You probably don't need more reasons to adjust your position relative to the corporate state, but just in case:
“Deny, denounce, delay”: The battle over the risk of ultra-processed foods
May 2024, Ars Technica but Financial Times
When the Brazilian nutritional scientist Carlos Monteiro coined the term “ultra-processed foods” 15 years ago, he established what he calls a “new paradigm” for assessing the impact of diet on health.Monteiro had noticed that although Brazilian households were spending less on sugar and oil, obesity rates were going up. The paradox could be explained by increased consumption of food that had undergone high levels of processing, such as the addition of preservatives and flavorings or the removal or addition of nutrients.But health authorities and food companies resisted the link, ...In 2019, American metabolic scientist Kevin Hall carried out a randomized study comparing people who ate an unprocessed diet with those who followed a UPF diet over two weeks. Hall found that the subjects who ate the ultra-processed diet consumed around 500 more calories per day, more fat and carbohydrates, less protein—and gained weight.The industry has responded with a ferocious campaign...The industry has also successfully framed the issue as one of personal choice. ... Manufacturers also argue that the harm caused by their products is a result of a lack of personal willpower or failure to exercise ...
In summary, all that needs to be said:
Innovations in processing over the 20th century not only made food more affordable and accessible, the industry’s advocates note, but also created beneficial products like sugar-free sweeteners and protein-enriched milk. [aka sugar-free sugar and milk-added milk]
Above image credit: Fruit fly Drosophila brain vasculature - Nikky Corthout and Miranda Dyson for Nikon Small World - 2024 [link]
Vegetarians consume more ultra-processed food than those who regularly eat meat, study finds
Nov 2024, phys.org
This paragraph in itself is just really funny:
Such ultra-processed foods have been found to contain a host of added, sometimes unhealthy, compounds and chemicals to enhance taste, improve texture, help with freshness, or simply make them look more appetizing. Meat, on the other hand, tends to undergo less processing because it looks and tastes good in its natural state.
via Imperial College London, University of São Paulo, and International Agency for Research on Cancer of France: Kiara Chang et al, Plant-based dietary patterns and ultra-processed food consumption: a cross-sectional analysis of the UK Biobank, eClinicalMedicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102931
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| 130,000 brain cells and 50 million connections of a fly - Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge - Oct 2024 [link] It's the most detailed analysis of the brain of an adult animal ever produced. |
Opioid giant's tactics to influence doctors revealed in court documents
Jun 2024, phys.org
Opioid giant Mallinckrodt, selling more than Purdue Pharma in the US, was forced by the courts to publish more than 1.3 million internal documents.
- recruiting physicians to serve as influencers
- planting articles in scientific journals
- coordinating conference presentations
- developing continuing medical education courses
"Creating the term pseudoaddiction and distorting the terms tolerance and dependence were strategies that distracted physicians from noticing their patients were addicted."
Mallinckrodt continues to sell opioids today, with sales up 25% from the year before.
via Department of Philosophy at Queen’s University in Canada, and Institute for Science in Society at Radboud University: How an opioid giant deployed a playbook for moulding doctors' minds, The BMJ (2024). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q1208
New research reveals that a tobacco company has secretly funded Japanese academics
Jun 2024, phys.org
Every major industry does this:
Philip Morris International (PMI) and its Japanese affiliate, Philip Morris Japan contracted a third-party external research organization to secretly fund a study on smoking cessation conducted by Kyoto University academics (no public record of PMJ's funding or involvement in this study was found), and paid a life sciences consultancy to network with scientists and promote PMI's science and products at academic events (also kept secret both within and outside the company).
PMI has a track record of scientific misconduct and misinformation:
- The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) claims to be independent, but TCRG research has found that it is solely funded by PMI and published by PMI-favorable research.
- Journalist investigations and academic reviews of PMI's science have raised serious concerns over the quality and ethical standing of PMI's clinical research.
- In 2022, a review by TCRG found PMI's clinical trials on its heated tobacco products were at high risk of bias and poor quality.
- A 2020 TCRG report on PMI detailed the company's "relentless lobbying, PR campaigns and multifaceted approaches to influencing science and public health in order to manage the future direction of tobacco control."
Note: The researchers used the Science for Profit Model—How and why corporations influence science and the use of science in policy and practice, Tess Legg, Jenny Hatchard, Anna B. Gilmore, 2021, PLOS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253272
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| Cerebral Organoids - Institute of Industrial Science at University of Tokyo - Apr 2024 [link] |
Bonus:
Clinical trial shows that plant-based cytisinicline can help people quit vaping
May 2024, phys.org
Is this a merry-go-rund or more like musical chairs?
They're a plant-based oral tablet; AKA a pill.
So first you get addicted to cigarettes, then you vape to quit cigarettes, and then you take these pills to quit vaping, and then you ...
via Massachusetts General Hospital: Rigotti Na et al, Clinical trial shows that cytisinicline can help people quit vaping, JAMA Internal Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.1313
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