In this good read, titled “Lessons from Tobacco Control: Should the Food Industry sit at the health policy table?”, the World Lung Foundation’s Associate Director of Communications and Special Projects, Rebecca Perl, argues that the food industry “needs to demonstrate a serious showing – one that goes beyond their commitment to voluntary guidelines on marketing and reformulating their products – before they are welcomed into the fold that is combating non-communicable diseases.”
Perl goes on to write that “perhaps we should consider the problem and its roots more fully before we consider industry part of the solution.” Well said!
We believe that “sitting at the table” with an industry that has vastly different goals from that of our professional organization (the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) only results in the food industry getting free positive publicity from associating itself with a health-oriented organization.
The Academy’s close ties with the food industry have only held it hostage to toothless public health messaging and diminished its credibility in the eyes of other health professionals and the general public.
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