Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
US Right to Know, Oakland, California, USA.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018 Sep;72(9):761-763. doi: 10.1136/jech-2017-210375. Epub 2018 Mar 14.
Critics have long accused food and beverage companies of trying to exonerate their products from blame for obesity by funding organisations that highlight alternative causes. Yet, conclusions about the intentions of food and beverage companies in funding scientific organisations have been prevented by limited access to industry's internal documents. Here we allow the words of Coca-Cola employees to speak about how the corporation intended to advance its interests by funding the Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN). The documents reveal that Coca-Cola funded and supported the GEBN because it would serve as a 'weapon' to 'change the conversation' about obesity amidst a 'growing war between the public health community and private industry'. Despite its close links to the Coca-Cola company, the GEBN was to be portrayed as an 'honest broker' in this 'war'. The GEBN's message was to be promoted via an extensive advocacy campaign linking researchers, policy-makers, health professionals, journalists and the general public. Ultimately, these activities were intended to advance Coca-Cola's corporate interests: as they note, their purpose was to 'promote practices that are effective in terms of both policy and profit'. Coca-Cola's proposal for establishing the GEBN corroborates concerns about food and beverage corporations' involvement in scientific organisations and their similarities with Big Tobacco.
长期以来，批评者一直指责食品和饮料公司通过资助强调其他原因的组织，试图为其产品的肥胖责任开脱。然而，由于获取行业内部文件的机会有限，人们对食品和饮料公司资助科学组织的意图的结论一直受到阻碍。在这里，我们允许可口可乐员工的话来讲述该公司如何通过资助全球能量平衡网络（GEBN）来推进其利益。文件显示，可口可乐资助和支持 GEBN，是因为它将成为一种“武器”，在“公共卫生界和私营企业之间日益激烈的战争”中“改变肥胖问题的讨论”。尽管与可口可乐公司关系密切，但 GEBN 将被描绘为这场“战争”中的“诚实中间人”。GEBN 的信息将通过一项广泛的宣传活动来传播，该活动将研究人员、政策制定者、健康专业人员、记者和公众联系起来。最终，这些活动旨在推进可口可乐的公司利益：正如他们所指出的，他们的目的是“推广在政策和利润方面都有效的做法”。可口可乐提出建立 GEBN 的提议证实了人们对食品和饮料公司参与科学组织以及它们与大型烟草公司相似的担忧。
