From Peer Review to Public Relations — The Death of Real Science

How Big Food Spins Research to Sell You a Health Story Disguised as Science

We’re living in an era where studies double as press releases and public policy reads like a marketing deck. Big Food has learned that the easiest way to shape public perception is to control the narrative:

• Fund your own studies.
• Publish favorable results.
• Frame the data just right.
• Count on a deregulated system to look the other way.

Then print the payoff on the package: “High in protein.” “Eggs are back.” “Seed oil free.”

What looks like progress is often just carefully engineered messaging from an industry that’s mastered the art of turning research into revenue.

Let’s look at two recent studies—and one trending food fad—that reveal just how far we’ve drifted from real scientific integrity.

The Egg Study That Cracked Reality

The first study, framed in line with industry interests, claims that eggs—one of the most cholesterol-rich foods in the modern diet—not only don’t raise cholesterol but actually lower it. It’s a claim as backward as trying to stop a flood by turning on a hose. Do they think we’re fools, or just assume we’re easy to fool?

For context: one large egg contains about 186 mg of cholesterol—over 60% of the now-retired 300 mg daily limit once recommended by dietary guidelines [2]. While newer guidelines quietly dropped the 300 mg cap—based on murky interpretations of mixed evidence—the science hasn’t changed: dietary cholesterol still raises blood cholesterol in many people.

In this trial, researchers claimed that eating two eggs per day lowered LDL cholesterol—but only when compared to a baseline diet higher in saturated fat and free from eggs [1]. Predictably, headlines roared: “Eggs Don’t Raise Cholesterol!” But buried in the data? A significant rise in small, dense LDL particles—the kind most strongly linked to cardiovascular disease.

And what didn’t the study explore? Replacing eggs with fiber-rich plant foods—the very foods shown to reduce LDL and heart disease risk. But that comparison wouldn’t serve the narrative.

This is what marketing science looks like: partial truths, rigged comparisons, and conclusions shaped by industry influence that make a high-cholesterol food look like a cholesterol solution.

The Meat Industry Goes on Offense

If the egg study represents a sleight of hand with saturated fat, the next one is a full-on offensive.

In today’s food narrative, all roads lead to protein—and meat, the self-declared king of protein, is leading the parade. The latest pivot? We’re now being told that meat—long associated with cancer—isn’t just safe, but protective.

Really? This isn’t just revisionist science—it’s nutritional gaslighting.

In August 2025, a team at McMaster University published a study claiming that higher intake of animal protein was linked to a lower risk of cancer death [3]. The funding? The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The math behind the study may have looked impressive, but it relied on a lot of guesswork—filling in gaps with estimates when the data was weak, incomplete, or based on broad averages. In the end, the numbers were massaged until they told the story the industry wanted to hear.

What was left out?

• Processed meat
• Fiber intake
• Any plant-based comparison

Was it peer-reviewed? Sure.

Was it honest science? Only if “science” now means credentialed people pushing pre-approved outcomes.

This is how one of the most cancer-linked foods in modern research—especially when processed—gets rebranded as a cancer-fighting superfood. It’s not science. It’s PR in a lab coat.

Seed Oils Out, Beef Tallow In—But Don’t Call It Progress

To fully grasp the absurdity of today’s dietary spin, look no further than saturated fat—first cast as the villain in one narrative, then rebranded as a virtue in another. At the very same time egg promoters are blaming it to deflect from cholesterol, the meat industry is embracing it as a health upgrade.

Real Good Foods recently announced it’s replacing seed oils with beef tallow [4]—a fat that’s over 50% saturated and long linked to inflammation and heart disease [5, 6]. Meanwhile, seed oils—mostly unsaturated and shown to support heart health—are being painted as toxic. They’re dismissed as ultra-processed, while beef fat gets a nostalgic glow-up.

So which is it—is saturated fat the villain or the hero?

The egg industry blames it to make eggs seem harmless.

The beef industry champions it to make tallow sound pure.

Both call it healthy.

It can’t be both—unless, of course, you’re selling the story.

What we’re witnessing isn’t debate—it’s distortion. A tug-of-war where science isn’t the anchor, but the rope—dragged in whichever direction moves more product.

Caught in the middle? Consumers. The “seed oil-free” label is quickly becoming the new “gluten-free,” fueling a 410% sales surge in Q1 2025 [4]. 

We’re not being guided—we’re being gamed. Instead of helping people weigh real nutritional tradeoffs, the food industry shifts with the winds of profit.

