290 THE CHINA STUDY
dollars. Individual companies, of course, do what they can to sell more
of their products, but also there are industry groups that work to in-
crease general demand for their products. The National Dairy Council,
National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, National Fluid Milk
Processor Promotion Board, International Sprout Growers Associa-
tion, American Meat Institute, Florida Citrus Processors Association,
and United Egg Producers are examples of such industry groups. These
organizations, operating independently of any Single company, wield
significant influence-the most powerful among them have yearly bud-
gets in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
These food companies and associations use whatever methods they
can to enhance their products' appeal and grow their market. One way
to accomplish this is to claim nutritional benefits for the food products
they sell. At the same time, these companies and associations must
protect their products from being considered unhealthy. If a product is
linked to cancer or some other disease, profits and revenue will evapo-
rate. So food business interests need to claim that their product is good
for you, or, at least, that it's not bad for you. In this process, the "sci-
ence" of nutrition becomes the "business" of marketing.
THE AIRPORT CLUBWhile I was getting the China Study off the ground, I learned of a com-
mittee of seven prominent research scientists who had been retained
by the animal-based foods industry (the National Dairy Council and
the American Meat Institute) to keep tabs on any research projects in
the u.s. likely to cause harm to their industry. I knew six of the seven
members, four of them quite well. A graduate student of mine was visit-
ing with one of these scientists and was given a file on the committee
activity. I have never learned exactly why the file passed hands. Perhaps
the scientist's conscience was getting the better of him. In any case, the
file was ultimately given to me.
The file contained minutes of committee meetings, the latest being
held at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. From then on, I have called this group
of scientists "The Airport Club." It was run by Professors E. M. Foster
and Michael Pariza, faculty members of the University of Wisconsin
(where AU Harper was located), and was funded by the meat and dairy
industry. This committee's main objective was to have members observe
projects that might do "harm" to their industry. With such surveillance,
the industry could more effectively respond to unexpected discoveries