Many years ago the singer songwriter Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics “money doesn’t talk, it swears”. This truism applies to many aspects of society. It especially applies to the industries that are economically impacted by the world wide trend towards veganism. In the 1950’s when the scientific community started telling the world about the health dangers of smoking, the tobacco industry immediately recognized the threat they were under and began pouring untold billions of dollars into spreading misinformation. They paid scientists to fabricate research which could be used in public relations campaigns designed to cause confusion. They engaged the best advertising people in the business to promote their products. They specifically targeted vulnerable groups in society. They targeted young girls, immigrants, and the poor. They advertised a non-existent association between their products and sex, strength, and health. They even had doctors on their pay-roll that were happy to take the money and provide their ‘opinions’ on the most healthy types, brands, and flavors of cigarettes.
The main thing they conclusively proved was that Bob Dylan was right. ‘… money doesn’t talk it swears. Obscenity, who really cares. Propaganda, all is phony … ’
The other thing the tobacco industry taught the world is that when you spend enough money, you can convince people that scientific facts are arguable and that people should subjectively choose which facts to ‘back’ based on their religion, politics, economic perspective, or sheer stupidity.
We are now seeing the same strategies being employed by the petrochemical industry, the agrichemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the meat industry, the poultry industry, the dairy industry, the cosmetic industry, the sugar industry, and the alcohol industry. The tobacco industry taught them well and they are investing their fortunes to protect their markets.
It is extremely important you identify the funding behind the research you listen to. This is particularly important when you are learning about the vegan lifestyle.