Ethical members of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) may want to review their membership or challenge the organization’s judgement after learning that prominent health experts have written to the association urging it to return a grant from Coca-Cola that is to pay for education about the dietary role of beverages and sweeteners. One has to wonder about the thinking that informs a decision to accept funds from such a source. Are American family physicians really so greedy or are they just plain stupid? Perhaps they are both.
Coca-Cola is reported to have granted the AAFP a “six-figure payment” two weeks ago, which the organization said would help fund nutritional education content on its website. Specifically, it would allow the AAFP ”to educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle”. Can you believe that?
Executive vice president of the AAFP Douglas Henley said in a statement that: “Our alliance with The Coca-Cola Company gives the AAFP the opportunity to provide consumers with fact-based information on beverages and how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle via our website FamilyDoctor.org. The AAFP and The Coca-Cola Company share a commitment to inform consumers, as well as medical professionals, about best practices for good health. And we will move forward with this commitment together by providing educational materials on sweeteners and how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle while still enjoying many of the foods and beverages consumers love.” Such a statement reflects breathtaking arrogance and a very dim view of both consumers and medical professionals. Naivety is no defence as there can be no excuse for the level of ignorance portrayed if Henley were to claim that he didn’t realize there could be a conflict of interest.
The choice of a partnership with the Coca-Cola Company, in particular, has caused concern. Academics and nutritionists who are worried that the AAFP could lose its independence and integrity have written to the association urging it to return the grant. A copy of the letter may be accessed here. The health and nutrition experts wrote: “Because of the kinds of products it markets, Coca-Cola Co. is desperate to burnish its soiled reputation…which is why it is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a relationship with your organization.”
It appears that “Big Food” (which includes what we may think of as Big Beverages) is simply copying Big Pharma. We should not be surprised. The medical profession has a long track record of being easily corrupted into the role of promoting, pushing and pedaling things that will undermine health. After all, it supports their very survival. Cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and now Coca-Cola. And Americans are complaining about the prospect of universal health care on the grounds that they want to make their own health choices. The typical American doesn’t know what health is! With American family physicians promoting Coca-Cola, who can wonder?
Tags: Big Food, medical bias, medical ethics