Follow the Money!

More than 50% of UK and USA diets consist of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs). These items are produced by big food manufacturers including Coca-cola, General Mills, Mondelez, Nestle, Pepsicola and Unilever. UPFs share the characteristic of being subject to lots mechanical and chemical procedures. There's ample evidence that UPFs are strongly linked to a variety of health conditions. An 'expert panel' was set up with the avowed aim of evaluating the claim that UPFs have been unfairly 'demonised'. The panel concluded that UPFs are nutritionally just as healthy as fresh foods. The panel's conclusions generated lots of positive headlines for the 'big food' manufacturers. It's now been revealed, however, that 3 out of 5 'scientists' on the panel, have financial ties to the world's largest manufacturers of UPFs. Some had senior positions in certain companies and others had received 'research funding' from them (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/28/scientists-on-panel-defending-ultra-processed-foods-linked-to-food-firms). These scientists might well have had a vested interest in giving UPFs a clean bill of health. Any financial links should be high-lighted in media treatment. Otherwise, it's akin to 'greenwashing'. This currently doesn't look at all good. Another nail in the coffin of the public's belief in science?