[mchmch]

Speaking of "motivated nonsense". The millions of dollars the meat/dairy industry spends on political campaigns and the revolving door at the NIH might concern you :)

http://qz.com/523255/the-us-meat-industrys-wildly-successful...

Eating a diet based heavily on animal products is almost as stupid as smoking cigarettes. If we didn't have so many wonder drugs keeping people who make bad choices alive, it would be obvious by now. Luckily, drug companies and meat peddlers don't have to worry because the propaganda is working... as evidenced by all of the ignorant comments here.

[sago]

The spending of any large industry on political influence concerns me.

But the link doesn't say much. Very similar arguments are used to discredit climate science ('big climate science') vaccinations ('big pharma') and things that do need discrediting ('big tobacco'). An argument like that has little signal, but it does allow people who are already convinced to post-hoc rationalise their position.

[prostoalex]

Why omit the millions of dollars spent by the corn lobby or various seeds-related lobbyists (of which Monsanto is the most well-known donor)? Or very California-specific nuts lobby, and until recently bottled water lobbying? Excluding the food groups associated with major lobbying spending might not lead to an optimal diet.