Brigid TitgemeierBeingBrigid Functional Nutrition · Transforming Women's Health Using Food as Medicine

How Soda Giants Shape U.S. Nutrition Policy

20 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment Brigid Titgemeier cites an American Journal of Preventive Medicine report revealing that 96 U.S. national health organizations—including the American Diabetes Association, the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics—received funding from Coca‑Cola and Pepsi. She highlights the companies' lobbying activity from 2011 to 2015, noting that they publicly opposed 28 proposed bills while supporting only one bill they had previously opposed. Of the opposed bills, 12% were soda‑tax measures, 4% targeted SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) purchasing regulations, and one sought to limit soda portion sizes in New York City. The excerpt underscores the depth of corporate financial ties to health institutions and the strategic legislative opposition employed by soda giants to shape nutrition policy.

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The American Journal of Preventative Medicine published a report showing that 96 national health organizations accepted money from Coca Cola and Pepsi. That included the American Diabetes association, the National Institute of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. If you just think about between the year of 2011 to 2015, Coca Cola and Pepsi, they publicly opposed 28 bills and they supported one of the bills that they opposed. 12% were for soda tax, four were for supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations, meaning that the bills were trying to regulate what people could purchase on their food stamp dollars, which is technically called snap, and one was to limit portion sizes sold of soda in New York City.