09/10/2023
What do the to***co business and food business have in common? More than you think actually. I would love for you to go on a journey of discovery with me to find out how deep some of this goes, but let's just stay at a few facts that will help you get a glimpse.
As you may (or may not) have known, smoking was a practice that was promoted by doctors some 100 years ago, with many believing it was a healthy practice. As evidence started emerging clearer and clearer in the middle of last century that there was a link between lung cancer and smoking, the to***co companies couldn't hide the evidence, so a planned and intentional effort was made to create doubt and confusion in the minds of the general public around smoking. Why do that? Because when someone gets confused about the facts, they stop being open to listen to either of the two sides who are presenting their arguments.
Well, that's exactly what to***co companies did, and it worked well because it bought them extra years, until even more research came out making the link practically impossible to deny. As the evidence became clearer, legislation changed and to***co was put into the correct light.
What's all this got to do with food? Well, the techniques used by to***co companies to create doubt and confusion decades ago are being used by food companies which sell unheathy hyperpallatable foods (foods high in fat, sugar, salt and/or simple carbohydrates - basically, a lot of modern junk food, processed food, snacks, etc) in order to delay a shift in legislation to a healthier diet and the outlawing of certain foods.
Hyperpallatable foods should be included in a higher tax band, making them ever more expensive in order to discourage people to eat them. How is this ever going to happen if people continue to believe that certain foods are healthy, when then are not.
This is what happened around sugar, for example. Some decades ago there was already clear evidence that we need to move away from processed sugar. The sugar industry in America fought this, trying to manipulate American government recommendations and successfully doing so for at least 20 years. There was counter science presented, the possible dangers of sugar were downplayed by certain scientists, and so there was enough confusion created to avoid sugar profits falling. As more and more research came out about sugar and the link between sugar and bad health became clearer, recommendations finally started to change too.
Unfortunately, the same techniques that to***co companies used more than half a century ago are now being used by the food industry to create confusion and doubt around certain foods in order for interest groups to maximise their profits. This is happening around foods like meat, a wholefoods plant-based diet, dairy, eggs, sugar, alcohol, processed foods, sweets, sugar sweetened bevarages, and more. The only way you can protect yourself against confusion is by getting more information. You need to read, study, deepen your understanding of the facts so that you can take an informed decision on what health choices you need to take in order to live a long and happy life.
In the comments below I will include a link to a short video that presents some of the evidence for how the sugar business manipulated public policy. Thank you Dr. Michael Greger for the good work you do to keep us well informed.
