put off the table

0:09:22.720,0:09:26.296
things that might promote the common good[br]to which industry will not agree.

0:09:26.320,0:09:29.096
Industry will not agree[br]to increased regulation

0:09:29.120,0:09:33.296
unless it believes this will[br]stave off even more regulation

0:09:33.320,0:09:36.560
or perhaps knock some competitors[br]out of the market.

0:09:37.960,0:09:40.256
Nor can companies agree[br]to do certain things,

0:09:40.280,0:09:43.256
for example raise the prices[br]of their unhealthy products,

0:09:43.280,0:09:45.416
because that would violate[br]competition law,

0:09:45.440,0:09:46.640
as we've established.

0:09:48.560,0:09:51.776
So our governments should not confound

0:09:51.800,0:09:54.256
the common good and common ground,

0:09:54.280,0:09:59.520
especially when common ground[br]means reaching agreement with industry.

0:10:00.520,0:10:02.216
I want to give you another example,

0:10:02.240,0:10:04.376
moving from high-profile collaboration

0:10:04.400,0:10:06.896
to something that is below ground

0:10:06.920,0:10:10.176
both literally and figuratively:

0:10:10.200,0:10:12.800
the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas.

0:10:13.320,0:10:17.016
Imagine that you purchase a plot of land

0:10:17.040,0:10:19.256
not knowing the mineral rights[br]have been sold.

0:10:19.280,0:10:21.080
This is before the fracking boom.

0:10:22.360,0:10:25.376
You build your dream home on that plot,

0:10:25.400,0:10:27.016
and shortly afterwards,

0:10:27.040,0:10:32.440
you discover that a gas company[br]is building a well pad on your land.

0:10:33.040,0:10:36.440
That was the plight[br]of the Hallowich family.

0:10:37.200,0:10:40.016
Within a very short period of time,

0:10:40.040,0:10:43.256
they began to complain of headaches,

0:10:43.280,0:10:46.496
of sore throats, of itchy eyes,

0:10:46.520,0:10:49.336
in addition to the interference[br]of the noise, vibration

0:10:49.360,0:10:52.496
and the bright lights[br]from the flaring of natural gas.

0:10:52.520,0:10:54.840
They were very vocal in their criticisms,

0:10:55.960,0:10:57.320
and then they fell silent.

0:10:58.400,0:11:01.656
And thanks to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[br]where this image appeared,

0:11:01.680,0:11:04.536
and one other newspaper,[br]we discovered why they fell silent.

0:11:04.560,0:11:08.256
The newspapers went to the court and said,[br]"What happened to the Hallowiches?"

0:11:08.280,0:11:11.656
And it turned out the Hallowiches[br]had made a secret settlement

0:11:11.680,0:11:15.576
with the gas operators, and it was[br]a take-it-or-leave-it settlement.

0:11:15.600,0:11:16.856
The gas company said,

0:11:16.880,0:11:19.296
you can have a six-figure sum

0:11:19.320,0:11:21.456
to move elsewhere[br]and start your lives again,

0:11:21.480,0:11:22.696
but in return

0:11:22.720,0:11:26.576
you must promise not to speak[br]of your experience with our company,

0:11:26.600,0:11:29.176
not to speak of your[br]experience with fracking,

0:11:29.200,0:11:32.920
not to speak about the health consequences

0:11:33.680,0:11:36.600
that might have been revealed[br]by a medical examination.

0:11:37.720,0:11:40.536
Now, I do not blame[br]the Hallowiches for accepting

0:11:40.560,0:11:43.376
a take-it-or-leave-it settlement

0:11:43.400,0:11:45.616
and starting their lives elsewhere.

0:11:45.640,0:11:46.856
And one can understand

0:11:46.880,0:11:49.856
why the company would wish[br]to silence a squeaky wheel.

0:11:49.880,0:11:53.656
What I want to point the finger at[br]is the legal and regulatory system,

0:11:53.680,0:11:56.136
a system in which there are[br]networks of agreements

0:11:56.160,0:11:58.056
just like this one

0:11:58.080,0:12:01.640
which serve to silence people[br]and seal off data points

0:12:02.560,0:12:05.216
from public health experts[br]and epidemiologists,

0:12:05.240,0:12:06.856
a system in which regulators

0:12:06.880,0:12:10.016
will even refrain[br]from issuing a violation notice

0:12:10.040,0:12:11.416
in the event of pollution

0:12:11.440,0:12:13.576
if the landowner and the gas company

0:12:13.600,0:12:15.176
agree to settle.

0:12:15.200,0:12:19.136
This is a system which isn't just[br]bad from a public health point of view;

0:12:19.160,0:12:22.456
it exposes hazards to local families

0:12:22.480,0:12:24.680
who remain in the dark.

0:12:27.200,0:12:31.696
Now, I have given you two examples[br]not because they are isolated examples.

0:12:31.720,0:12:34.216
They are examples of a systemic problem.

0:12:34.240,0:12:36.616
I could share some counterexamples,

0:12:36.640,0:12:39.616
the case for example[br]of the public official

0:12:39.640,0:12:42.736
who sues the pharmaceutical company

0:12:42.760,0:12:44.376
for concealing the fact

0:12:44.400,0:12:50.976
that its antidepressant increases[br]suicidal thoughts in adolescents.

0:12:51.000,0:12:54.896
I can tell you about the regulator[br]who went after the food company

0:12:54.920,0:12:58.656
for exaggerating the purported[br]health benefits of its yogurt.

0:12:58.680,0:13:02.136
And I can tell you about the legislator

0:13:02.160,0:13:06.456
who despite heavy lobbying[br]directed at both sides of the aisle

0:13:06.480,0:13:10.400
pushes for environmental protections.

0:13:11.160,0:13:12.896
These are isolated examples,

0:13:12.920,0:13:17.096
but they are beacons of light[br]in the darkness,

0:13:17.120,0:13:20.800
and they can show us the way.

0:13:22.000,0:13:26.280
I began by suggesting that sometimes[br]we need to engage in conflict.

0:13:27.480,0:13:31.016
Governments should tussle with,

0:13:31.040,0:13:36.840
struggle with, at times engage[br]in direct conflict with corporations.

0:13:37.960,0:13:42.216
This is not because governments[br]are inherently good

0:13:42.240,0:13:44.496
and corporations are inherently evil.

0:13:44.520,0:13:48.520
Each is capable of good or ill.

0:13:49.440,0:13:54.160
But corporations understandably[br]act to promote their commercial interests,

0:13:55.080,0:14:01.136
and they do so either sometimes[br]undermining or promoting the common good.

0:14:01.160,0:14:05.136
But it is the responsibility[br]of governments

0:14:05.160,0:14:08.376
to protect and promote the common good.

0:14:08.400,0:14:11.096
And we should insist

0:14:11.120,0:14:13.520
that they fight to do so.

0:14:14.800,0:14:17.296
This is because governments

0:14:17.320,0:14:18.720
are the guardians

0:14:19.600,0:14:20.800
of public health;

0:14:21.920,0:14:24.656
governments are the guardians

0:14:24.680,0:14:26.536
of the environment;

0:14:26.560,0:14:28.376
and it is governments

0:14:28.400,0:14:29.696
that are guardians

0:14:29.720,0:14:35.080
of these essential parts[br]of our common good.

0:14:35.680,0:14:36.896
Thank you.

0:14:36.920,0:14:43.148
(Applause)