Sweet Mother of Deception — Sugar Industry Lessons for the Learning Professional

OMG. If you haven’t heard, the sugar industry engaged in a sophisticated plot to manipulate the public into believing that saturated fat was the enemy of good health–NOT sugar. They were completely successful in capturing the narrative, so much so that they likely caused millions of deaths, complications from diabetes, illnesses due to obesity, cancer and heart disease, and more.

For articles on this blatantly immoral activity: New York Times, Stat — Frontiers of Health and Medicine

Of course, this kind of behavior happens over and over.

• The great recession found malfeasance within the banking industry.
• The tobacco industry famously tried to claim smoking wasn’t harmful.
• The oil and gas industry has fought global warming warnings for years.

In the learning field, are we naive enough to believe that everything is pure?

I’ve seen things that make me mad–real mad! For example, some of the top-10, top-20 lists are basically bought and paid for… The neuroscience hype to sell products… Well-known “gurus” who don’t mention improved practices because they are protecting their legacy offerings … Trade associations that provide members with a diet of information tilted to their vendor benefactors…

What have you seen?

What’s your motto? Regrettably, mine is, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m still taking it…”

I’m dying to know though, have you seen malfeasance? Slippery slopes? Money changing hands?

Sadder still, given all the great, passionate, caring, and honest folks in our field.

Connect with me privately if you need to… (info a.t work-learning d.o.t com)

Sunshine as disinfectant and all that…