Dietitians go to professional conferences to get continuing education credits. At the recent conference of the California Dietetic Association (CDA), attendees had only one choice for food—McDonald’s, the only Gold Sponsor. McDonald’s served salad with additive-laden ranch dressing, a strawberry pink yogurt parfait, chocolate chip cookies and other paradigms of processed food. Vendors in the exhibit hall included Davidson’s “Safest Choice” pasteurized eggs, Butter Buds (fake butter flavor), Carmi Flavors, Monsanto, Nestlé, Smart Balance, and Sysco (which supplies foods to restaurants and hospitals.) The sessions had food industry sponsors as well. The Wheat Council hosted a presentation about how gluten intolerance was just a fad, not a real medical problem. The International Food Information Council—whose supporters include Coca-Cola, Hershey, Yum Brands, Kraft, and McDonald’s—presented a discussion in which the panelists assured audience members that genetically modified foods were safe and environmentally sustainable. A session entitled “Sweeteners in Schools: Keeping Science First in a Controversial Discussion,” sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association, whose members produce and sell high-fructose corn syrup, hosted a panel composed of three of the trade group’s representatives. The panelists bemoaned some schools’ decision to remove chocolate milk from their cafeteria menus. Later, one panelist said that she’d been dismayed to learn that some schools had banned sugary treats from classroom Valentine’s Day parties, which “could be a teachable moment for kids about moderation.” The moderator nodded in agreement, and insisted that all sugars contain the same calories, so you can’t say that there is one ingredient causing the obesity crisis” (motherjones.com, May 12, 2014).
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