The Sugar Conspiracy documentary - showing on Australian TV

#1

For Australian members - I’ve noticed there’s doco showing tonight (Sun, 5/8/2018) on SBS One called The Sugar Conspiracy. It’s also available via SBS On Demand for the next month.

I’ve not seen it yet myself, but the synopsis sounds interesting:

This compelling investigative documentary exposes the US sugar industry’s systematic hijacking of scientific study to bury evidence that sugar is, in fact, toxic. For forty years, Big Sugar deflected threats to its multi-billion dollar empire through creative PR and tactics strikingly similar to the way the tobacco industry disguised the fact that its products are addictive and cause fatal illnesses. As obesity rates skyrocket and doctors treat the first generation of children suffering from fatty liver disease, the sugar industry has come under increasing scrutiny from emerging scientific and medical studies. While the industry steps up its advertising spin and lobbying efforts, this film warns that we are sitting on a dietary time bomb.

(Trudy) #2

Thank you, I will tune in :grinning:

(Alec) #3

I saw this as well on the listings and am going to be listening in. Do we know who the producers are?

#4

All I know is that it’s a Canadian documentary from a couple of years ago, and I believe Dr Robert Lustig will feature/contribute to some extent. We’ll see.

(Alec) #5

What do we think so far? Robert Lustig and Gary T is starring…

#6

Couldn’t get to it tonight, have recorded and will have to catch up during the week. Would you recommend it?

#7

Ah, the psychological treat…

Be a good boy/girl and you can have some sweeties
Happy Birthday, time for cake!
Merry Christmas, time for cake, chocolate, candy
Happy Easter, time for chocolate and candy
Halloween, Trick, or Treat!
You fell down and hurt your knee, Mummy will get you a lollipop
You did so great at your exams we’re going out for dinner, and DESERT!
Ooooh look at that great cake your wife baked you. She must love you!
Awwww hubby got me a big box of chocs for Valentines Day, he cares!

Etc

(Edith) #8

I’m getting pissed off and riled up just from reading the introduction! :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

(Alec) #9

This was an interesting doco, but not that revelatory. Robert Lustig was to the fore, and it was almost based on him and his ideas and writings. There were some interesting pieces about a lady who found some documents from the sugar PR campaign that was very successful in exonerating sugar in the 70s. Gary T also fronted the camera a lot in his normal style.

I missed the last 15 minutes (and therefore the conclusion) of the programme, so I am not sure exactly how they left it. I have it recorded so I can go revisit the last 15 mins.

But my overall impression was that it was interesting, but didn’t really offer anything we don’t already know.

(Terence Dean) #10

Watch out the AMA will be advocating the ban of that documentary as well if people make the connection of carbs to sugar addiction.

(Alec) #11

Ooo, I wish they would. It would guarantee a tripling of the audience if they did.

(karen) #12

An aside, I think it was “The C Word” that made a good point: the people / companies we trust to produce our food are basically the same people / companies who did such a great job of producing and defending tobacco. When the big tobacco companies were really under attack, they purchased Big Food. For example, in 2000 Phillip Morris was the parent company of the companies that produce the following products. - sorry, it’s an old list, but it’s only gotten worse. It’s really no wonder that we have the exact same four dog defense, the same obfuscation and the same immorally damaging products for profit at the expense of human health.

