On Tuesday May 2nd 2017 I had a free lunch with my wife in Rotterdam, a gift of our beloved daughters. Afterwards my wife and I visited the art exhibition "Crazy about Surrealism" in Booijmans. In real life there is NO free lunch. I had paid the steep fee for my current free lunches already in 2002 - 2005. In 2002, I was a naive loyal whistle-blower, who had his own surrealistic experience being put out of the position of Scientific Coach of the Vlaardingen and Colworth House R&D Microbiology groups by my "trustworthy" Unilever boss. I was threatened, literally driven into a manic psychosis, sent into the desert and to the hell of depression,(2004) blackened (my former boss even had my name removed of a publication. It was added after my rehabilitation by the new global R&D foods Unilever director Emmo Meijer end of 2005), but fortunately not fired because of my triggered mental disorder. I happened to be science leader in an area in which Unilever used to be far ahead of the field. During my recovery and reintegration restricted to the library of the Vlaardingen laboratory, I even received a golden watch of Marlies Schepens, HR Director in Vlaardingen, in 2005 for 15 years loyal service?! In the same minute I received the message that I would still be fired. My aim is still to restore the quality and integrity of my raped food science area. My experience can present lessons how universities, TNO used and are still willing to sell their soul to King Money, Margarine and Beer. The government, take the RIVM, seems to be the pleasing waitress of the horror clowns of the alcohol industry.
Most examples from this contribution are as such from my personal past and even far past and are not random for the Dutch industry due to my long historic working relation with Unilever, but there are no reasons that the past or today are much different for most other companies. Universities, especially the WUR, our "excellent" food university, should incorporate truely independent assistance and checks in all their projects and plans, especially, if they execute sponsored research by industry and need to become fully transparant. The stakes are too high. Scientists do not appear to ask the right questions in dependent situations. Universities also consist of neighbouring kingdoms teaching different truths. Group mores will rapidly lead to moral deterioration and subtle misrepresentations to manipulate their public. Growing groups of social media may even amplify the misrepresentations or obvious research because of their need to increase shareholders value by advertisement income.
E.g. May 2, 2017, that was the day before I wrote this article: LinkedIn owned by giant Microsoft promotes the research of Sheila Wiseman, Unilever Research. Big news? No news, at all, I would argue. The addition of a sea weed component (alginate, a gelling agent reduces hunger), is completely logical, other gelling agents (take gelatin) will do the same.
The good news was that Louise Fresco, Chairman of Wageningen University, gave up her paid position at Unilever and was freed (?) on May 1. However, Marian Geluk (managing director of the Top Institute food & Nutrition, WUR-industry) had accepted a job for the lobby organisation of the Dutch Food Industry (FNLI). The FNLI fights aginst all forced measures to reduce the unhealthiness of food like the implementation of a sugar tax, salt tax, etc.. Some industry wants to continue making money at the expense of society.
How critical can universities be to your sponsors/friends/partners/?
Heineken and Wageningen University : (now Emeritus) professor Frans Kok was involved in the initiative to establish the promotion institute for beer drinking "Kennisinstituut van Bier" sponsored by Heineken. The societal damage of alcohol is 9 billion euros. The KNAW and Robbert Dijkgraaf do not say NO the sponsoring of their prestigious prices by Heineken.
Soft-drink producer Pepsico is partner of TIFN. Why had not the TIFN of Marian Geluk worked on the health effects of liquid sugar or has not taken over my suggestion to work on the cola-ingredient phosphoric acid additive E338 which demineralises bones and may affect the immune system like other chelators may do (Prof. Huub Savelkoul, WUR: proven for phytates). By the way, more TIFN-partners (sustainable Unilever still promotes liquid sugar in Lipton-Ice or FrieslandCampina in there juices) are into the liquid sugars. Soft-drinks in the USA generate $1000 per capita health damage (obesity and diabetes)!
Does Wageningen want to please its industrial partners by not working on controversial subjects. At your service, Majesty? Why did not Wageningen assess the cost inefficacy of phytosteroles (The University of Groningen) or calculate and promote a salt or junkfood tax like Melbourne (2017)? Melbourne used a similar approach "Inflicted Injury Insurance" as I presented to Prof. Onno van Schayck (Maastricht) in 2010 and Prof. Marianne Geleijnse (2011) already years ago!
Margrethe Jonkman (R&D director FrieslandCampina) gave a lecture about the biased research cooperation at that annual TIFN meeting of Marian Geluk in 2016 about protein supplements and recovery after hospitalisation. Why were only animal (dairy) proteins addressed? Why were the vegan and animal and environment friendly controls lacking?
ErasmusMC is sponsored by FrieslandCampina to execute a totally irrelevant study to generate positive news about milk. Milk components inhibit Campylobacter (2015. In fact I had worked on a related subject in 1991: lactoferricin. The Durch leading company in preservatives, Corbion, who is willing to sell brines to Oscar Mayer for injecting close to 30% (!) in meat, worked in 2009 on polylysine, I worked on polylysine at Unilever in 1991.
Food industral research can be excellent. Unilever was very close to the Nobel Price with their prostaglandine but it needs to be open to inspection.
In the next part I move to (criminal?) lessons from the past: The extremely unhealthy relation between Unilever and (semi-) government partners. Internal bonuses and subsidy acquisition were dependent on joint fraude.