I suppose we shouldn't be surprised but nevertheless I was shocked to read this story on BBC news about how the American Sugar Association, made up of such dietary luminaries such as Coca-Cola & Pepsi-Cola, is threatening to lobby Congress on withdrawing funding from the World Health Organisation.
And why would they do such a thing? Well it's all about a WHO report which states that the maximum amount of the energy intake in a healthy diet should be made up of no more than 10% sugar. The ASA doesn't like that of course because they're all about making people eat more sugar. They're claiming that there's evidence to suggest that sugar can make up to 25% of the diet!
Responding to a draft of the WHO report last month, the Sugar Association said there was 'a preponderance of recent scientific evidence' exonerating sugar as a cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hyperactivity and tooth decay.
Astounding! You'd think after tobacco that big business would just wise up to the fact that they need to stop lying to people and selling them health problems in the making just to make a profit. Apparently not. Again this is another example of the entire bent American so-call democracy big business can set up a powerful lobby groups to promote something in flagrant contradiction with what is clearly best for their society as a whole.
You've got to wonder why all the American drug dealers don't just finance a lobby group to get crack cocaine legalised.
Tuesday 22 April 2003
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Well, this is actually a very good example of the problem. Drugs have been illegal for ages - tobacco, alcohol and sugar have been part of American (and Western) culture for ages... they're so deeply rooted in society that trying to regulate them now is incredibly difficult. Likewise with the ubiquitous nature of oil derived products as fuels and the minimal amount of air pollution legislation in the states.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I was just reading earlier how Gerber (baby foods) used their influence with the WTO in 1995 to force the Guatemalan government to overturn a law which promoted mothers breast-feeding infants by using techniques similar to British Laws governing tobacco product labelling in order to sell more of its' baby formula.
ReplyDeleteAstoundingly unethical.