http://archive.tobacco.org/Resources/00pmbrands.html

Country Time, Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Tang, General Foods International Coffees, Gevalia, Maxim, Maxwell House, Sanka,
Yuban, Balance Bar, Calumet, Certo, Cool Whip, Dream Whip,
Ever-Fresh, Handi-Snacks, Jell-O, Knox, Alpha-Bits, Banana Nut Crunch,Blueberry Morning, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Cream of Wheat, Cream of Rice, Fruit &Fibre,Golden Crisp,
Grape-Nuts, Great Grains, Honey Bunches of Oats, Honeycomb, Oreo O’s, Pebbles, Raisin Bran,Shredded Wheat, Toasties, Waffle Crisp, Better Cheddars, Cheese Nips,
Chips Ahoy!, Handi-Snacks ,Honey Maid ,Newtons ,Nilla , Nutter Butter, Oreo ,Premium ,Ritz ,SnackWell’s ,Stella D’oro Teddy Grahams, Triscuit ,Wheat Thins, Planters ,Milk-Bone,
Altoids, Callard &Bowser ,Creme Savers, Farley’s, Gummi Savers , Jet-Puffed , LifeSavers ,Milka L’il Scoops, Now and Later ,Sather’s , Terry’s ,Tobler , Toblerone, Trolli, ,Athenos,
Cheez Whiz , Churny ,Cracker Barrel , Deli Deluxe, Di Giorno
Easy Cheese ,Hoffman’s , Kraft , Philadelphia , Polly-O , Velveeta, Breakstone’s sour cream,cottage cheese, Light n’Lively lowfat cottage cheese,yogurt, Kraft macaroni & cheese and other dinners Minute , Stove Top , Velveeta shells & cheese, ,A.1., Bull’s-Eye, ,Good Seasons , Grey Poupon , Kraft barbecue sauce, mayonnaise,salad ,dressings, Miracle Whip, Oven Fry, Sauceworks , Seven Seas , Shake’N Bake
Oscar Mayer and Pizza, Louis Rich, Lunchables, Oscar Mayer
Boca, Claussen, Di Giorno , Jack’s , Tombstone, Kool-Aid
Miller Beer, Milwaukee Beer, Icehouse, Red Dog, Leinenkugel’s, Henry Hard Lemonade, Hamm’s, Olde English 800 Magnum, Sharp’s

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #13

Unfortunately, given that the mainstream media haven’t yet caught up with the real science, those of us who have already fallen down the rabbit hole are going to be stuck wtih programs like this one for a while. They may be old news to us, but they are breaking news to the public at large—unfortunately.

We are going to have to wait for some time, I guess, before we see real cutting-edge nutritional information in documentaries like this one.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

“Four dog defense”? I was going to ask for an English translation, but then I realised I might not understand that, either. So could we have it in 'Murrican, please? :grinning:

P.S.—Any relation to “Three Dog Night”? (The name of a rock band that was big in my youth, ahem cough years ago.)

(karen) #15

:grin:

Think about a game of tennis between a good player and a bad one. The good player seems to stand magically in the center of the court and never move, while the bad player dashes back and forth, side to side, lungs heaving and brow dripping until he finally can’t get there fast enough to return the ball and he loses. This isn’t coincidence!

A four dog defense is a similar process with words. Basically, denying there is a potential for a problem, then denying that the problematic incident actually occurred, then denying that it caused harm, and finally, shifting the blame for the whole thing onto the victim, all the while making the victim rush around like a lunatic. The cigarette companies were ledgendary for their ongoing strategy to exonerate themselves from blame from the damage caused by their cigarettes, and these are the exact same companies, using the exact same tactics, denying damage caused by their food.

You tell me that my dog has bitten you and caused harm.

First, I say my dog doesn’t bite. (Or if I can get away with it, I say it’s not my dog at all.) You run around returning my serve, finding evidence to say my dog does indeed bite (and whacking that ball directly at the sweet spot on my racket as I stand there patiently waiting for it. Hell, I don’t even have to swing, I can just drop it over the net like it was bouncing off a trampoline. Mostly, I’ve got a serious leg up, because I already know my dog bites.)

I say, ok, so maybe my dog does bite, but it didn’t bite you. Again, I’ve said one thing and now the onus is on you again. You run around collecting witness reports.

I have to concede ok, he did bite you, but he didn’t hurt you. Once again, off you go to obtain medical reports, pictures, receipts.

Finally, backed into a corner, I say, “Ok, you were hurt, but it wasn’t my fault. You must have provoked my dog, you must have put yourself in harm’s way.” At which point you have probably run out of witnesses, time, money and patience, (as well as getting hamstrung by your own mind which says of course you aren’t a victim, you aren’t a fool who isn’t smart enough to avoid a biting dog if you’re trying to, so you must have had a hand in it somehow). Even if you are 100% confident it was my fault, you probably can’t prove that. You give up, and I win.

This youtube gives a pretty good explanation - and an added bonus, danish subtitles.