Behind the Ring-pull: Understanding industry influence on what we know about health and nutrition
Recently well-publicised research and investigative reporting have upended many long-held nutritional beliefs. We now know that the wisdom that 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' was funded by the cereal industry. Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that beverage companies have been working to thwart regulation of artificial sweeteners. Industry sponsorship of public health and nutrition research is therefore receiving more scrutiny.
In this talk for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Professor David Stuckler and Dr Sarah Steele explore the levels of influence industry exercises over what we know. They work through their recent study that considered over 100,000 pages of emails between academics at public institutions, food and beverage executives and policy makers, revealing the network of influence that controls what the public comes to know about our food and drink.
David Stuckler is a Professor of Policy Analysis and Public Management at Bocconi University in Milan and an Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge. Before, he has been a Professor of Political Economy and Sociology and a Senior Research Leader at Oxford University. He has published over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific articles in major journals on the subjects of economics and global health, and his work has featured on the cover of The New York Times and The Economist, as well as on BBC, NPR, and CNN, among others. He has written the books “The Body Economic” and “Sick Societies”.
Sarah Steele is the Deputy Director of the Intellectual Forum, and a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. Sarah’s research sits at the interface of Law, Criminology, International Relations and Politics, Sociology, and Global Health. Her works has featured on the BBC, CNBC, the ABC (Australia), the HuffPost, IFLScience, Le Monde, and Times Higher Education, amongst other outlets.
Tickets for members of the general public are available here.
