As if the overwhelming influence of BIG PHARMA on physicians in this country wasn’t bad enough, it seems a certain medical association has gone to bed with the worlds biggest soft drink company. It’s enough to make one sick.
It certainly made a few doctors angry, twenty in all, so much so they resigned from the American Academy of Family Physicians. Good for them! We would like to hear more from these doctors who obviously understand that soft drinks and medicine are opposites. Medicine, for all its problems, seeks to heal; soft drinks impart ill health, plain and simple.
In their resignation, the doctors sent a letter. You may read it here. In part, the letter states “As you undoubtedly know, Coca-Cola is the country’s and the world’s largest producer of the only food or beverage that has been demonstrated to promote overweight and obesity. Because of the kinds of products it markets, Coca-Cola Co. is desperate to burnish its soiled reputation…”
A news story on the resignations states: “The mass resignation was sparked by the AAFP’s decision to accept a “six-figure sum” from the beverage giant three weeks ago, which the organization said would help fund nutritional education content on its website.” Who, in their right mind, believes a soft drink company is interested in promoting nutrition? Absurd. The whole story is here.
And what does Coca Cola get in return? One blogger suggests the answer is credibility and trust by association. His blog is well worth a visit.
And here is the site for which Coca Cola is to provide the funding for educational materials: FamilyDoctor.org
It would be a welcome change if medicine took a greater interest in studying and promoting nutrition. But a cursory glance at medical journals and the pharmaceutical advertising that pervades these journals shows where the truth lay: a drug to solve every issue. But Coca Cola to the rescue as they fund nutrition information on AAFP’s site. Right. Sigh.
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