'Big Fat Surprise' Author Nina Teicholz Replaced by Mrs. Potato Head on Food Policy Panel

Big Food flack likely to add intellectual equivalent of mashed potatoes to food policy discussion

Nina Teicholz replaced
by potato lobbyist

In what was not a big fat surprise, science journalist Nina Teicholz -- a fierce advocate for basing nutrition policy on rigorous research -- was "disinvited" from a consumer group's Food Policy Panel after two of the panelist refused to appear with her.

The cowed Consumer Federation of America replaced her with Maureen L. Storey, Ph.D., whose curriculum vitae suggests a pattern of auctioning off her academic credentials to the highest bidder. Storey's research findings consistently validate whatever group is currently paying her bills, whether it's the potato industry or Big Beverage.

Ironically, Margo Wootan, one of the panelists behind booting Teicholz from the panel had the nerve to accuse the  ninja journalist of engaging in shoddy science:

Wootan based her charges on a letter signed by 180 conventional dietitian types (seven of whom later withdrew their names) demanding retraction of Teicholz's September 2015 BMJ article on the shaky science behind the US Dietary Guidelines -- a letter that Wootan had engineered and which Teicholz credibly rebutted. The signers were largely people whose research had been discredited by Teicholz in her New York Times best selling book.

Excerpt from "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter,
Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet"

What is ironic is that Wootan is director of nutrition policy for the facetiously named Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a rabid anti-animal fat advocacy group that is largely responsible for the proliferation of trans fats in America's food supply -- a big fat mistake for which they have never apologized and now pretend never happened.

Teicholz is not going down without a fight. Her supporters have started a petition to have her reinstated, which has been shared on social media by a Who's Who of leading edge health advocates, including Gary Taubes, Prof. Tim Noakes, Dr. Sarah Hallberg and Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt.


Meanwhile, in an email sent to colleagues, Teicholz wrote:

“I hope you will consider signing and maybe spread the word. What made me realize that it wasn't me--and that they really didn't want any alternative viewpoints--was the fact that the conference organizers also nixed the Harvard MD whom I suggested to replace me. Instead, they appointed an industry flack from the potato industry (and formerly the American Beverage Association).

“This nonsense must stop! They need to allow real conversation and debate. The insider game in D.C. that drives our country's nutrition policy (and hence, School Lunches, WIC, and everything taught by every MD, nutritionist and dietician in the country) only survives because dissenting views have been excluded. The views of honest science-based experts have not been heard and need to be!”

For those who follow dietary health news, this latest effort to silence dissenting views is eerily reminiscent of the Health Care Professions of South Africa (HCPSA) hearing against Prof. Tim Noakes. The effort by the conventional dietary establishment to discredit the A-rated scientific researcher backfired when Noakes used the hearing as a platform to disseminate accurate information about the benefits of carb restriction and consumption of saturated fat to a global audience.

See also:

Teicholz disinvited from food policy panel in Politico.

Sign petition to have Nina Teicholz reinstated to the Food Policy Panel here.