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LRCCS Noon Lecture Series. Did Coca-Cola Outsmart China? The Scientific Secrets behind Coke’s Success in Shaping China’s Obesity Policies (Virtual)

Susan Greenhalgh, John King and Wilma Cannon Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society Emerita, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
12:00-1:00 PM
1010 Weiser Hall Map
Virtual Talk: We regret that Susan Greenhalgh is now not able to come in person, and will be giving her presentation through Zoom only. Please register below to attend.

Modern science and technology are central to Chinese politics and CCP power, but the intimate connections between science and party politics in China remain poorly understood. This talk presents a case of the corporate corruption of science by Big Food in the US, and the successful export of that corrupted science to China followed by its incorporation into Chinese health policy. In the mid-1990s the exploding epidemic of obesity posed an existential threat to Big Soda. Led by Coca-Cola, the industry mobilized scientists to quietly create a “soda-defense science” of obesity, one geared not to solving a public health problem but to protecting profits on unhealthy sugar-rich drinks. Arguing that science-making in China reflects the nation’s unusual history and socio-political institutions, this talk highlights five distinctive features of Chinese science-making, then uses them to unravel the secrets to Coke’s success in shaping China’s obesity policies. Elaborated in Soda Science: Making the World Safe for Coca-Cola, this research suggests that the corporate corruption of Chinese science and policy is more pervasive than we think, and that the party’s celebrated “scientific policy making” may not yield better policy.

An anthropologist and specialist in the social study of science, Dr. Greenhalgh’s interests lie in the entanglements of state, corporation, science, and society, and their consequences for human health and social justice writ large. She is author of several books on the one-child policy, including the award-winning Just One China: Science and Policy in Deng’s China. Her recent works include Fat-Talk Nation: The Human Costs of America’s War on Fat and Can Science and Technology Save China? (as co-editor), among other titles. Recognized by several lifetime career achievement awards, Greenhalgh is currently the John King and Wilma Cannon Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society emerita in the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. For more see http://susan-greenhalgh.com/.

To attend, please register at https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y6sJOHOVTGexp3fLyT70IQ.
Building: Weiser Hall
Website:
Event Type: Lecture / Discussion
Tags: anthropology, Area Studies, Asian Languages And Cultures, center for chinese studies, chinese economy, chinese studies, Discussion, Lecture
Source: Happening @ Michigan from Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, International Institute

International Institute Programming

The International Institute’s centers sponsor numerous conferences, lectures, exhibits, and cultural performances throughout the year. These events are designed to educate the university community and the public about global issues and inspire discussion and dialogue. 

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