âThere is no evidence linking sugar to chronic disease.â
Thatâs what Cristin Kearns, a professor of dentistry at UCSF, was told when she challenged a keynote speaker at a medical conference who claimed that Lipton Brisk sweet teaâwhich contains 55 grams of sugarâwas a âhealthy drink.â
Would you agree with that statement?
Kearns didn't either and it inspired her to start a journey that is still in progress today.
Through her UCSF Food Industry Documents Archive, she has revealed a consistent pattern of deception, bribery, and manipulation by Big Food. For example, the sugar industry has:
- Sponsored studies designed to cast doubt on the growing body of evidence linking excess sugar consumption to chronic disease
- Attempted to suppress findings that link sugar to cardiovascular disease
- Paid experts to influence public opinion by denying the link between sugar and disease
If these tactics seem familiar, itâs because theyâre straight out of the Big Tobacco playbook.
As reported by Civil Eats, Kearns has found direct links between the tobacco and food industries, including a âsystematic transfer of people, knowledge, information, and technology from tobacco to the sugar and beverage companies.â
In 2018, weâd never consider allowing the tobacco industry to influence public policy. Yet Big Food still has a seat at the table.
The increase in consumption of highly processed and refined foods is one of the primary drivers of the obesity epidemic, which in turn has contributed to the alarming increase in chronic disease.
If we want to reverse these epidemics, we need to stand up to Big Food and reduce their influenceâjust as we did with Big Tobacco many years ago.
Awareness is always the first step. You can help by spreading the word and defending the truth.
