Millions Of People Versus Billions Of Dollars: Who Will Win? According To Regulators The Sugar-Coated Answer Is Simple
If you are a regular reader of these pages, you have seen the same stories we have been fascinated with: study after study pointing the way to healthier, happier human species.
Studies showing us just how devastating added sugars and high-fructose corn syrup are, how threatening refined foods are to obesity rates, normal development, and a healthy endocrine system. Studies that lay out in stark detail how children are frequently targeted by “food” manufacturers who laugh all the way to the bank as people are trained from a young age to shun natural, healthy food and pushed instead to consume sugary, processed foods.
And if you’re like us, you may have scratched your head from time to time and thought: when are the Feds or the E.U. going to do something about this? When are policies going to start reflecting all that we know about these issues?
Because the evidence is overwhelming: we are poisoning ourselves to death one mouthful at a time.
Now, a devastating new report called “A Spoonful of Sugar: How the Food Lobby Fights Sugar Regulation in the E.U.” by the research and campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory has come out outlining in harsh detail the truth: manufacturers of these unhealthy foods don’t get regulated because they don’t want to be regulated.
And they get cozy with regulators who let them get away with it.
Despite record numbers of overweight and obese people in the E.U.–some estimates say that over 50 percent of the population of the E.U. falls into one of those categories–despite estimates that obesity costs the U.K. alone £27 billion per year, despite estimates that E.U. member states lose 7 percent of their GDP on average annually to obesity-related costs, still no action is taken to combat what would surely be called an epidemic were it not so profitable.
And it’s no accident. Here’s how they do it:
• Pushing free trade agreements that undermine individual nation’s ability to fight obesity on their own
• Capturing E.U. regulatory agencies through lobbying and getting their own paid stooges appointed to key positions
• Capturing bought and paid for scientific expertise, and paying millions to trumpet the findings of their puppets
• Championing weak, voluntary schemes
• Reaching deep into their pockets to hire aggressive, slick lobbying groups
It is a common story that many of us are familiar with. But take a look at the report for yourselves. It is worth the read, just to know how far the tentacles of these corporations reach, even if it does make your blood boil.
Know thy enemy, they say.
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Sugar-Coated Lies: How The Food Lobby Destroys Health In The EU