Obesity Panacea

PepsiCo Food Frontiers

Posted by Travis Saunders on July 7, 2010
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Regular readers of the Scienceblogs network will know that a new “advertorial” blog run by Pepsi has just been opened up on the network.  Since then, we’ve lost at least 2 of my favourite bloggers (here and here).  I’m actually on a self-imposed blog break at the moment (the posts this week were scheduled a while back), so I haven’t had a chance to check out the new Pepsi blog, or decide how I feel about it, or at least how to present my thoughts in a coherent blog post.  So I would suggest that anyone interested in the issue check out the Pepsi Blog here, and read PalMDs thoughts here, or visit my recent (and brief) discussion of Coke’s sponsorship of an international physical activity conference.

This is a hugely important issue, so hopefully we’ll get back to it ASAP here on Obesity Panacea.  But not this week.

Time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Travis

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Comments

  1. #1 Onkel Bob
    July 8, 2010

    Time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

    Talk about WTF moment. If one can enjoy triple digit temperature combined with suffocating humidity, then ok… alas I am not a reptile. (I hear the gators in the sewers truly like this weather.)

    As for the other issue. Much ado about nothing, which is more of the same for SciBlogs.

  2. #2 Tbickle
    July 8, 2010

    It looks like SB is going to stand their ground on this one after seeing a letter that was sent out to all the bloggers regarding this inclusion.

    In 2009, PepsiCO spent over $9MM in lobbying efforts, most of which was spent on creating a campaign to push back against a proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages. They are a large part of the $25-30 Billion dollar food/beverage advertising industry that we all know relies upon building mixed messages on nutrition and disinformation. This isn’t just Pepsi sodas that are at question but they also include Propel Fitness Water, Frito-Lay products, AMP energy drinks, and their nutritious line of cereals that includes Cap’n Crunch.

    I appreciate your guys work and have found it to be a great resource, but I have to say that I am dismayed that a site that claims that it desires to host some of the foremost science based blogs would offer it up to a company that continually blurs the lines on science based nutritional information, intentionally tries to block legislation regarding increased nutrition labeling for consumers to be informed, and regularly advertises products to children which defy the very basic understanding of nutritional science and well being is hard to comprehend.

  3. #3 Dennis
    July 14, 2010

    It is a shame to lose bloggers over this issue, but, it is a bigger shame that those same bloggers think so little of readers like myself that they would simply quit in the face of adversity. I can not know for certain their opinion of readers like me, however it seems that they lack confidence in my ability to decipher science from propaganda. One thing i have learned by reading bloggers here is: never take a claim at face value. I have also learned that this is the most open forum for scientific discussion and none of the bloggers here would have let Pepsi come in and get away with making any claims that were not backed by hard data. It would have been an interesting experiment to see a corporation’s claims torn apart by talented science writers. And who knows, I might have learned something. I don’t know what I am to learn by their actions now, maybe I should just give up.

  4. #4 Jeff
    November 23, 2010

    WOW… Just wow guys…

    I’m new to this blog, and so glad I found it…
    Pepsi and health just don’t mix… It’s an oxymoron.

    I’ll be sticking around Travis…
    I’m sorry you had to go through all that with two of your buddy’s ditching ship… Hang in their bro…