Jonathan Marks — The Ethical Implications of Industry Interactions in Health-Related Food Research and Nutrition Practice

The November 10, 2010, seminar was presented by Jonathan Marks and Donald Thompson. Jonathan is an Edmond J. Safra Lab Fellow and Associate Professor of Bioethics, Humanities and Law at Pennsylvania State University. Donald is Professor of Food Science at Pennsylvania State University. Jonathan and Donald presented on the influence of the food industry on nutrition research, education, and practice. They provided an overview of the food industry's nutrition-based marketing to consumers, as well as the various types of health claims that are made in those marketing endeavors. They also highlighted the relationships that exist between the food industry and the academy, and ways that the industry's funding of research influences policymakers, academics, nutritionists, dietitians, and consumers.

The ensuing discussion touched on the implications of interactions between industry and the academy. There was considerable debate about the types of interactions that should be cause for concern and those that could be classified as relatively innocuous. An example was given of a university that received a donation from a well-known food company, and then displayed that company's logo outside of a classroom at the university. For some participants, this appeared to be a relatively benign example, unlikely to pose a real threat to the integrity of the institution. For others, however, the possible effects of displaying the logo were significant enough that they felt that such a display was not at all appropriate. For example, they wondered if the feeling of goodwill induced by seeing the logo and being aware of the donation could indirectly lead researchers and students at that university to be less likely to conduct research on the harmful effects of products sold by that company or ingredients used in those products. .

It was also pointed out that industry-sponsored requests for research proposals are usually limited to the health benefits of "functional foods," while there are few, if any, funding streams for research exploring the health risks of these foods. The flow of money into a particular type of research (in this case, one-sided research on health benefits) can generate data that corrupts the body of scientific evidence. Although there may be situations when promoting such research may make significant contributions to knowledge and education about nutrition,,there remained a general sense that industry funding in its current form has a tendency to crowd out other research that may provide a more complete picture.

In summary, participants were presented with an overview of the food industry's practices related to research and marketing, and the means by which industry exerts influence on academic research. Participants discussed the extent to which different types of interactions between industry and researchers should be cause for concern and the possible implications of those interactions.