Soda Science

“Greenhalgh’s book is a painstaking . . . exercise using interviews, internal emails, and other source documents to trace the evolution and impact of what she terms ‘soda science,’ funded by corporations. . . . Greenhalgh’s objective is to illustrate the way the food and drink industry has pushed its agenda and to hold companies to account. Pressure from her and others seems to have had an effect.” * The Lancet *
“Soda Science is a critical contribution to a growing body of literature on corporate influence in science and public health. Greenhalgh’s compelling narrative not only exposes the tactics used by Coca-Cola to protect its interests but also serves as a broader warning about the dangers of corporate-funded science. By shining light on how global corporations like Coca-Cola can shape scientific research and public policy to serve commercial rather than public interests, Greenhalgh has produced a work that is both timely and essential. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the intersections of science, policy, and corporate power in the modern world.” * H-Sci-Med-Tech *
“The story [Greenhalgh] tells here is fascinating in its own right and a great read. It also makes one other point: social science methods are really useful in getting information unavailable any other way.” -- Marion Nestle * Food Politics *
"Study after study has shown that consumption of sugar sweetened beverages poses clear health risk. So how have the big soda companies, Coke and Pepsi in particular, reacted to this news and to public health policies that have aimed to restrict their business dealings like marketing, labeling, and even taxes? A fascinating and important part of this history has been told in a new book by [Greenhalgh] called Soda Science: Making the World Safe for Coca Cola." * Leading Voices in Food *
“Greenhalgh’s dogged research pulls from open records requests and ILSI tax forms to trace how Coke used its deep pockets to influence ostensibly independent researchers, offering multimillion-dollar grants to ‘scientists whose research was friendly to corporate interests’ and whom the company would then call on to represent its favored outlook at medical conferences across the globe.” * Publishers Weekly *
“Brava! Greenhalgh’s Soda Science is a deeply researched, well-documented exposé on how Coca-Cola and other major food corporations hired mercenary scientists to mislead the public into believing that as long as you exercised, you could consume plenty of calories and not gain weight. That initiative fell apart in the United States, but Coca-Cola and its accomplices were able to infiltrate the public health system of China, helping stop the world’s most populous country from instituting programs that would make its people healthier.” -- David Michaels, author of The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception
“Soda Science is a brilliant story of corporate science, carefully researched and compellingly told. When the US obesity epidemic was a set of statistical warning signs, Coca-Cola and other makers of ultraprocessed food and drink started up scientific research programs focused on exercise. A squad of industry-supported scientists and research organizations steered discussions away from calories consumed and toward calories spent. They taught people to think in terms of small changes in daily activity—ten or fifteen minutes of moderate exercise each day. Through seemingly independent non-profits, the industry then exported the model, to Mexico, Latin America, and especially to China, the world’s biggest market and biggest fan of science-based policy.” -- Sergio Sismondo, author of Ghost-Managed Medicine: Big Pharma’s Invisible Hands