Coca-Cola funds scientists who shift blame for obesity away from bad diets
Coca-Cola, the world’s largest producer of sugary beverages, is backing a new “science-based” solution to the obesity crisis: to maintain a healthy weight, get more exercise and worry less about cutting calories. The beverage giant has teamed up with influential scientists who are advancing this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media. Coke has provided financial and logistical support to a new non-profit organisation called the Global Energy Balance Network, promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise. Health experts say this message is misleading and part of an effort by Coke to deflect criticism about the role sugary drinks have played in the spread of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. (New York Times)
Study funded by butter industry finds that butter is bad for you
A study funded by the Danish Dairy Research Foundation, presumably in an effort to prove butter’s healthfulness, has returned less than favourable results. The study’s findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, established that even moderate levels of butter consumption could result in higher cholesterol. At the very least, the study showed that butter raises blood cholesterol levels more than alternatives such as olive oil. “It’s very rare for an industry-funded study to find something that goes against the interests of that industry,” said Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor at New York University. “The purpose of a lot of these studies is to show that a food is a superfood so an industry can market it. “It looks like science, but it’s not. It’s business first.” (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Responsible Investment
Activist investors’ secret ally: big mutual funds
When a low-profile activist investor gained a board seat at Microsoft two years ago, corporate boards were stunned. It turns out that ValueActCapital Management, which held less than 1% of the software giant’s stock, had reached out to some of Microsoft’s biggest stockholders to ask for help. Activist investors are prevailing more than ever in their battles to force change at large US companies, in many cases because of support from big investors who traditionally have stayed quiet. In a survey this year of more than 350 mutual fund managers, Rivel Research Group found that half had been contacted by an activist in the past year, and 45% of those contacted decided to support the activist. “In contrast to the situation of just a few years ago, companies must examine their long-only shareholders with a critical eye,” JPMorgan bankers wrote to clients earlier this year. “There are no ‘management friendly’ investors.” (WSJ)
Technology & Innovation
Butterfly bio-engineering could boost solar panel output by 50%
Mimicking the structure of a butterfly’s wings could boost the output of solar panels by almost 50 percent, researchers from the University of Exeter have claimed. The team, led by Professor Tapas Mallick, studied the Cabbage White butterfly which is known to take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days, thanks to its unique ability to use energy from the sun to heat its flight muscles. The record for highest conversion rate of solar energy into electricity is currently around 20% for commercially available solar panels. Professor Tapas Mallick said: “Biomimicry in engineering is not new. However, this truly multidisciplinary research shows pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before.” (Edie)
Environment
Nearly 1 million affected by severe flooding in Myanmar
Myanmar’s severe flooding has affected nearly 1 million people, according to updated figures from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. The deadly floods have inundated more than 486,000 hectares of farmland, of which more than 177,957 hectares were destroyed, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation said. Figures showed that the nationwide death toll from the severe flooding has risen to more than 100 so far with Rakhine state suffering the most casualties. The recent floods and landslides have destroyed more than 3,000 schools, forcing them to shut down, official sources said. According to a latest report, rising water levels is threatening to inundate the southwestern Ayeyawaddy delta region, the country’s rice bowl. (Eco-Business)
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