What Scientific Truth Actually Says

Let’s cut through the fog. Here’s what long-standing, independent science actually says—and why Big Food’s version doesn’t hold up:

• Cholesterol still matters. It contributes to total blood cholesterol, raising cardiovascular risk [7].
  Conclusion: Eggs are high in cholesterol. Regular consumption is not heart-healthy.
• Saturated fat is pro-inflammatory. It activates immune pathways, encourages plaque buildup, and accelerates heart disease [8].
  Conclusion: Whether it’s a fried egg, burger, or tallow-fried frozen meal—it increases cardiovascular risk.
• Seed oils are not the enemy. They contain mostly unsaturated fats, which reduce inflammation and lower disease risk [9].
  Conclusion: Demonizing seed oils while celebrating beef fat turns science upside down.
• Meat and cancer? The link is real. As shown in The China Study, animal protein intake was strongly associated with tumor growth and cancer incidence [10].
  Conclusion: Claiming meat prevents cancer isn’t just false—it’s dangerous.

None of this is new. But when industry controls the narrative, marketing replaces science, and truth is rewritten to match the product line.

How Deregulation Set the Stage for Pseudo-Science

If you’re wondering how Big Food got so bold, look no further than Washington—where nutritional illiteracy meets corporate opportunism.

The leaked second draft of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) strategy reveals the rot [9]: No rules. No oversight. Just PR and voluntary fluff.

Written by food lobbyists—for food lobbyists, it:

• Lifts the ban on whole milk in schools
• Loosens safeguards for dairy and meat
• “Suggests” removing additives—no enforcement
• Applauds corporations as health champions

What it doesn’t do? Protect public health in any binding way.

As Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition at NYU, put it: “Everything is vague and voluntary.” [11] And Aviva Musicus, a public health scientist at CSPI, added: “Talk is cheap. Personal responsibility doesn’t work in a broken system.” [11]

That’s the crux of it: When policy becomes PR, industry is free to make science serve commerce—not the common good.

Final Word: Demand Better Science, Not Better Spin

The tragedy isn’t that food companies want to sell more products. It’s that they’re allowed to co-opt science to do it.

They’ve:

• Weaponized research
• Gutted regulation
• Rebranded marketing as evidence

So the next time a headline tells you something surprising—eggs are heart-healthy, meat prevents cancer, butter is back—ask who paid for that insight.

Because in today’s food landscape, truth isn’t dead—it’s just been drowned out by louder voices with deeper pockets.

References

1. Carter, S. H., et al. "Impact of dietary cholesterol from eggs and saturated fat on LDL cholesterol levels: a randomized cross-over study." Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Jul;122(1):83-91. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40339906/
2. Mayo Clinic. "Eggs: Are they good or bad for my cholesterol?" https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/expert-answers/cholesterol/faq-20058468
3. McMaster University. "Eating meat may protect against cancer, landmark research shows.” ScienceDaily, 25 Aug. 2025. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250825015640.htm
4. Zimmerman, Sarah. "Food companies consider switching from seed oils.” Food Dive, 14 Aug. 2025. https://www.fooddive.com/news/seed-oils-real-good-foods-beef-tallow-maha/757724/
5. Denke, M. A. 1994. “Role of Beef and Beef Tallow, an Enriched Source of Stearic Acid, in a Cholesterol‑Lowering Diet.” Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Dec;60(6 Suppl):1044S-1049S. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7977148/
6. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “Beef Tallow: Doctors Group Shares Consumer Health Alert Warning.” PCRM.org, March 14, 2025. https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/beef-tallow-doctors-group-shares-consumer-health-alert-warning
7. Lecerf, J. M., and de Lorgeril, M. "Dietary Cholesterol: From Physiology to Cardiovascular Risk." Br J Nutr. 2011 Jul;106(1):6-14. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21385506/
8. Rogero, M. M., & Calder, P. C. Obesity, inflammation, Toll-like receptor 4 and fatty acids. Nutrients. 2018 Mar 30;10(4):432. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29601492/
9. Mozaffarian, D., et al. "Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” PLoS Med. 2010 Mar 23;7(3):e1000252. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20351774/
10. Campbell, T. Colin, and Thomas M. Campbell. The China Study. BenBella Books, 2006.
11. Crawford, Elizabeth. "Leaked MAHA Draft Promotes Deregulation and Voluntary Compliance." FoodNavigator-USA, 18 Aug. 2025. https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2025/08/18/leaked-maha-draft-pushes-deregulation-voluntary-action/