We may never know if plant based diets are healthy or not based on the physicians and scientist advocates’ numerous conflicts of interest and behavior.
The difference is that their ties are primarily with companies and organizations that stand to profit if people eat less red meat and a more plant-based diet. Unlike the beef industry, these entities are surrounded by an aura of health and wellness, although that isn’t necessarily evidence-based.Rubin R. Medical News & Perspectives Backlash Over Meat Dietary Recommendations Raises Questions About Corporate Ties to Nutrition Scientists. JAMA – J Am Med Assoc [Internet]. 2020
I have watched with my own eyes as one of these advocates is presented with their list of conflicts in public (see above). It’s dramatic, and that’s an understatement.
This article from 2018 is also described in the JAMA piece.
Meanwhile, half of the people who will read this post are hurtling toward diabetes, and they don’t even know it.
Nice reporting in Journal of the American Medical Association by @RitaRubin.
Welcome to the decade of #DataOverDogma.
I’ve compiled many more examples of these conflicts on my own disclosures page.
Conflict free is the way to be. It’s the way I am.
Reference
Rubin R. Medical News & Perspectives Backlash Over Meat Dietary Recommendations Raises Questions About Corporate Ties to Nutrition Scientists. JAMA – J Am Med Assoc [Internet]. 2020