The documents described in a report published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Public Health Nutrition include thousands of pages of the Academy’s financial records, tax returns, and internal emails. They estimated that between 2011 and 2017, the organization received more than $4 million from food companies and industry groups, including the world’s largest producers of soda, sugar, candy, and ultra-processed foods such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. of donations collected. , Nestle, Hershey, Kellogg’s, Conagra.
The Academy not only received sponsorship money from major food companies, but also invested in food industry stocks. For example, documents show that in 2015 and 2016 the Academy held more than his $1 million stake in PepsiCo, Nestle and JM Smucker.
The documents were acquired by the US Right to Know, an investigative group that has long been at odds with big food companies but had its own controversy. U.S. Right to Know revealed on their website that they are funded by the Organic Consumers Association, which has ties to the anti-vaccine movement. said to be investigating.
The Academy has long been criticized for partnering with processed food companies, but the full extent of its financial ties to the food industry has not been made public.
In a statement, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said the new report was inaccurate and misleading, and issued a stringent “prohibition of outside influence” to corporate sponsors and supporters. He said there are guidelines and principles.
“The Academy’s programs, leadership, decisions, policies and positions are not influenced by our sponsors,” the statement said. “The Academy’s procedures and formal agreements with outside organizations are designed to prevent undue corporate influence.”
The Academy said less than 9% of its funding came from sponsors, and less than 3% of it and its foundation’s investments were in food companies. I said yes.
Academy is a powerful force in nutrition. It boasts 112,000 qualified medical practitioners, including tens of thousands of registered dietitians and other nutrition professionals. Academy members lobby Congress on health issues and regularly participate in advisory committees that shape federal dietary guidelines for Americans.
The Academy has faced criticism over the years for its relationship with a major food company, but it is a private organization whose confidential financial records are protected from public scrutiny. It came to light after former principal Donna Martin, who worked for a public school district in Georgia, used school emails for school-related matters, putting those communications into the public domain.
US Right to Know says it spent five years obtaining more than 50,000 pages of documents, primarily through Freedom of Information Act requests.
These disclosures offer a glimpse of how the food industry has maintained close relationships with organizations and individuals who are supposed to advise consumers on healthy eating. Here’s what the report found:
- Many of the Academy’s biggest contributions from 2011 to 2017 came from the world’s largest producers of soda, sugar, candy, and ultra-processed foods. His Conagra, which owns brands such as Slim Jim, Duncan Hines, Reddi-wip, and Chef Boyardee, donated at least $1.4 million to the academy. PepsiCo funded her over $486,000, and Coca-Cola provided at least $477,000 for the Academy. Hershey donated approximately $368,000 to the academy, and Nestlé donated over $200,000 of his to the academy during this period.
- The Academy’s financial backers included sugar industry trade associations such as the Sugar Association and the Corn Refiners Association, as well as influential lobby groups in the soda, beef and dairy industries.
- The National Dairy Council is one of the Academy’s largest sponsors, donating at least $1.5 million between 2011 and 2017.
- For the record, the Academy allowed a certain level of financial support to give contributors greater influence. Companies that paid a “sponsorship” fee were given “specific rights and benefits.” Donors, grantors, and supporters, on the other hand, were defined as those who made “a charitable contribution with no expectation of commercial return.”
Martin, who was the group’s treasurer in 2014, dismissed ethical concerns about the investment in PepsiCo, according to an internal email, and said in a message to another Academy executive that the group would also invest in Coca-Cola. I suggested that there would be no problem.
“I personally like PepsiCo and have no problem with us owning it, but I wonder if anyone would say anything about it. I hope! As long as I have a stock of Coca-Cola, I’m OK with it personally!!”
“I am amazed.” Someone who’s supposed to be talking about healthy eating, how can you invest in a company that makes products that are ultra-processed and make people sick?”
The Academy said its sponsorship deals with Coca-Cola and Hershey ended in 2015, and its sponsorship with PepsiCo ended in 2016.
Today, the Academy has more than 20 “supporters” on its website, from the Hass Avocado Commission and Mushroom Council to Tate & Lyle, one of the world’s largest producers of high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners. is posted on Another of his supporters of the group is the National Confectionery Association, a candy industry trade and lobbying group whose members include Hershey’s, Mondelez International, Mars, and the Jelly Belly Candy Company.
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