Physician's Group Allies Itself With Coca-Cola

by Heidi Stevenson

6 November 2009

The outrages of our corporate controlled medical system just keep coming. Now it's an alliance between the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and Coca-Cola (Coke). AAFP has proudly announced that this first in its Consumer Alliance program will "educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle"⁽¹⁾.

Coke's "Good Stewardship"

Regarding its Consumer Alliance Partnerships, AAFP states that it "aims to partner with companies who demonstrate good corporate stewardship and a strategic focus on consumer health." So, to prove it, the first company they've chosen is Coke. Here's a bit of info about them:

• Coke has been buying water rights from economically stressed communities, with contract clauses that allow them to drain the aquifers and leave the communities without water.
• Coke bottling employees' Columbian union, Sinaltrainal, have been intimidated, killed, and tortured by paramilitary goons, who work in cooperation with plant managers.
• In India, Coke bottling plants have drained aquifers and polluted water with their wastes, resulting in the inability of local farmers to survive and poisoning of the populace with fluoride, nitrates, and lead.
• Though it claims not to market to children, Coke branded toys and apparel with Coke logos are marketed to children as young as four. In a fine example of doublespeak, Coke claims that this isn't marketing because it doesn't qualify as a commercial.
• Though Coke says it doesn't sell to children, its products are found in vending machines in schools all over the country.

None of that even touches on Coke's products. Ingredients include:

• Phosphoric acid, associated with loss of calcium.
• High fructose corn syrup, which is implicated in diabetes, causes mineral loss, may alter cellular metabolism, and is usually derived from genetically modified corn.
• Artificial sweeteners may include aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. All are implicated in health problems.

If this is good corporate stewardship, how bad would a corporation have to be before AAFP considers it an example of bad corporate stewardship?

AAFP's Alliance with Coke

Why would AAFP ally itself with Coke? The answer, of course, is money, as demonstrated by their press release titled, "Coca-Cola Grant Launches AAFP Consumer Alliance Program"⁽²⁾. In the announcement, AAFP's president-elect, Lori Heim, MD, states:

The Consumer Alliance program is a way of working with interested companies to develop educational materials to help consumers make informed decisions so they can include the products they love in a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

They also plan to create new content for their website, FamilyDoctor.org.

AAFP says that it's part of their attempt to diversify funding sources away from pharmaceutical corporations. While this sounds like a laudable goal, one must wonder at the real goals of AAFP. Clearly, gaining as much money as possible is at the top, in spite of their stated claims. Their Vision statement reads:

Vision: The AAFP's vision is to transform health care to achieve optimal health for everyone.

Their Mission statement reads:

Mission: The mission of the AAFP is to improve the health of patients, families and communities by serving the needs of members with professionalism and creativity.

Exactly how they hope to do that by promoting Coke, which markets its poisonous products to children and creates them by destroying the ecologies of their plants' vicinities, is...well, it's a question I cannot even ask.

Coke is, of course, delighted. Their vice president, Dr. Rhona Applebaum, stated:

We are proud to be the first company to partner with the AAFP and feature content on FamilyDoctor.org. Our partnership will help provide Americans with credible information on beverages and enable consumers to make informed decisions about what they drink based on individual need.

My head spins on reading that statement. How could anyone even suggest that a healthy diet can include Coke? While it may taste good, it has no place in a healthy meal or snack—and Coke certainly never qualifies as a need.

So, how does AAFP think it can keep its promises to the public while taking money from Coke? The answer can be found in a statement by the AAFP's CEO, Dr. Douglas Henley. He said that new information will focus on sugar-free alternatives. Stevia is, of course, a safe alternative—but how likely is it that they'll stay with that one? Coke uses aspartame, an excitotoxin that causes nerves to overactivate and die. It uses saccharin, which has been linked to cancer. It uses sucralose, which has adverse effects that include wheezing, heart palpitations, joint pain, headaches, and a number of others⁽³⁾.

Some AAFP Members Are Quitting

Henley says that AAFP is receiving a six figured sum of money from Coke, though neither will be more specific. By its business practices, we know that Coke isn't giving the money for the public's good. It's obvious that there is nothing about Coke that AAFP can legitimately support as part of a healthy lifestyle. That leaves only money as the reason for this deal.

Years ago, the American Medical Association supported the tobacco companies. Doctors even promoted smoking as a healthy habit. A public health officer in Contra Costa County, California, Dr. William Walker, compared AAFP's Coke alliance with physicians who did ads for tobacco companies. Although a member of AAFP for 25 years, he has left because of the alliance.

Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition expert with Harvard University, stated, "Coca-Cola, like other sodas, causes enormous suffering and premature death by increasing the risks of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, gout and cavities," and that AAFP "should be a loud critic of these products and practices, but by signing with Coke, their voice has almost surely been muzzled."

Coke's spokeswoman, Diana Garza, counters these statements by saying that it, "misses the point of the partnership, which is to provide education based on sound science."

Science? Science bought and paid for by Coke or one of its allies. Junk science. With its association with Coke, how much trust can we put into any research done by AAFP? It's certainly not been too trustworthy up to this point, anyway. AAFP pushes swine flu vaccinations and its website, FamilyDoctor.org, claims they are safe. It states, "Yes. The flu vaccine is safe. There are very few side effects." There isn't any mention of the risks associated with squalene, thimerosal, or live virus vaccines.

FamilyDoctor.org promotes other myths, such as the use of statins for lowering cholesterol to prevent heart disease and strokes⁽⁴⁾. They advocate routine steroid treatment for eczema, in spite of the risks associated with ongoing use of those drugs.

So now, along with its promotion of Big Pharma's poisons, AAFP will promote Coke as a drink that fits into a healthy lifestyle.

What's next? It can't be McDonald's, since AAFP associated with them to promote fitness in 2005. So what will it be?

How about Kelloggs. They're promoting Froot Loops as healthy. Certainly they'd be happy to give money to AAFP to do it for them. That's a deal made in heaven. Kelloggs would get even more bang for the buck if AAFP were making the claims. They could cut their advertising budget to a fraction of what it is now, and give AAFP enough to let their CEO, Henley, live in fine style.

Y'know, it's hard to satirize something like this. Promoting Froot Loops as part of a healthy diet is no stranger than promoting Coke. America's sick-promotion system has topped itself yet again.