The International
Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)
describes
its mission as “pursuing objectivity, clarity and reproducibility”
to “benefit the public good”. According to ILSI’s declared
mandatory principles, it “may not directly or indirectly propose
public policy solutions or advocate the commercial interests of their
member companies or other parties”.
The
institute whose experts have occupied key positions on EU and UN
regulatory panels is, in reality, an industry lobby group that
masquerades as a scientific health charity.
Researchers
from the University of Cambridge, Bocconi University in Milan, and
the US Right to Know campaign assessed over 17,000 pages of documents
under US freedom of information laws to present evidence of
influence-peddling.
Dr
Sarah Steele, a Cambridge university senior research associate, said:
“Our findings add to the evidence that this nonprofit organisation
has been used by its corporate backers for years to counter public
health policies. ILSI should be regarded as an industry group – a
private body – and regulated as such, not as a body acting for the
greater good.”
The
study found that when ILSI’s regional offices failed to promote
industry-friendly messaging, they were subjected to sanctions.
Corporate
figures
from
companies including Monsanto, Kraft and Nestlé have sat on ILSI’s
board.
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