Obama's surgeon general nominee advises Burger King

[Beco]

Obama's surgeon general nominee advises Burger King
Helps fast-food giant put healthier options on menu
By Jim McElhatton (Contact)

Originally published 04:45 a.m., August 13, 2009, updated 01:14 p.m., August 13, 2009

President Obama's nominee for surgeon general, whose job it is to help encourage Americans to get thinner and healthier, has been working part time as a scientific adviser to the fast-food giant that sells sandwiches like the Whopper and BK Triple Stacker.

Dr. Regina Benjamin, hailed by Mr. Obama for her efforts in running a health clinic in hurricane-ravaged rural Alabama, has been paid $10,000 since last year for serving on a scientific advisory board for Burger King, according to newly filed public financial disclosures.

The documents do not specify the scientific issues on which Dr. Benjamin advised the fast-food company, and her medical office in Bayou La Batre, Ala., declined a request for an interview. Burger King officials said Dr. Benjamin served on the company's nutritional advisory panel, formed last summer as part of "ongoing efforts to promote balanced diets and active lifestyle choices."

The Edelman public relations firm, hired by Burger King, recommended Dr. Benjamin and other specialists to serve on the panel, an Edelman spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Vicki Rivas-Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said Dr. Benjamin would resign her position from Burger King upon confirmation by the Senate. She also said Dr. Benjamin would recuse herself from any specific party matters involving Burger King for the next two years as part of the Obama administration's ethics pledge.

"As the nation's leading spokesperson on public health, she will continue to promote healthy eating and exercise," she said.

"As third-party counselor bringing her expertise on public health on an advisory panel, she was advocating for food options that were lower in sodium and recommending that nutritional information appear on food packaging," Ms. Rivas-Vazquez said of the nominee's work on the Burger King panel.

Still, the existence of a financial relationship between a big fast-food company and a surgeon general nominee troubles Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat."

"Fast-food companies are not public health agencies; their job is to sell fast food - and the more, the better," Dr. Nestle said. "For me, this would represent an impossible conflict of interest.

[Cade Is Here]

Lol
That about sums it up

[Bodaddy]

Just make her the Health Care Czar and all of this will be moot.

Cheers

[Purple Haze]

One of the things I find interesting on this board is when some copy-and-paster is either unwilling or unable to provide a link to a choice piece of intellectual journalism, such as this one. I'm not sure if the copy-and-paster is embarrassed to reveal the source, or doesn't have the technical skill to do so.

No matter, I was able to Google the first line and find a whole page of links to the same article, almost all of these sites I'd never heard of before, one of which I had. I'll clean up after Beco:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...o-burger-king/

Funny thing I find here, after reading a few of the comments about how fat Dr. Benjamin appears to be, is the sponsors on the right-hand side. Leading off with a pitch for Rice Krispie Treats, lol, and scary Obama shit. Doctor Death Panel himself.

Great stuff! Thanks for the chuckles, wing-nuts...

[John Doe]

OK...so?

[Purple Haze]

Originally Posted by John Doe

OK...so?

OK...so?

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by Purple Haze

OK...so?

Not you!

[Purple Haze]

Rofl!

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by Purple Haze

Rofl!

[tinylittlegnat]

what is the fucking issue. the lady worked with burger king to make the food have less salt and give nutrition infor on the packaging and you are pissed? or should i read between the lines and realize shes a secret gay muslim born in rwanda who came here illegally through the virgin islands?

[TurdFergeson]

I have a suggestion for Burger King:

get a new mascot...the one now is creepy!